Startling indeed -- Carlisle nearly jumps out of his own skin, the beetle he'd been cajoling toward the jar immediately forgotten as he lets out a yelp himself and darts behind the nearest tree, scattering the papers and illustrations he had sitting nearby. He only realizes it's Pratt once the man starts talking again, trying to convince the creature he's got in his grasp (or maybe Carlisle himself, given his proclivity for talking through his teeth) that he's not looking to hurt them.

The clergyman peers from behind the tree, wielding the twig he'd been prodding the beetle as though it were a sword, his voice squeaky and unsteady as he attempts to regain his composure. "Ah- ah, Deputy. I didn't hear you, um. I didn't hear you approach. Probably intentional, if you were, ah. Sneaking up on that, er. That, ah... What- what is it you've got there, exactly?"