The Mystery of the Old Map [Episode 1] [Episode 2] [Episode 3]
[Episode 4] [Episode 5] [Episode 6] [Episode 7] [Episode 8] [Episode 9]
Jasmine[Episode 10] [Episode 11] [Episode 12] [Episode 13] [Episode 14]
[Episode 15] [Episode 16] [Episode 17]

Episode 18
WillieRESCUED!Grace

Last week we left Willie, Grace, and Jasmine in Jasmine's basement. Someone had locked the door, and someone had turned the electricity off! And this same someone had also made a mess of the basement, including letting all of Dr. Morris' snakes loose. The three kids were pretty scared, especially Grace, who was terrified of snakes.

"Dear Lord," Grace prayed in a shaky voice. "Please help us. Please send someone to unlock that door so we can get out of this creepy basement!"

Jasmine wasn't so sure she appreciated her basement being called "creepy," but she said "amen!" anyway. "I think we should just stay close together. We don't want to step on any broken glass. I wonder where Dad is?"

Right then, they heard the sound of a familiar bark. "Woof! Woof!"

"That's Flop!" Willie announced happily. "He must have followed us! Hey Flop! Good ol' Flop."

"I'm glad Flop's here, but how can he help us?" wondered Grace.

Then they heard loud scratching at the door. Scratch! Scratch! Flop was really working hard, but the kids wondered what good it would do. "He can't scratch his way through that solid wooden door," Willie commented gloomily.

All of the sudden, the door flew open, light appeared, and Flop bounded down the steps and into the basement. He began licking the happy children on their startled faces.

"Flop! Are we happy to see you! How did you get the door open?" asked Grace as she moved up the stairs and out of the snake-infested basement."

Jasmine was examining the wooden door. "It just has a simple latch, Grace. Flop must have knocked it loose with all his jumping and scratching."

"What an answer to prayer! I am curious about something, though," said Willie as he went towards the closet. They had originally come to the basement to check out a box of papers left behind by the house's mysterious previous owners. "Ha! The box is GONE!"

"And where's Dad?" Jamine wondered. "Why didn't he hear all the noise and come rescue us? I'm worried!"

Meanwhile, Flop was growling in a dark corner. "He smells a snake!" said Willie as he pulled on his dog's collar. "Let's get out of this basement and look for Jasmine's dad."

Jasmine carefully shut the basement door as they left so the snakes couldn't get away, and led the children up into the main section of her house. Things were a mess up there, too!

"It looks like someone's been searching for something," sighed Jasmine. "What a mess! It will take us days to clean.... Wait! Do you hear a thumping sound?"

They all heard the thumps, which seemed to be coming from the kitchen. Flop galloped into the kitchen and began scratching at a closed door. A frantic voice was heard on the other side. "Let me out!" the voice cried.

The door was locked, but the key was still in the lock, and Willie turned the key and let a very cranky Dr. Morris out into the kitchen!

He couldn't tell them very much. He had been in the pantry looking for a jar of pickles when all of the sudden the door slammed shut and the lights went out! Then, he listened in darkness as he heard people rampaging through the house, turning furniture over. He heard them go to the basement, and was horrified to hear the sounds of breaking glass, knowing that the aquariums that housed his snake collection were being broken. He didn't know the children had come along later, and the next thing he had heard was Flop's barking. The four humans were amazed at this turn of events!

Willie offered his opinion. "Dr. Morris, we kids have been thinking, and we think this was done by the people who owned this house before you and Jasmine moved in. What do you know about these people?"

Dr. Morris stared at Willie for a few minutes. Then he said slowly, "You know, it's funny you should ask......."


NEXT STORY: "Dr. Morris Tells a Story"