Phillip's Harbour
October 15, 1868
Not long after Prayer's departure, Reverend Hale came to the boathouse in response to their offer, but only to decline it. "I appreciate the offer, but at this time, I'd prefer not to present Miss St. John with a single target. The sea might be safe from her ... but I recollect the unnatural storm at the end of September. I would not like to be out of port if such a storm struck again."
Likewise, Mrs. Everchild and Miss Pau also decline the offer to deport. Mrs. Everchild trusts the preparations she's made in her own home, while Miss Pau doesn't go into her reasoning. The last probable player they tried to contact, the Frenchman, has once again gone missing.
Mrs. Everchild offers a final word of caution: "The calculation for the location of the Opening is determined by where the Players sleep after the Death of the Moon. If you're sleeping at sea, you must make a careful reckoning of where you weigh anchor. This could change everything."
So, as the evening wears on, Caliban and Shaft are left to themselves to await the death of the moon. They do not spend the hours idle: they prepare the Babbage needs for casting off, and the spirit trap and lamp for use, in the hopes of recharge the spirit batteries that are still distressingly low despite the rendering of Mrs. Albason's corpse.
The chimpanzee scratches under an arm and chews on his upper lip, looking a little sleepy as he stands by his master for further instructions. He is, despite the salty, moist air, dressed as usual in his shirt and waistcoat, fez corded under his chin to resist the winds.
"You'll need to climb up and mount the lamp, Caliban," Herbert notes, holding out the oddly shaped Spirit Lamp, along with the power leads that will connect it up to the main battery of the Engine.
Caliban turns the lamp around a few times in his hands, evidently scrutinizing it for any flaws, then nods and salutes his master as crisply as a Queen's sailor should. To work! He tucks it under one arm and starts up the ladder to the roof.
A rat scurries along a ceiling beam to the edge of the roof as Caliban reaches the top of the boathouse's interior. The wind outside rattles the windows and shifts some of the papers inside the drafty structure.
While Caliban goes to hang the lamp from the ceiling, Herbert begins attaching the Spirit Trap to the Engine. The delicate box is unfolded and mounted to a special platform first, and then the necroplasm 'leads' are connected, so that the fluid can flow past each of the trap's crystals. The tubes also connect to the circulation ring around the special helmet that Caliban will wear. "Bloody wind. Remember, Cal, we'll need to secure any small or fragile objects, in case of poltergeist activity."
Climbing onto the beam, the monkey walks casually along as if it were an ordinary floor to about center, lamp held securely under his arm. He looks down at his master and makes small ooking noises, pointing to the beam where he is, then at the lamp.
"That's a good spot," Herbert agrees. "I can reach the power leads when they dangle down."
With a nod, the ape starts rigging the lamp in place, leaving the leads coiled up first 'til it's secure.
Once the Trap is connected, Shaft goes about collecting loose items around the workshop, securing cabinets and double-checking the shelves. Most importantly, he makes sure there aren't any sharp-edged items that could conceivably be flung about.
Caliban double-checks the lamp and its attachment, then gives his boss a cheery wave and a monkey smile. He drops back down onto the floor to help his master.
"Well done, Caliban," Shaft says as he takes the wires for the lamp and connects them to the main switch on the Engine. "Once the last of the dockworkers have left, we should be able to begin."
An hour or two after sundown, the last of the workers have left and the moonless night outside is still and dark. Mr. Shaft powers on the spirit lamp. This has no discernable effect on his senses, as its light is only visible to spirits.
Herbert helps Caliban into his special seat, and lowers the helmet onto his companion's head. "Everything feel fine so far?" he asks.
The monkey turns his head around a bit, peering owlishly about from beneath the helmet. Once he's adjusted the hat a bit, he gives his master a nod.
Shaft goes to the ouija board for the finally testing. "What is your name?" he asks the ape.
Caliban begins thinking at the ouija board, a look of concentration obvious on his face.
The planchet moves slowly, then with increasing speed. C... A... L. I. B. A. N.
Caliban relaxes a little in his seat as the planchet stops moving. He beams up at his master.
"Ah, the connection is good," Shaft reports, and then taps on the dial that shows the 'charge' on the batteries. "The lamp should be getting some attention by now, if there are any spirits in range. With any luck, we won't get haunted."
The monkey grins up at his master. With a click and a set of clacks, the ouija board spells out, "I-S-N-T T-H-A-T T-H-E P-O-I-N-T ?"
