Flatu-Lisa.â
âI know,â Lisa said. âHeâs in jail.â
Evaâs eyes got big. âIn jail?â
âYup. In the Dungeon of the Dead.â
âMom!â Eva yelled over her shoulder. âNillyâs in jail!â
They heard someone rummage around, drop several things, fall, and maybe curse a little.
âHavenât you guys wondered why you havenât seen him for twenty-four hours?â Lisa asked.
Eva shrugged. âItâs not easy to spot something so tiny, so I donât think itâs that strange if I donât see him for a few days, you know? Itâs kind of a nice break.â
âWell anyway,â Lisa said, âprisoners in the Dungeon of the Dead are only allowed to receive visits from people in their immediate family, so I was wondering if you could give him this letter.â She held out an envelope.
âWeâll have to see,â Eva said, snatching the letter. âIf we have time.â
* * *
NILLY AND DOCTOR Proctor were both lying on the floor of the cell, snoring and sleeping, when they were shaken awake by a member of the Royal Guard serving as a prison attendant in a black uniform and hat with a big, silly tassel on it.
âHuh? We must have fallen asleep watching the rat,â Nilly said, rubbing his eyes.
âVisitor for prisoner number 000002,â the guard said gruffly.
âIs that me?â Nilly asked, still half-asleep. âOr is that him?â
âItâs you,â the guard said. âHeâs prisoner number 000001.â
Nilly looked around and said, âWhere? Where?â
âThat guy, right there,â the guard said, irritated, pointing at the professor, who was still snoring softly.
âNo, not him!â Nilly shouted. âThe rat! Did a rat run out the doorway when you came in?â
âNot that I saw,â the guard said. âLook, do you want your visitor or not?â
Nilly followed the guard through all the thick, but now open doors, down the corridor where the laser beams had been turned off, over the bridge, up the stairs, through the open door with the metal bars, and into the visiting room. And there was Eva, sitting in a chair chewing gum.
âHi,â Nilly said, surprised, and smiled at his sister. âHow nice that you wanted to come visit me.â
âAs if,â Eva said. âI didnât want to. Mom sent me. She didnât feel like she was quite up to a prison visit herself. I brought you a letter. From that weird neighbor girl.â
âLisa?â Nilly said, lighting up and taking the envelope. He could tell right away that it had been opened. âWell, what did she say?â he asked bitterly.
âHow the heck should I know?â Eva asked innocently.
Nilly read the letter silently and put it in his pocket.
âWhatâs NASA?â Eva asked.
âAnything else new?â Nilly asked.
Eva snorted and stood up. âIâve gotta go to school. Have a nice day in jail.â
Once Nilly was safely back under lock and lock and lock and key with the professor, he passed him the letter. Doctor Proctor read aloud:
Bad news. The Trane family is going to break into the professorâs cellar tonight, steal the fartonaut powder, patent it, and sell the invention to NASA. We have to do something. Lisa
âThis is hopeless,â the professor blurted out. âTheyâre going to rob me! Steal my invention.â
âLisaâs right,â Nilly said. âWe have to do something. We have to get out of here.â
âBut how?â the professor asked. âThe rat is gone. We donât know how it got out. â
âWell,â Nilly said, âgive me the letter. Weâll flush it down the toilet so no one finds out that Lisaâs working with us. Otherwise theyâll put her in jail, too.â
Nilly crumpled up the letter, tossed it into the toilet, and flushed. The toilet made a
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