When Ishmael and his friends are found hidding in the fisherman hut what saves them from danger

It is actually Beah's rap music that saves them. At the end of the second week, an older woman enters the hut and urges the boys to leave. Beah can tell from her manner of speaking that she knew about the boys’ presence in the hut all along. The boys flee, but are too late to escape the villagers who have learned of their presence.

Twelve men wrestle the boys to the ground and tie their hans, then bring them before their chief. The chief orders the boys stripped. Calling them "devils", the chief decides to drown the boys in the ocean. However, Beah's rap music cassettes are found. He explains he used to dance with his brother and friends before the war. The chief orders Beah to dance and he is convinced that the boys are not rebels, but lost children fleeing the violent conflict.