"Yes, well," Shaft says, waving a hand in circles. "I meant not permanently haunted. I'm sure you can persuade any ghosts to move on."
"I K-U-D M-E-K S-A-D E-Y-Z A-T T-H-E-M."
Shaft ponders this bit of data, and decides Cal is joking. "I'm sure that would help, Caliban," he says with a grin.
Just to be safe, Herbert removes the Compass from his pocket and checks to see if any strong magical activity is going on.
Caliban grins and slouches back in his seat, perhaps getting in some rest while he can.
As usual, the compass points to the spirit lamp itself -- for some reason, the lamp registers as a magical activity, and so does the analytical engine -- but in addition to those two sources, there's another source coming from north by north west, or the direction of town.
"Activity in the town it looks like," Herbert reports, chewing on his moustache unconsciously. "I expect the others have various protective spells in place, but passive magic doesn't usually register."
The apparently drowsing ape looks a little more alert as his eyes flick toward a window. He says nothing, and the ouija board doesn't move.
Something bumps against the window outside. The fur along Caliban's neck and back prickles.
Herbert sets the compass down where he can keep an eye on it, should any of the rings suddenly swap directions, and checks the gauges on the Engine again. "Let me know if you start to pick up anything from Mrs. Albason herself, will you Cal? There's always the chance she'll 'wake up' as it were, although it hasn't happened before."
"Ook," the ape responds.
Caliban's eyes continue to watch the window. He makes small ooking noises, looking cautious.
Herbert finally notices Caliban's interest, and goes over to the window in question. He makes a gesture towards the heavy curtain, watching the ape for a 'yea' or 'nay' signal on whether to take a look.
The monkey seems to be listening intently. He makes no obvious signals.
Since Caliban isn't showing immediate concern, Herbert risks a peek behind the curtain, half expecting to see nothing at all - and half hoping to see nothing at all as well.
The curtain on this window must have fallen open sometime earlier, because it's only blocking about half the window. Even so, the oilskin is so dirty it's hard to see through it anyway, espcecially with the interior of the house illuminated.
"Ah, must have been the wind," Herbert says. Or a ghost, he thinks.
As Herbert brings his hands up to cup his eyes and peer out the window, a dog-like shape leaps through, practically on top of him!
"Yahh!" the man yelps and falls backwards.
The dog yelps and falls forwards, scrabbling about, trying to get off the man.
The monkey seated in a nearby chair screeches in alarm, hands going up to an ungainly sort of helmet contraption on his head. He whips it off quickly and puts it to the side as he hunches up in his seat, evidently getting ready to spring upon the dog.
"It's a dog!" Shaft reports unnecessarily, once he gets over his initial shock. He tries to push the animal off of himself now.
Caliban yelps and shrieks as he jumps to his master's aid. He thumps his (waistcoated and shirted) chest and bares his teeth.
Indeed, a dog, a scruffy, smelly, thin one that looks like it's been outside for far too long and hasn't had a meal in days. It is as uncomfortable on Shaft as he is with it, and the dog is trying to get away from him. The chimp's howl is very effective, striking fear deep in the animal, who flails limbs getting untangled from the man, then darts away to the centre of the room and the machine there.
Caliban shakes a fist at the dog and makes angry-sounding ooks and yeeks.
"Don't let it get stuck inside the Engine," Herbert yelps and gets to his feet. "And don't frighten it more, Cal... frightened dogs tend to lose bladder control."
Caliban gives his master a sidelong look.
"I had a terrier as a boy," the man explains, as he straightens out his clothing. "And why is it here at all. The Lamp never attracted animals before.. oh! Does it smell like the one you tried to track before, Caliban? Miss Pau's mysterious Yotee?"
One of the crystals in the frame of the cross upon the floor suddenly turns cloudy.
The dog yelps, whines, flees... and pees. On the machine.
Howling with outrage, the ape chases after the dog, heading toward the Engine to drive it away.
"Oh.. there it goes," Shaft laments, then notices the crystal. "We've caught something!"
The machine sparks and flashes under the dog's (unintentional?) assault. The metal disc on the ouija board jumps and flips, skittering over its surface, while lights blink randomly on and off all over the large contraption. A sizzling and a burning smell fills the air.
Herbert rushes over to the Engine, and tries to isolate the short without having to power down the whole thing - which would be tricky with a spirit already in the trap. "Cal, forget the dog and find out what's in the trap!"
