Chapter 3

A couple of weeks passed. Pippin had sole responsibility for his new pet and he conscientiously met all of Yew's needs. He caught crickets and other tasty bugs, as well as various worms and grubs to feed the growing lizard, kept the mortar pond clean and full of fresh water and changed the bedding on a regular basis.

Yew appeared to be content. Whenever anyone had a look at him, he was either walking about on the mossy floor, perched on one of his climbing branches or lying with his head on his front feet at the mouth of his cave. He also grew. He was only three inches or so when Pippin found him, now he was nearly six inches long. The odd ridges on his back were rising up higher, his head growing longer and his nostrils becoming more defined. But he was still gentleness itself when ever Pippin handled him, never attempting to bite or scratch the lad.

The happy situation developed a hitch one day. Pippin came into his room to check on Yew only to find the cage's cover ajar and the reddish lizard gone. Quickly he moved the loose grass about then ducked down to look into the cave.

"We ought not to have made that so deep," Pippin lamented. "I can't see all the way to the back. But, I don't think he's in there."

In his head he heard Vinca's haughty voice saying, "If I find him, he's mine!"

"Where have you got to, Yew?" he said with more whiney frustration than demand. "She'll take you and hide you and there are times even Ma and Da can't get that brat to give things up." He sighed. His good upbringing insisted he not berate his sister too badly. "She is a good chum at times. Much more willing to climb trees and have adventures than Nell, and Pearl might but she's rather too old for most of that, but Vinca is the most stubborn of stubborn Tooks. Now, where are . . ."

Pippin, searching the floor of his room as he spoke, had at that moment looked up. The little red lizard sat upon his mantle piece like a skillfully carved statuette of a . . .

He shook his head clear. "How in Middle-earth did you get up there, Yew?" he asked the lizard as he walked over to stand on the hearth stone. Pippin looked around to see what might have been leaning against the wall or the posts of the fireplace edging. There was nothing. "Are the posts rough enough for you to get a claw-hold on? That's all I see that you could have climbed on to get up there."

He picked his pet up around its well fed middle then held him up to look eye to eye.

"What do you think you're doing, Yew? You know what Vinca said. You don't want to be her lizard, do you?"

Yew closed the eye Pippin was addressing.

"I didn't think so. Come along." He took Yew over to his cage, set him down gently on the mossy bottom, then replaced the cover. "However did you get out? Hmm."

Pippin looked everything over carefully.

"I think you need a deeper cage, Yew. You could have either climbed on top of your cave or climbed up the bigger branch and, with a long stretch, have reached the cover."

He walked over to his book shelf, took down a fat book and used it to weight down the cover.

"That should keep you in and I'll talk with Da about a new cage."

He turned to leave his room, but paused at the door to look back at Yew. The lizard was at the side of the cage looking out. He raised his left front foot off the moss for a moment then slowly put it back down.

A chill ran through Pippin, even as he waved back. Should a lizard know to wave goodbye?

*********************

"Mother! Mother!"

"I'm in the kitchen, Pearl!"

"Have you seen my pearl pin, Ma?" the eldest Took daughter said as she came into the kitchen. "I've nearly turned my room inside out looking for it."

Lanti paused in her kneading to think. "No," she said. "But then, I've not been looking either. I'll keep my eyes open for it."

Pearl sighed. "Thank you, Ma. I'll go ask the others if they've seen it."

She found her brother in his room lying on the floor, head near Yew's new cage, reading aloud from an adventure book.

"And the mighty Baldor, hobbit of the northern border, pursued the pillaging troll to the edge of the haunted North Downs."

"You're reading to a lizard, Pippin?"

He jumped, as much as a person can who is laying on their stomach.

"You shouldn't sneak up like that, Pearl," he said, catching his breath. "Yew likes it. His eye lids droop, but don't close, and he sits and listens. When there's a really exciting part, he sways back and forth."

"All right, if you say so, Pip." She cleared her throat. "I came to ask if you've seen my pearl pin?"

"No, I haven't seen it."

"Hmm. Well, keep an eye out for it, please."

"All right, Pearl." Pippin said then turned back to his book. "Just when they broke through a line of trees . . ."

A few days later, on a cold rainy day,  it was Lanti's turn to be missing something.

"Children! Come here immediately!" She shouted from the door of her sitting room.

All four children came running.

"Are you having a game, since you are all stuck inside today," their Mother asked, her tight lips and clenched fists showing how upset she was.

This was answered with four blank stares.

Pearl broke the silence. "No. I was in my room writing letters."

"I was working on my embroidered pillow case." Nell contributed.

Pippin said, "I was playing with my farm set in the parlor, Ma."

And Vinca finished with, "And I was having tea with my dollies."

Lanti nodded as a tear started to roll down her cheek. "My . . . my wedding ring is . . . is missing." She flopped into her favorite chair and wept. The children gathered round with hugs and condolences.

"Thank you, my dears," Lanti sniffed, finally calming down. "I took it off, as I always do to wash the dishes. You know, the soapy water always makes it loose. I know I put it in that small cut glass dish, as I always do. You know, the one on the counter of the dish cupboard. But when I went to put it back on, it was gone! I looked everywhere. I even swept the floor."

"We'll all help you look again, Ma." Pearl hugged her mother then encouraged her to stand. "Many eyes see better than two!"

Her mother laughed. "Well said, my dear. That is a true saying. We'll all go search the kitchen again."

"And the dining room," Pippin added. "Your ring doesn't have a stone in it and it could have rolled a long ways."

"Pippin and I will take the dining room, Ma." Vinca volunteered and they all went off to search for the ring.

But it was not to be found. Nor was Paladin's cuff link or Lanti's sliver thimble or Nell's dainty gold pinky finger ring when they all went missing over the next few weeks.