The roof of the little schoolroom was already gone. The bare poles stuck upright in the ground like some archeological remains of a forgotten culture.
Behind him, Free padded on bare feet into the compartment. He looked past his father into the night. Morten moved aside and Free pressed his face against the port. “It’s the night of the baru,” he said solemnly.
baru“The night of the what — ?”
“The baru. You wouldn’t know. It’s something the Grooks know about. They told me.”
baru“Told you what? What is the baru?”
baru“It lives in the lake. It’s some kind of living creature. The Grooks call it a devil. It comes out of the water on a night of fierce storm like this. It happens only once in many, many years. The Grooks say the churning of the waves awakens it, and it comes out on the land
