The Moomins watched curiously as Martin, seated at the kitchen table, prepared the makeshift bug they would be using to spy on Thingumy and Bob. Little My stood watching vigilantly by the door, in case the suspicious pair came downstairs and realised what they were up to.

Lacking any proper tools, Martin had to be a little creative. Activating the video chat app on his laptop, he switched over from Internet connection, which obviously didn't work in this world, to a networking mode, which allowed him a wireless connection with his phone. With the apps on both ends running on the same setting, he was able to establish a two-way voice communication. Obviously, this was only meant for transferring data from the phone to the laptop or vice-versa, never for communication, so it took some trial and error for the hack to work, but in the end it was successful.

After doing a few tests around the room to ensure it worked, Martin smeared some carpenter's glue on the back of the phone, so that it would stick to any surface they placed it on. He hated to mess up his brand-new phone like this, but at least now maybe he could find some use for it. At last, all was set. Now all they needed was for someone to discreetly plant the bug in Thingummy and Bob's room without their noticing.

"You know what to do, Snorkmaiden?" asked Moomintroll, as Moominmama passed her the breakfast tray she would be taking up to their guests, hoping to start a 'friendly' conversation with them. Making sure the bug was working properly and that the phone's keypad was locked to keep anyone from accidentally disrupting the communication, he passed it to Snorkmaiden, who hid it under the napkins on the tray.

Wishing her luck, they watched as she nervously mounted the stairs, heading towards Thingummy and Bob's room on the first landing. The pair, holding hands as usual, answered her call.

"Good morning," she said, hoping she didn't sound as nervous as she felt. She could see the pair were noticeably nervous themselves, probably at seeing this stranger bringing them breakfast for no apparent reason. Behind them, Snorkmaiden could see the mysterious suitcase at the foot of the bed, in plain view but closed. No doubt those two wouldn't let it out of their sight for a minute.

"Eh...good morning," stammered Thingummy, "Where's Moominmama?"

"She's busy downstairs," said Snorkmaiden, quickly making up a story, "She asked me to bring up breakfast for you. Well, may I come in?" Looking at Bob, who nodded, Thingummy reluctantly stood aside and let her in.

Walking over to the table, Snorkmaiden put the tray down and, making sure Thingummy and Bob couldn't see her, quickly slipped Martin's phone under the table, sticking it firmly in place. The glue held nicely. Snorkmaiden breathed a sigh of relief. She had done it! Now all she needed was to get them talking...

Downstairs, Martin and the others were listening in through the laptop. The uplink, although weak, seemed to be working. Martin had muted the microphone so that their voices wouldn't accidentally carry upstairs and give their game away. They all strained their ears to listen. Well, everyone except Sniff, who was too busy pigging out over his third breakfast helping. Little My looked at him in disgust.

"Still stuffing your face, Sniff?" she asked, "Do you ever think of anything else besides food?"

"Only the grim thought of having no food at all, Little My," muttered Sniff through a mouth full of crumpets.

"Oi, shut up!" hissed Martin, "Listen!" They could hear Snorkmaiden chatting with Thingumy and Bob. It seemed their little ruse had worked, at least so far.

"...So, what brings you to Moominvalley?"

"We were looking for a place to hide the most beautiful thing in the world," squeaked the pair in unison in the background. The Moomins looked at each other. What could that 'most beautiful thing in the world' be?

Upstairs in the bedroom, Snorkmaiden was sitting at the table, facing Thingumy and Bob, who sat holding hands atop their suitcase, as if to protect it. They didn't spare their visitor so much as a glance. Snorkmaiden, doing her best not to scare them, was trying to keep them talking.

"The most beautiful thing in the world?" she asked, trying to appear inconspicuous, "Oh, that's so nice! Is that what you're hiding in your suitcase then?" she asked, without thinking. At once, Thingummy and Bob fell silent, staring motionlessly back at Snorkmaiden, who thought they might as well have turned to statues.

"It does belong to you, right?" she asked them. No response. Snorkmaiden sighed. Those two clearly weren't much for conversation.

