The Mysterious Benedict Society: Chapter 33 Summary & Analysis

The children know their plan is likely to fail, but they also know they must act now or never. They grind up an emetic root (which will make people vomit) to add to the suppers that will be served to the students. Sticky comments that he feels a little guilty about making everyone sick. Kate accuses him of sympathizing with the enemy, but Reynie and Sticky remind her that not only Messengers will get sick. She scoffs, “Who needs parents when I have you two?” Nevertheless, she promises not to put too much emetic in the food.

Constance points out that the plan is dangerously incomplete. The Messengers will all get sick and be unable to perform their duties, so Sticky and Reynie can take their turns early. Once the boys are inside the Whispering Gallery, however, one of them will have to push the button to open the door, which is on Mr. Curtain’s wheelchair. They have no plan for that, nor for how Kate and Constance will get inside, nor for how they will destroy the Whisperer, nor for how they will escape. The children acknowledge that the plan sees impossible, but they intend to go through with it anyway.

Reynie goes to leave a note for Milligan on the shore. He also brings a sketch of the island, and if he is caught, he will claim that he came to the shore to draw. He had initially drawn his own rendering of the island, but Kate produced a much better version in only a few minutes. Reynie carefully makes his way to the shore and leaves the note, but as he is walking away, he realizes he accidentally left the sketch. He has to hurry, so he rushes back to swap the two papers, and in his rush he is less careful about hiding the note. Once Reynie is gone, S.Q. comes out to the shore. He is ashamed of damaging the spy’s footprints, so he has come back outside to search for more clues.

At dinner, the children avoid eating the tampered food. Reynie watches the other students eat, and he is hopeful about their plan. His optimism is quashed, though, when Jillson approaches their table. She explains that S.Q. found a note, but it was destroyed before he could read it. She goes on that the good news is that the spy has been caught; he ran at S.Q., snatched the paper, and ate it. The spy, who the children know is Milligan, was caught, and he has confessed to being a lone operator. A group of Executives and Recruiters march Milligan through the cafeteria to the Waiting Room, and Reynie realizes that Milligan allowed himself to be caught to take suspicion of the children. All four children remember that Milligan promised he would die before he let harm come to them.