The ape, who had been alternating looking panickedly at the engine and pointing at the dog and a corner with a ferocious scowl, sighs. He growls at the dog and hurries back to his seat.
Yelp, whine, the dog crouches down.
However, the dog is hard to forget about. As Herbert rushes for the machine, and Caliban his seat, the mangey animal leaps towards the crystal.
After frantically checking relays and wires, Shaft still can't figure out what caused the mayhem. "This.. this isn't anything like the time a moth got caught in the gears!" he cries, and reaches for the main power switch. His hand hovers over it, ready to pull if anything goes wrong.. such as a dog attacking the Trap! "Stop that!" he yells at the animal.
Caliban, about to snatch up the helmet, lets out a frustrated sigh. He turns and springs for the dog, intending to pin it flat!
The dogs beats the chimp, avoiding the reaching arms and streaking straight for the crystal. As it reaches it, the dog's mouth snaps down, closing around the cloudy shard... and failing to pull it free. It's too firmly embedded in the square it sits in. The hasty flight aborted, the dog still single-mindedly worries at it, turning teeth for a better bite, forelegs planted steadily on either side of the cube.
"That does it!" Herbert says, and pulls the switch - shutting down the Engine and the Lamp. He then stomps towards the dog and demands, "SIT! Behave yourself and I'll release your master or whomever you think we've caught!"
Gathering himself up, the chimp grins ferociously as he comes up behind the dog and then falls over on it, grabbing it in all his limbs. "OOK!"
The chimpanzee seizes the dog from behind, pinning the other animal to the floor and making it difficult for the canine to escape, and even harder for the dog to use his teeth or legs against the chimp. The dog still has his teeth around the sides of the crystal, though.
"Ook! Eek ook eook ook!" says the chimp angrily.
The dog is immobilized, pinned, wrapped up by ape. It wriggles a bit, but all limbs are held, so it stops struggling. It hasn't let go of the crystal, and it watches Herbert out of the corner of its eye.
"Let go," Herbert says in a calmer voice. "I can't open the trap with you slobbering on it."
The dog growls, then opens its mouth and releases the crystal.
Caliban unwraps his legs from around the dog, making warning ooks at him as he slowly stands to pick the dog up and pull him away from the crystal.
The metal wires around the crystal look a little worse for wear from having been chewed at and pawed, while the crystal itself is damp but unharmed. It looks dull and cloudy.
When the incantation is finished, the crystal turns clear again, a match for the other six on the device.
Caliban waddles away from the machine with the dog in a bear hug, casting about for a safe spot in which to deposit him. He glowers.
The dog doesn't resist, but isn't relaxed either. Its ear flicks at the chimp warns him. The animal's attention seems riveted on Herbert's manipulation of the crystal, then a point in space just above it.
"There, all done," the man says, sounding a bit exhausted as he begins to reconnect the device for use by the Engine. "If your friend or whatever gets trapped again, though, please refrain from attacking the machinery," he tells the dog. "We'll just have to leave him in there until we're finished, and make do with the other crystals."
Caliban finally settles for plunking the dog down and sitting on him, or at least trying to do so, before hauling up some rope nearby. He eyes the dog severely and makes ooking noises.
Herbert picks up a rag and goes back to where the Engine was 'defiled' by the canine, to clean that up as well.
Cleaning up the mess is tricky, given that some of the liquid worked its way into the machine's innards, and some of the wires look corroded and frayed, probably from the sparking.
The dog is very stoic, remaining complacent as it is manipulated, then sat on. Not a model prisoner, but a quiet one. This makes it all the more startling when it barks at empty air.
Caliban looks puzzled at the barking. "Owook?"
Shaft nearly bangs his head on an interior support beam at the sound of the bark. "I think it will be a little while before we can begin again, Caliban. I need to replace these wires," he says, backing out of the machine, and then takes a moment to check the Compass on the nearby table, to see if it's pointing to the dog at all.
The compass isn't picking up anything right now.
The dog starts barking steadily, loudly, at empty air.
The compass twitches a little, in the direction of Yotee's barking.
Caliban grimaces at the dog's noisiness. "Ook! Ook ook," he replies, reaching one monkey hand to grab him by the scruff, then waving the rope at his master. He points, rope in hand, at the dog's neck.