"I'm going to ask you one more time," she said, "Whose is that suitcase? Is it the Groke's? I promise, I won't tell anyone." At the mention of the Groke, the pair began to fret.

"No, it's ours! Ours!" they squeaked nervously, although Martin, listening in on the other end, was willing to bet his bottom penny nothing could be further from the truth.

"So it's not the Groke's," said Snorkmaiden, "Then, how about what's inside the suitcase? Is that hers?"

"Yes," said Thingummy, nodding.

"No," said Bob at the same time, shaking his head. Snorkmaiden was puzzled.

"Yes or no?" she asked, trying to make some sense out of their muddled caterwauling. But the pair only continued to give her the same yes and no answer, which made no sense whatsoever.

Snorkmaiden wanted to enquire further, but Thingummy and Bob, probably realising she was trying to coax them into revealing what was inside the suitcase, asked if they could left alone, to have their breakfast in peace and quiet. Respectful of their wishes, Snorkmaiden bid them good morning and left to return to the kitchen. However, she didn't notice the worried look the pair were giving her as she closed the door behind her.

"So the suitcase doesn't belong to the Groke then?" Moominpapa asked Snorkmaiden, who nodded. She passed her a cup of tea, "What about what's inside? Did they say anything?"

"No, they wouldn't say a word," said Snorkmaiden sadly, taking a sip, "However, they did say that it does belong to the Groke, but at the same time it doesn't. They kept speaking together and it all got rather muddled. I'm sorry. I know I didn't get very much." Moomintroll patted her back reassuringly.

"It's all right, Snorkmaiden. You did your best."

"Well, whatever it is, it either belongs to the Groke or it doesn't," said Snufkin, "There can't be two sides to it."

"I can't see how that big ugly monster could own the most beautiful thing in the world," scoffed Moomintroll, "Maybe the Groke stole it from someone else and Thingummy and Bob stole it back."

"Unless, of course, it happens to be something we know the Groke treasures more than anything," said Martin, slowly connecting the dots, "After all, we nearly robbed her of it ourselves."

"The King's Ruby?" scoffed Little My, realising where he was getting at, "Impossible! How could those two pipsqueaks have it, if you left it up on the Lonely Mountain?"

"That's the real question, isn't it?" insisted Martin, trying to unravel this riddle, "Did we really leave it behind? What if we accidentally got it off the mountain?" Some of the Moomins turned to look at Sniff, who waved his hands exasperatedly.

"Don't look at me!" he said, "I didn't steal it again!"

"No, but I think I did, unintentionally," said Martin glumly, finally realising his mistake. When he'd tossed the Ruby up on the mountain, it hadn't occurred to him that they were standing close to the edge of a cliff. Obviously, because of the fog, he'd tossed it in the wrong direction, sending the Ruby over the edge of the mountain and down into Moominvalley, where Thingummy and Bob must have picked it up. They'd gotten themselves into a real mess. The Moomins were shocked.

"You blundering idiot!" Little My chastised him, "You got us into this!"

"Be quiet, Little My!" snapped Moomintroll, standing up, "Martin saved your lives on that mountain. Don't you dare insult him!"

"What are we going to do?" asked Snorkmaiden worriedly, "If Thingummy and Bob didn't steal it from the Groke, then how can we make them give it back?"

"It still belongs to the Groke though," Moominpapa pointed out, "Even if they just found it, they ought to return it to her."

"Yes, before they bring that monster's wrath upon us all!" cried Sniff, dreading the Groke's return that evening. Little My raised her eyebrow; that had to be the first time the greedy Sniff was actually turning away a priceless jewel, albeit to save his own neck.

"There's no other choice," said Martin finally, "I know it'll upset Thingumy and Bob, but it's for the greater good, including their own. Our safety is worth much more than a mere ruby."

"Then we have to confront those two with the truth," said Moomintroll, "Let's just hope they see reason..."

Unfortunately, while all this deliberation was going on downstairs, upstairs, a pair of anxious listeners were overhearing every word that was being said. Thingumy and Bob, suspecting that something was up, were eavesdropping from the top of the stairs, overhearing their host's decision to return their prize to the Groke and they didn't like it one bit.

