Hilltop wakes Nick with a start. It is the middle of the night, and he clamps his hand over Nick's mouth to stop him from screaming. Nick wakes up, worrying that Hilltop will get him caught by servants wandering the halls at night. Instead, Hilltop takes him through a fireplace, into a secret passageway within the house. Hilltop explains that the Sergeant Major designed this system of fireplaces to spy and serve as a haven: “As a foreigner, he wanted a place to hide if things took a turn for the worse” (157). Hilltop informs Nick that his father has asked him to help Nick and Mya escape to Australia. The pair sneak into the empty library through another hidden door, and Hilltop shows Nick his father's location on a map on the wall. They are nearly caught by the Colonel, who comes to the library to send an urgent message via radio. Hilltop then leads Nick through a trapdoor to an underground stream bed, where they can talk in private. 

Nick is exhausted working in the garden, and Sonji notices. Nick has spent the last few nights navigating the underground tunnels, familiarizing himself with the new routes.