Herbert also checks his pocketwatch, and frowns. "There's no way to repair it in time to get anything done before midnight, blast it all. I'll get the ruined bits out before we need to get aboard the Babbage. Oh, I don't think tying the beast up will matter at this point, Cal. Could you try to contact the spirit instead? There must be a better way to straighten things out than with barking. At the very least, we have the Ouija board."
Caliban looks at the dog pointedly, then at the crystal, then waves the rope at his master again.
The dog stops barking. It makes a quick sideways glance at the chimp, then looks back at the air. It whines quietly. Then stops its strange behaviour.
Stooping to look more closely at the compass, Herbert misses Caliban's first attempt at insisting the dog be tied up, but does notice the ape's gestures again after a moment. "Fine, fine, if you think it will help, you can tie up the dog for now," he finally agrees.
The dog lies down on the floor, and crosses its forepaws. Its mouth hangs open, tongue lolls, an almost-grin. It makes a small howl.
The monkey looks a bit wobbly for a moment, then shakes his head. He sniffs at the air, then lets the dog up so that he can make a quick collar with a sloppy knot.
Herbert gets his wire clippers, and crawls into the bowels of the engine again. "If you can hear me, spirit, we'd really like to know who you are. Miss Pau vouches for Yotee, if that is indeed who this dog is, but you are most certainly still a mystery to us."
The monkey, still looking aggravated, perhaps at the lack of help he's getting here with this dog, lashes the rope around a support beam, around and around and over and under, giving him almost but not quite enough room to reach the Engine and the seat. "Ook! Oook ooook ook."
"Really Caliban, what reason does the dog have to attack again at this point?" Herbert reasons. Snip snip snip, and the damaged wires get cut free.
Caliban gives his master a long-suffering look before he hurries to the kitchen to fetch a sausage for the dog and an apple for himself.
After exiting the machine again, Shaft takes a moment to disconnect the Ouija board's planchet from the mechanical armature that normally drives it. "Now then, if everyone is calmed down? Are you still here, spirit?" the man asks.
Yotee, as he's being called, glances sharply at Herbert, suddenly curious just at the noises being made within the machine. His attention then moves to Caliban's effort with the rope. His ears flick at the various noises, his teeth grind, he looks back above the crystal and whines again.
Returning from the kitchen, the ape throws the sausage to the dog and then plunks himself into his seat, taking a quick bite from the apple. He tries to compose himself, annoyance fading from his features slowly. One hand goes to the helmet, before he remembers that the Engine is in disarray. Instead, he puts a hand to his forehead and closes his eyes.
Caliban ooks slowly and carefully at the air.
After Shaft's bit of work on the machine, it looks neat and tidy again, although it's a good guess thatit won't work with bits cut out of it.
The dog snaps up his sausage, but doesn't eat yet. He sinks his head on his forepaws and whines quietly.
Watching Caliban for signs of contact, Herbert begins to worry. "I've never heard of a spirit participating in the Game before. And we detected magical activity out towards the town earlier. Cal, we need to know if this person is in this state as a result of a spell of his own working, or if Miss. St. John has already claimed her first victim of the night."
Yotee gives Caliban a long look, watching the ape's face and his closed eyes. He makes a small bark of warning, then starts eating his sausage.
Caliban says nothing, only appears to be listening intently. After a bit, opening his eyes and peering at the air, he makes soft ooking and eeking noises.
A white shimmering grows in the space above the crystal, resolving into the wavery, ghostly outline of an adolescent girl. "You hurt me," she says, looking at the space between Caliban and Herbert. "You shouldn't've done that." Her voice is faint and reedy.
"Oh.. my..." is all Herbert can manage, never having seen such a manifestation before. "We apologize," he says then.
The monkey dips his head to affirm his master's statement, then gets up to give the girl a bow, doffing his fez, which rubberband-snaps back into place on his head as he lets go.
The ghost girl doesn't look appeased. "Why did you do that? What did you do to the beautiful thing? I came all the way here looking for it, and then you hurt me and now it's gone. What happened to it? Why did you do that?"
Gnaw, gnaw, gnaw. He got to break stuff AND get free food, this is a good night. The dog seems content to chew away at his gift sausage, alternately biting off hunks and licking the remains. His ears flicker as he listens to both sides of the conversation.
"Er," Shaft begins. "The light you mean? It is meant to attract spirits, but we assumed a ghost would be able to resist its lure. My name is Herbert, by the way, and this is Caliban," he says, ending with a gesture towards the ape.
