The Third Adventure by Gordon Korman Page A

into action. They darted around to the back of the vehicle and opened the twin doors. Griffin, Savannah, and Luthor jumped down, and the five disappeared into the trees.
    â€œThanks, you guys!” Griffin greeted them. “Is everything prepared?”
    â€œNothing’s prepared,” Pitch said irritably. “You texted us barely an hour ago. What were we supposed to do — build a safe house?”
    â€œThe most important thing is to find somewhere for Luthor to hide,” Savannah put in. “It should be comfortable, but not too obvious, close enough so you can bring him food and come to visit regularly, because the poor sweetie has just been through a terrible experience. He needs to feel loved.”
    â€œIs it okay if he just feels liked?” asked Pitch. “I can do liked.”
    â€œThere aren’t a lot of doghouse options around here,” Ben warned. “We’re lucky we have shelter for ourselves. This is a roughing-it kind of camp.”
    Griffin looked around. Tall trees stood like sentinels all about them. At last, they heard the bakery van continuing on its way, and the group ventured out of the woods to the relative openness of the road.
    â€œWhat’s that?” Griffin was pointing at what looked like a small hut towering over the top of the trees.
    Pitch followed his gaze. “That’s an old ranger station. Back in the day, they used to send a guy up there to scout for forest fires. But now that’s done by helicopter and satellite.”
    â€œSo it’s just empty?” Griffin probed.
    â€œWait a minute,” Savannah interjected suspiciously. “You’re not thinking of stashing Luthor a mile in the sky! How would you even get him up there?”
    â€œOnly one way to find out,” Griffin decided.
    Skirting the camp, the group made its way through the woods. The closer they got to the abandoned station, the taller it seemed, towering in the sky easily thirty feet clear of the highest treetop. At last, they reached its base, where a faded sign proclaimed: P OUT .
    Griffin licked his finger and cleaned off the rest of the message. It now read: KEEP OUT .
    â€œIs it safe?” asked Savannah dubiously. She stared at the steep, rickety steps that spiraled up around the thick wooden support pole.
    â€œSafer than turning Luthor over to Swindle,” said Griffin briskly.
    Savannah started up the stairs. “I’ll go first.”
    It was a very tentative procession that made its way to the top of the ranger tower. Only Pitch, the climber, found the going easy. The others hugged the center pole, not daring to look down. Luthor whined and protested, and only Savannah’s reassuring voice kept him putting one paw in front of the other. Ferret Face peeked out of Ben’s sleeve, spotted the ground far below, and retreated with a terrified squeak.
    At last, they reached the top and noted with relief that the platform was solid beneath their feet. There were no walls, although torn screening still enclosed most of the space. A lot of bugs had made their way in, and at least one family of birds was nesting beneath the roof. But the shelter was basically dry. Best of all, it seemed like the last place on earth anyone would look for a fugitive Doberman.
    Then came the hard part — convincing Luthor that he had to part with his beloved Savannah yet again. For the first time, the dog seemed angry, even when Savannah used her best dog-whispering voice. He seemed to be saying,
I’ve done my part, several times, and this is asking too much of me.
    Savannah was brokenhearted. “I’ll stay here with him!” she quavered.
    â€œDon’t be crazy!” Griffin argued. “If either one of us isn’t back at Ebony Lake by bed check, there’ll be a big stink, and everything’s going to get found out, including Luthor’s whereabouts. And that’s his one-way ticket to Swindle.”
    â€œI just feel