“‘Please don’t tell me this is our house,’ I said to Mom. ‘We aren’t really going to live here. It’s Dad’s idea of a joke—right?’”

The beginning of the novel immediately sets up Logan Forbes’s initial reluctance to move to Bealesville. Though he puts up a great deal of resistance, even going so far as to hope that their new house falls apart so that they might move into a new development instead, Logan gradually comes to accept his new town, his new house, and the mystery that it contains.

“A black mutt about the size of a German shepherd watched us from the porch. Mom edged behind Dad, but there was no need to be scared. The dog got to his feet and wagged his tail as if he was greeting old friends.” 

Right away Hahn establishes Bear as an animal with almost telepathic powers. Throughout the entire novel, he frequently functions as a plot device to move the boys’ investigation forward. Bear often leads the boys to the right clue at the right time. This initial introduction to Bear gives him a knowing wisdom that continues throughout the text. 

“‘We can be friends anyway. Living so close—that’s propinquity.’ He paused to see if I knew what ‘propinquity’ meant. In case I didn’t, he added, ‘That means proximity or nearness. Also kinship and similarity in nature.’ He flashed a crooked grin.” 

Arthur’s intelligence cannot be doubted, and he knows it. Arthur is used to being the most clever and well-read in the room, and immediately believes that Logan is, likewise, not as intelligent as he. This is the not case as Logan is, in fact, as much of a nerd as Arthur. Logan is willing to let Arthur believe he is smarter, however, as he initially wants to shed the nerd persona he had in his previous town.