The twins and Buddy go to 56 Croxley Street and it is as scary during the day as it was at night for Buddy. Jules wants to go round the back but Buddy doesn’t want to go near the house.
Julius, not caring about the other two, darts into the garden and Buddy and Charmian are forced to follow. Julius comes running past Buddy telling him that Charmian has been caught by some old woman from the house next door who saw her out of the window.
Charmian goes to the front door of the woman to speak to her. A woman in a wheelchair comes to the door with two cats on her lap. She tells them that they need to stay away from the house as they are in danger by hanging around that house.
Julius sniggers at the old woman and she loses her temper and tells him that he wouldn’t be so smart if ‘The Beast’ got him. This intrigues the trio and they ask who the beast is. The old woman tells them ‘The Beast’ strangles cats and that he killed her cat. She says that he held the cat up to taunt her and no one could do anything about it. The old woman’s name is Mrs Solomon and she clearly likes Charmian but dislikes Julius.
As they are talking to the woman, ‘The Beast’ comes out of the house and Mrs Solomon shouts at him and calls him a murderer. He doesn’t respond but just looks at Mrs Solomon.
Now that he has left the house, Julius wants to go into the house to see what is in there. Buddy also wants to go in but for a different reason. He makes a connection between the house and what has dad has been up to at night. He remembers that the first night he told him the story about the house was the first night he mentioned the job.
When Charmian joins them, Buddy tells her that they are going to go into the house.
Questions:
- Describe Mrs Solomon.
- Why does Mrs Solomon not like Julius?
- What does Mrs Solomon tell us about the beast?
- How does the author raise the tension in this chapter?
- What connection has Buddy made between the house and his dad?
- Do you think they should go into the house? Why/Why not?
Enda's English Notes 
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