Caliban moves over to stand by his master, quiet now that it seems like Mr. Shaft can handle the conversation. Only the still-raised hackles on his neck indicate his nervousness. He dips another bow at the introduction.
The ghost clenches her hands into fists. "It's just a trick? It seemed so -- and you made it to trick us? That's mean." Her head shifts from side to side, finally coming to focus on Shaft's face. Her eyes glow blue.
Caliban starts to look worried. He makes ooking noises at the air.
Yotee's fur is bristling too. He's stopped eating. All his attention is on the conversation.
Holding up his hands, Shaft quickly says, "It isn't normally dangerous to ghosts! Caliban mediates it, but.. ah, he was distracted" - and here the man glances significantly at the dog - "and wasn't there when you were captured. If you like, we can help you move on to your reward."
The monkey moves up forward a little just in case, getting ready to throw himself in the path of danger.
Her head sways to face Caliban. "How do you know what's little? You didn't even see me until I was trying! And you -- you tied up Trouble, and he was trying to help me! You're both mean!"
"I don't want your help!" The ghost continues, glaring at Shaft. "You -- you just stay away from me!"
Caliban huffs and looks significantly at the damaged Engine. "Eek ook ook eek!" Then a sigh and a gesture toward the dog. "Ewook?"
"Trouble? Oh, the dog," Shaft says, then smiles and tries to placate the ghost again. "Listen, we're really sorry about this misunderstanding. We can't turn the pretty light back on tonight, but we do have to eventually. You can come and look at it, just stay out of the trap, okay? It isn't hard to do, if you know it's there. Or.. uh.. how would you like to have your picture taken?"
Yotee paws at his rope collar, shaking his head and squirming backwards, then he's out if. He slinks forward, then sits up, pawing the air near the spirit. He yelps at her.
"It's just a trick, isn't it? It's not real!" the ghost says, angrily. "How can you trick people like that? I thought it was something wonderful and it's not, it's horrible, you're horrible!"
Caliban glances toward the crystal, then at his master, then heaves another sigh. He scratches behind an ear briskly.
As the dog whines and yelps, the ghost girl turns from Shaft to look at him. She crouches and touches the dog's head, glancing between him and the other two undertainly. "Are you sure? It didn't feel like playing. Oh ... I wanted it to be real, Trouble. Didn't you?"
Caliban unties the rope from the support beam and starts coiling it up again tidily.
Yotee's tail wags, he pants happily, rubbing his head against her hand, encouraging her to pet him more.
Herbert has never been particularly good with children, and the dead ones seem to be especially stubborn. "Now.. now there's a real version of the light, but to get it you'd have to.. well.. let go of the world, and I can see you're probably not ready to do that yet."
The ghost's hand looks odd as it intersects with Trouble, as if she were a light mirage he was more passing through than being touched by. She glances back at the Englishman. "I don't trust you," she announces. "But Trouble says you didn't mean it. But you shouldn't do it again. It's mean to trick people. D'ya hear me? It's not right." She tilts her head back to look at the dormant spirit lamp, and frowns. "Not right at all."
"Ah, we have to do it again, I'm afraid," Herbert says. "It really isn't a trick, exactly.. but for you, it just isn't the best route to take, unprepared."
Caliban gives his master a look of concern from where he's patting the Engine on the side, as if it were an unsettled horse in need of comfort.
"You wouldn't say that if you knew what it was like," the ghost says, fixing her glowing eyes on Shaft. "Maybe you need to know what it's like." The glow in her eyes grows more intense, covering the upper half of her face.
"Ook!" says the monkey, moving to between the two. "Ook, ook ook."
Yotee interrupts the pleasant petting to stare at Caliban. His eyes are a strange colour in the light, something between yellow and gold. They're not a very pleasant colour when they aren't gold, having a sickly sort of sheen, like waste or disease.
"I.. uh, I imagine it felt like you were being drained a way a bit?" Shaft guesses. "For some in your.. situation.. that is something that they want, because they're ready to move on. But if you aren't ready, and you fight it, it can hurt," he explains. "But.. oh.. that reminds me.. at the end of the month, there's going to be a really, really bright light, even bigger and more beautiful, and you absolutely have to stay away from it, do you understand? Stay as far away from it as you can."
The ghost's fingers tighten around the back of Yotee's neck, the knuckles passing through the fur. "No, I don't think you understand at all," she says to the man. "I'll explain." The light in her eyes flares, illuminating the room. A matching light flashes from Herbert's face.
