From
Chapter 12
Maybe with a Baby
The children huddled
in the barn, and the I.S. began the
briefing.
“I’m sorry to call you
all in so early,” she said.
“I realize your big assignment
isn’t due to begin until 9:00
p.m. However, I’m afraid we’ve
had a bit of an emergency come up.”
“What is it, I.S.?” asked
Harriet, stuffing grass into Cabbot’s
ear
.
“Hey — stop that,”
barked Cabbot. “Can’t
you see I’m trying to listen?”
“It seems there’s going
to be an accident down at the river,”
the I.S. continued. “I’ve
just received word that Riley the
Ridiculous Rhymer and Tubby the Chubby
Bubby were out camping with a group
of boys. Apparently they took an inflatable
raft out unannounced, and they’ve
already hit whitewater. The falls
are only twenty minutes away from
their current position. You’d
better hurry. You haven’t much
time.”
“Good heavens,”
cried Hillary, looking as though the
Mysterious Hairy Beast of the North
Wind — the mini-multicolor version
had just fallen from the sky and hit
her on the head. “Not Riley
the Ridiculous Rhymer. I’m not
going.”
“What?” replied Elmo.
“But you’ve got to. If
you don’t go, CB and I will
never get there in time.”
“That’s exactly my point.”
Elmo shot Hillary the exact same expression
he gave Cabbot at lunch.
“Oh, all right,” Hillary
said hesitantly, “But I’m
only going because I like Tubby. I
don’t think I can stand more
than about five minutes with that
Riley character.”
“Neither can we, but that’s
no reason for us to let their raft
go over the falls,” argued Elmo.
“Now come on. We’d better
get going; the clock is ticking.”
 The
superheroes renovated, climbed on
Hornet’s back and headed for
the river.
As far as the locals were concerned,
one of the loveliest spots in the
area was the River Albatross. It was
a beautiful place to picnic, play,
relax and unwind. The river itself
was located just 25 miles south of
the main city. The most gorgeous part
of the river by far was the Wumblegust
Waterfall. The waterfall stretched
a glorious 45 feet all the way to
the top and offered a breathtaking
view from both the top and the bottom.
The view from the top, however, was
not so breathtaking when observed
from a raft that was recklessly plummeting
its way toward the edge …
“We’re going to die!”
cried Tubby, clinging to Riley the
same way the cotton candy had clung
to Spineless’ wet body back
at the park. “Isn’t there
anything we can do?”
Tubby the Chubby Bubby was an overall
cheery fellow who most folks viewed
quite favorably. Although he was perhaps
a wee bit chubby, Tubby hardly qualified
as sponge cake material.
On the other hand, there was Riley
the Ridiculous Rhymer. He was a 13-year-old
lad who, unlike Tubby, was quite slender.
Riley was reasonably handsome and
fairly respectable in most areas.
His one and only drawback was that
everything coming out of his mouth
was a rhyme. Although on the surface
it sounds quite impressive, the rhyming
could grow annoying rather fast. Unlike
Amazing Arnie, most of Riley’s
material was far from profound.
With his arms around Tubby, Riley
held him tight and did his best to
comfort the poor boy:
“I’ve
got twitches in my britches and a
ringing in my ear,
And I haven’t felt so willy,
nilly, chilly in a year.
But don’t you worry, Tubby,
’cause I promise you, my lad,
That soon we will be rescued, by my
mother or my dad.
Jeepers creepers
and some beepers, my friend, Tubby,
are you hurt?
‘Cause the rock we just went
over bruised my leg and ripped my
shirt.
Oh, why did we come rafting on this
river without guides?
When we return, my mommy’s gonna
tan our little hides ...
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