Chapters 4 - 6 Summary

The troop arrives at the destination, high on the slope of Mauna Loa. This will be their jumping off point for the hike to the secluded beach below. A sign reads: Hilina Pali, formed by the downward movement of great sections of the mountainside. An ominous note and a well-founded warning as the reader will discover later on.

The boys gather up their gear and prepare to move out. Then Dylan sees—or thinks he sees—something slinking through a patch of grass and weeds about a quarter of a mile distant. A look with the binoculars confirms the sighting. "Dogs," Dylan says. There are two dogs, one big and dark, the other small and white, moving like ghosts through the vegetation. Another ominous note, which, like the Hilina Pali sign, will prove to be significant.

We learn that...