انتقام کوتوله های حیاط فصل 10

Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes - Chapter 10

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Mindy!

I breathed a sigh of relief. And yanked myself away from her grasp.

“I’m going for a midnight snack,” I whispered, rubbing my neck. “I’m going to eat the rest of Mr. McCall’s stupid melons.” I pretended to cram my mouth full and chew. “Yum! Casabas. I need more casabas!” “Joe! You’d better not!” Mindy whispered in alarm.

“Hey, I’m kidding,” I said. “Buster is howling like crazy. I’m going out to calm him down.” Mindy yawned. “If Mom and Dad catch you sneaking out in the middle of the night…” “It’ll just take a few minutes.” I stepped outside. The damp night air sent a small chill down my back. I gazed up at the starless night sky.

Buster’s pitiful howls rose from the back.

“I’m coming,” I called in a loud whisper. “It’s okay, boy.”

Buster’s howls dropped to quiet whimpers.

I took a step forward. Something rustled through the grass. I froze in place. And squinted into the darkness. Two small figures scampered by the side of the house. They scraped across the yard and disappeared into the night.

Probably raccoons.

Raccoons?

That’s the answer! The raccoons must have eaten Mr. McCall’s melon. I wanted to wake up Dad and tell him. But I decided to wait till morning.

I felt much better. That meant that Buster could be set free. I made my way over to Buster and sat next to him on the dew-wet grass.

“Buster,” I whispered. “I’m here.”

His big brown eyes drooped sadly. I threw my arms around his furry neck. “You won’t be tied up for long, Buster,” I promised. “You’ll see. I’ll tell Dad about the raccoons first thing in the morning.” Buster licked my hand gratefully. “And tomorrow I’ll take you for a long walk,” I whispered. “How’s that, boy? Now go to sleep.” I slipped back inside the house and jumped into bed. I felt good. I had solved the mystery of the melon. Our troubles with Mr. McCall were over, I thought.

But I thought wrong.

Our troubles were just beginning.

“I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it!” Mr. McCall’s cries cut through the quiet morning, waking me from my heavy sleep.

I rubbed my eyes and glanced at the clock radio. Six-thirty A.M.

What’s all the screaming about?

I hopped out of bed and hurried downstairs, yawning and stretching. Mom, Dad, and Mindy were at the front door, still in pajamas and robes.

“What’s happening?” I asked.

“It’s Bill!” Dad cried. “Come on!”

We piled outside and stared into our neighbors’ garden.

Mr. McCall hung over his vegetable patch in a tattered blue-and-white-checkered robe. He grabbed frantically at his casaba melons, screaming.

Moose and his mother stood behind Mr. McCall in their robes, wide-eyed and silent. Instead of her usual friendly smile, Moose’s mom wore a grim frown.

Mr. McCall lifted his head from the garden. “Ruined!” he roared. “They’re totally ruined!” “Oh, boy,” Dad muttered. “We’d better get over there, Marion.” He started across our front lawn. Mom, Mindy, and I followed.

“Take it easy, Bill,” my dad said calmly as he stepped into the McCalls’ front yard. “Nothing is worth getting so upset about.” “Easy? Take it easy?” Mr. McCall shrieked. The vein in his forehead throbbed.

The raccoons, I thought. They attacked the casabas again. I’ve got to tell Dad. Now. Before Buster gets blamed for this, too.

Mr. McCall cradled his four casaba melons in his hands. They were still attached to the vine.

“I came out to water my casabas and I found this… this…” He was too upset to finish. He held the melons out to us.

“Whoa!” I cried in amazement.

No raccoon could have done this.

No way.

Someone had taken a black marker and drawn big, sloppy smiley faces on each melon!

My sister shoved me aside to get a good look.

“Joe!” she shrieked. “That’s horrible. How could you!”