The pair looked at each other; time was quickly running out for them and unless they did something, they'd lose their precious ruby for sure. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Nodding to each other, the pair noiselessly slipped back into their room and locked the door.

Finally, it was decided that Moominmama should be the one to confront Thingumy and Bo with the truth and let them know of their decision. Maybe she could talk some sense into them without them having to resort to taking the ruby from them by force.

Carrying a heavily laden lunch tray, Moominpapa knocked on their door. There was no answer. She knocked again.

"Open up, dears. It's me, Moominmama. I've brought you lunch. Please, open the door." But still nobody answered.

"They've been very quiet for quite some time now," said Snufkin, who had been listening in on Martin's laptop, hoping to hear anything else of interest. For a while, they'd heard Thingummy and Bob pacing around the room, chatting to each other in low voices, and then silence. Something was up.

"Do you suppose they realised we're on to them and barricaded themselves inside with the Ruby?"

They waited, but there was no answer from Thingumy and Bob's room. Moominmama had left the lunch tray outside their door, but when she came to retrieve it a few hours later, found it completely untouched. But the problem with their two guests not answering was soon eclipsed by a whole new crisis.

It was nearly suppertime. Moominmama was in the kitchen making dinner, when she suddenly realised her handbag had disappeared. That handbag contained many useful things, like socks and stomach powder and candy, and she'd never been without it for long before. Moominmama was very upset.

"It's all right, my dear," said Moominpapa, trying to reassure his wife, "I'm sure we'll find it soon enough. It has to be around here somewhere."

They all searched the Moominhouse top to bottom, including the garden and the cellar, and even on the bottom of the well, but there was no sign of the handbag anywhere. The situation was beginning to look very suspicious.

"No sign of it anywhere, Mama," said Moomintroll, crawling out of the fireplace, where he'd been searching up the chimney, his usually white fur now a shade of charcoal black. "The only place we haven't looked is Thingumy and Bob's room." The Moomins were suddenly struck with suspicion.

"It's them!" cried Little My, "They must have stolen Moominmama's handbag!"

Furious, the family hurried upstairs, crowding outside Thingummy and Bob's room. Moominpapa knocked loudly.

"Thingumy and Bob, open up at once!" he called angrily, "Give back Moominmama's handbag this instant, or we call the police!" Nothing. Although they'd hoped not to get the police involved, that duo were going too far.

"My dear, do you have a spare key to this door?" asked Moominpapa. Moominmama shook her head sadly. Only the bedroom doors in the Moominhouse had locks, so there had been no reason to keep spares lying around until now.

"Break the door down!" shouted Sniff. Moominpapa hesitated, not cherishing the idea of ruining his own property in such a cavalry manner. Then Martin stepped forward with his pocketknife. Getting down on his knees, he began picking the lock. After a few tries, they heard the tumblers click as the lock turned over. But the door still wouldn't open.

"Darn, it's stuck. Hang on," said Martin, trying to push the door open. The bolt hadn't turned over completely and was still partially wedged inside the socket, jamming the lock. But Little My, tired of waiting, beat him to it.

"Move out of the way!"

Giving the door a powerful kick, it swung wide open. The Moomins burst into the room, only to find it empty. Thingumy and Bob's suitcase was still there at the foot of the bed, but the troublesome duo had vanished. Looking, Martin spotted a makeshift rope made from knotted bed sheets, which still hang out the open window from where they'd escaped. That explained the peculiar silence over the past few hours.

"Looks like those two scaredy cats got cold feet and gave us the slip," said Little My, "Oh well, at least they've left us the Ruby." But when Sniff opened up the suitcase, what did they find inside it?

"Nothing!" exclaimed Moomintroll, looking inside the empty suitcase, "It's gone!"

"Guess they thought it would be easier to transport the Ruby inside a handbag rather than a heavy suitcase," reasoned Martin. It seemed that rather than wait to have the Ruby taken from them or for the Groke to get them, Thingummy and Bob had switched baggage, to trick anyone who might come looking for their Ruby, and done a runner.