Yotee barks! He looks up at Marseilles. He whines.
Caliban screeches! He waves his hands around and jumps in the air, trying to interrupt whatever connection exists, then gives the dog an angry look.
Herbert's face becomes a mask of realization! "Oh.. how simple," he mutters, and looks up to the Spirit Lamp hanging from the rafter. "If we just take it down, the portal can't be opened! Why didn't I see it? Why this.. this.."
The ghost watches the Englishman's face, not paying attention to the protests of either animal.
With a determined look on his face, the ape rushes off to the side room. There is the sound of equipment being moved.
Bark! Bark! Yotee twists and paws at the glowing girl. He casts a frantic look at Caliban, then whines at her again.
With a look of determination, Shaft heads for the ladder. "Got to do it now. There won't be any reason for St. John to eliminate anyone then, the Game will be over for all time!"
More digging noises. Boxes being shifted.
Shaft starts pulling himself up the ladder, feeling practically weightless! "If only Leonardo could see," he wishes, feeling like he could accomplish anything now.
Muffled grunts.
Yotee stares at the man. Silent, confused. He starts barking at him. He runs around the spirit twice, and whines loudly.
One final box landing with a 'thud' on the floor, then the sounds of boards being prised off.
"I'm not hurting him," the ghost says, her glowing fsce tracking Englishman's moves. "Not any more than he hurt me."
Herbert reaches the rafter at the top of the ladder, and stops, his face falling. The lamp is too far away.. miles away! He can't possibly reach it. He breathing picks up as he starts to hyperventilate, the darkness closing in on him.
Sounds of monkey triumph. Then Caliban emerges, a weird brazen cylinder in one hand, two strange tines shaped like a scarab's head and antennae at the top. He brandishes this and bellows a martial monkey yell.
The man's eyes roll back in his head, and he starts to crumple, falling from the ladder.
Yelping at this sight, the ape tosses the strange device to the side and hurries forward, trying to catch his master.
Yotee is looking up at the Englishman, and the girl, he whimpers and paws at her again.
The ghost wears a strange look of grim triumph on her face as the Englishman falls. At Yotee's pawing, however, she glances down. Her eyes blink once, and then again. The glow fades from them. "I'm mean too," she whispers.
Diving heroically, the ape manages to get there just in time to catch his master. He reels back and forth before finally laying his master on the floor, his first look for his master's face, his eyes anxious to see breath flutter that mustache.
Shaft wakes up, feeling numb and disoriented, and tries to catch his breath. "So close," he mutters. "Could have stopped it all.."
The scuffy canine looks up at the ghost, his face as sympathetic and playful as possible, his eyes glinting a pale gold. A band of tension is down his back, his tail twitches, it's nervousness turning into a wag. He holds a paw up.
The ape heaves a sigh of relief. "Ook."
The girl pats Trouble's head uncertainly. "But I had to show him what it was like. I couldn't let him do it again," she murmurs.
The ghost starts to look towards the Englishman, but she can't quite face him. "I can't talk to him. Not now. Maybe ... later." She straightens, and starts walking towards the door.
Caliban helps his master up to sit in a chair where he can get some rest. "Ook, ook," he says to Mr. Shaft, before heading toward the kitchen, stopping to collect the cylinder along the way.
"Ah," Shaft says, rubbing his head. "The cruelty of children." He still feels the gaping emptiness inside, but it's beginning to lessen.
The dog tags along beside the ghost, following her to the door.
Caliban gives the dog and spirit a studying look, then diverts from the kitchen to the door, to open it for the dog.
At the door, the ghost turns to look at the Englishman. "Like the cruelty of grown-ups, isn't it? Now you know how it feels," she says, quietly. She lets the chimpanzee open the door for them, then steps outside, shaking her head at a look from the dog.
"I'm sorry, but the stakes are too high," Herbert whispers, and glances up at the lamp. Maybe a lower power level will work better, and if the girl is caught again.. well, she can be made to move on whether she wants to or not, unfortunately.
The coyote makes a small yip of surprise. He darts back across the room and grabs what's left of his sausage. On the way back he detours to pass by Herbert, nose him on the knee, then bolts for the door. He gives a sort of skulking bow as he passes the ape, looking a little chastized. He follows the girl outside.
Caliban sees the two outside. Then like a proper butler, he bows gravely, before closing the door.