"Look, a tarantula," said Mr. Sir, also fascinated.

"The lizards obviously aren't hungry," said the Warden.

"Why don't you go see if you can take the suitcase from Zero," the Warden suggested.

Sometime later Stanley saw a tarantula crawl across the dirt, not too far from his hole. He had never seen a tarantula before, but there was no doubt what it was. He was momentarily fascinated by it, as its big hairy body moved slowly and steadily along.

"Satan," said Zero.

"Sa-tan lee," said Zero.

The Warden had dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep, and lines across her forehead and face which seemed exaggerated in the stark morning light. Her skin looked blotchy.

"Then you go get the suitcase," said Mr. Sir.

The sun was up, and Stanley's heart was still beating. There were eight lizards in the hole with him. Each one had exactly eleven yellow spots.

"Yeah, right," said Mr. Sir.

They waited.

Stanley looked at him, unsure if Zero had even spoken or if he'd just imagined it.

"I've never seen one," said the Warden. "Except in --"

As he tried to pull himself up, using just his arms, he felt a claw dig into his ankle. He gently eased himself back down.

He couldn't see any lizards on Zero, but believed there were two, between Zero's knees, shaded from the sun by the suitcase.

"Is your last name your first name backward?" Zero asked.

"Not hungry, huh?" said Mr. Sir.

Stanley tried to return to the snow, but it was harder to get there when the sun was up.

The lizard hadn't bitten him, however. It was merely pushing off.

As the sun rose, the lizards moved lower in the hole, keeping mainly in the shade. They were no longer on his head and shoulders but had moved down to his stomach, legs, and feet.

"How are you doing?" Stanley asked quietly. He didn't whisper, but his voice was dry and raspy.

"My legs are numb," said Zero.

"I'm going to try to climb out of the hole," Stanley said.

Stanley suddenly felt a sharp sting on the side of his neck.

It leapt off Stanley's neck and pounced on the tarantula. The last Stanley saw of it was one hairy leg sticking out of the lizard's mouth.

Mr. Sir and the Warden heard it as well.

Stanley stared at him in amazement. Had he been working on that all night?

"It ain't Girl Scouts selling cookies," said Mr. Sir.

He heard the sound of approaching cars.

He heard the cars come to a stop, and the doors open and shut. A little while later he saw Mr. Pendanski and two strangers, coming across the lake. One was a tall man in a business suit and cowboy hat. The other was a short woman holding a briefcase. The woman had to take three steps for every two taken by the man. "Stanley Yelnats?" she called, moving out ahead of the others.

"You think it's them?" asked the Warden.

"I suggest you don't come any closer," said Mr. Sir.

"What in tarnation?" the tall man exclaimed, as he came up behind her.

"You can't stop me," she snapped, then took a second glance at him, wearing pajama pants and nothing else. "We'll get you out of there, Stanley," she said. "Don't you worry." She appeared to be Hispanic, with straight black hair and dark eyes. She spoke with a little bit of a Mexican accent, trilling her r's.

The man was more than a head taller than she, and was able to look directly over her as he spoke to the Warden.

She turned on him. "I'm telling you right now, if any harm comes to him, we will be filing charges not only against Ms. Walker and Camp Green Lake but the entire state of Texas as well. Child abuse. False imprisonment. Torture."

"That's not true!" Stanley said.

"How long have they been in there?"

"All night, as you can see by the way we're dressed. They snuck into my cabin while I was asleep, and stole my suitcase. I chased after them, and they ran out here and fell into the lizards' nest. I don't know what they were thinking."

"It's a miracle they're still alive," said the tall man.

"Stanley, as your attorney, I advise you not to say anything," said the woman, "until you and I have had a chance to talk in private."

"Yes, it is," the Warden agreed, with just a trace of disappointment in her voice.

Stanley wondered why the Warden lied about the suitcase. He wondered who it legally belonged to. That was one thing he wanted to ask his lawyer, if she really was his lawyer.

"And they better come out of this alive," Stanley's lawyer warned. "This wouldn't have happened if you'd released him to me yesterday."

"Why didn't you release him when she came to you yesterday?" the tall man asked.

"It wouldn't have happened if he wasn't a thief," said the Warden. "I told him he would be set free today, and I guess he decided he'd try to take some of my valuables with him. He's been delirious for the last week."

"It was not authenticated," the Warden said.

"I needed authentication from the Attorney General," said the Warden. "How do I know it's legitimate? The boys in my custody have proven themselves dangerous to society. Am I supposed to just turn them loose any time someone hands me a piece of paper?"

"I had a court order!"

"Yes," said the woman. "If it's a court order."

"She didn't have proper authorization," said the Warden.

"Stanley has been hospitalized for the last few days," the Warden explained. "He's been suffering from hallucinations and delirium. Ranting and raving. He was in no condition to leave. The fact that he was trying to steal from me on the day before his release proves…"

"Authenticated? It was signed by the judge who sentenced him."

The lizards, which had been hiding under it, scurried quickly into the hole.

Stanley tried to climb out of his hole, using mostly his arms so as not to disturb the lizards too much. As he pulled himself upward, the lizards moved downward, keeping out of the sun's direct rays. He swung his legs up and over, and the last of the lizards hopped off.

A lizard crawled out of his pocket and down his leg.

"Thank God!" exclaimed the Warden. She started toward him, then stopped.

"Don't cause any more trouble," the Warden warned. "You stole it from my cabin, and you've been caught red-handed. If I press charges, Stanley might have to return to prison. Now I'm willing, in view of all the circumstances, to --"

Stanley and Zero staggered away.

The Warden rushed to them. She hugged Zero. "Thank God, you're alive," she said, as she tried to take the suitcase from him.

Stanley was overcome by a rush of dizziness and almost fell over. He steadied himself, then reached down, took hold of Zero's arm, and helped him slowly to his feet. Zero still held the suitcase.

He jerked it free. "It belongs to Stanley," he said.

Stanley looked, too. There, in big black letters, was STANLEY YELNATS.

"See," Zero showed her. "Stanley Yelnats."

"It's got his name on it," said Zero.

Stanley's lawyer pushed past the tall man to have a look.

The tall man looked over the heads of the others at the name on the suitcase. "You say he stole it from your cabin?"

The Warden stared at it in disbelief. "That's im… imposs… It's imposs…" She couldn't even say it.