"Those poor dears!' exclaimed Moominmama with concern, looking out the window, "It's nearly nightfall! If the Groke finds them out there at night with her Ruby, they'll be in terrible danger!"

"Good, serves them right for bringing all this trouble upon us and robbing us!" said Little My indifferently, "Like I said, we should just let the Groke have them from the start!"

But the Moomins weren't above leaving two helpless creatures at the mercy of that monster. Thingummy and Bob may have stolen from them, but they weren't just going to leave them to the mercy of the Groke! Moomintroll gave Little My a look of absolute disgust.

"Don't be so mean, Little My!" he said angrily. He turned to his father, "Please, Papa, we can't just leave them out there. If the Groke catches them, she'll freeze them solid or worse! Please, we have to find them!"

"It's all right, they can't have gone far," said Moominpapa reassuringly, "We'll organise search parties and bring them back."

They split up into pairs and searched the area in the vicinity of the Moominhouse, but finding no trace of Thingumy and Bob, or Moominmama's handbag. None of the neighbours had seen them either. The Inspector was alerted of a missing person's case and got his men to assist in the search without delay. But even though they searched for hours, their efforts were all in vain.

"Thingumy! Bob!" called Moomintroll for the hundredth time, "Come on out! It's not safe! Please, come on out!" No answer.

"This is hopeless," said Snufkin, returning from searching another part of the Valley, also without success. "It's like they disappeared off the face of the Earth."

"This is all my fault," wept Snorkmaiden, who had become very upset when Thingumy and Bob had ran off, thinking she'd scared them away with her questioning, "I should have been more careful with what I said to them...!" Moomintroll pulled her into a hug to comfort her.

There was nothing more that could be done. Night was slowly creeping over Moominvalley and still no sign of Thingumy and Bob. The Inspector had called off the search, promising to continue at daybreak, when there was more light. Perhaps, if they were lucky, the runaway duo wouldn't run afoul of the Groke in the night. Then, suddenly, they realised two members of the search party hadn't returned yet.

"Where's Mama and Papa?" asked Moomintroll in alarm, noticing both his parents were still absent.

"We have to find them," said Sniff, although he wasn't so worried about them as he was for his stomach, "All this searching has made me hungry! How can we have dinner without Moominmama's cooking?"

"Stop thinking about food, Sniff!" Snork chastised him angrily. Indeed, no one was in the mood for food at the moment, not with the Moomin parents missing.

"Last time I saw them, they were headed for the beach," said the Hemulen, who'd also been assisting in the search. "Moominmama seemed to think your two runaway guests might be hiding there."

"On the beach?" scoffed Little My incredulously, "But there's no place to hide there!"

"Except maybe the Muskrat's cave," said Snufkin, who knew every nook and cranny in Moominvalley, "Come to think of it, I don't think we've looked there yet. That must be where Thingumy and Bob are hiding!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" said Martin, "Let's go!"

"What, in the dark?" asked Sniff, suddenly looking very frightened. He'd always hated the dark and knowing that the Groke might be lurking out there made him all the less keen on setting foot outside at night. The Moomins all looked at him reproachfully.

"My parents are in danger out there!" cried Moomintroll, glaring at his faint-hearted friend, "I'm not going to wait for the Groke to find them!"

"It's all right, little brother, I'll go with you," said Martin, stepping forward. Being the eldest, he had an obligation to his step-family, including Moomintroll, "Any other volunteers?"

Snufkin, Little My and the Snork also stepped forward without hesitation. Sniff however stood as if nailed to the floor. After what he'd gone through up on the Lonely Mountain, he'd rather they strung him upside down from the ceiling again than go anywhere near the Groke. However, despite his lack of courage, he still felt his loyalty to his friends. And if there was anything Sniff hated more than losing a newfound treasure, it was being branded a coward. Finally, very reluctantly, he stepped forward too.

Quickly distributing kerosene lamps between them, the group set off as fast as they could, heading towards the beach, hoping the Groke didn't get there before they did...

Author's note: Another chapter up! Originally, I was going to include the final part, but decided to save it for the next chapter. Until next time then!