Racso and the Rats of NIMH (film)/Transcript

Any ideas to make a script of Racso and the Rats of NIMH (film).

Chapter 1
(?)

Jonathan Brisby:

Elizabeth Brisby: So I must mend this scarf and I will pick his favorite foods in his knapsack. In case, he doesn't reach thorn valley in time for dinner tomorrow and I must clean out the cupboard to make room for the beans that the children will be bringing.

(?)

Male voice: Mrs. Mouse! Come on out!

Jeremy: Mrs. Brisby, I forgot your name.

Elizabeth Brisby: Goodness, Jeremy. Calm down and tell me what's wrong.

Jeremy: I can't take timothy to school tomorrow. It's an emergency! I have to go home right away my mother's very sick. She flew into a ladder and broke her wing.

Elizabeth Brisby: Now. Now.

Jeremy: My cousin brought the news this morning. I went to Mr. Ages and he says that she may not fly for a whole month and he gave me some powder for her to swallow after dinner.

Elizabeth Brisby: You did well and you can fly home. Your Mother will need your help.

Jeremy: But what about Timothy? School starts next week and I was supposed to fly him to Thorn Valley tomorrow.

Elizabeth Brisby: We will manage. You must stay with your mother while she needs you.

Jeremy: Will she die?

Elizabeth Brisby: I'm afraid not. Just make sure she takes Mr. Ages powder. Within a month, her wing should be as good as new.

Jeremy: Thank you. Oh, thank you.

Elizabeth Brisby: You're welcome.

Jeremy: See you later!

(?)

Jonathan Brisby:

Elizabeth Brisby:

Timothy: Of course I can do it, Mother. Father.

Elizabeth Brisby: I know exactly how the river winds and where the trail goes north. The trip from there will only be one day, but the whole trip will take four days.

Timothy: I'd get there the day before school that is if I leave tomorrow. What about food? I'm not sure you can carry a four-day supply. I won't have to carry that much.

Elizabeth Brisby: The autumn olives are out everywhere. We had some for lunch today and the acorns will be at their best. I do love fresh acorns. I know how much she wants to go, but I'm not promising anything. I'll think about it while you sleep.

(?)

Martin: I think you should let Timothy go. He's starting to grow up. Today picked more beans than any of us and school means so much to him.

Elizabeth: I know that, but it's a long journey with many dangers and Timothy has never traveled alone.

Martin: I wish I could go with him, but I don't want to leave Bretta for so long and I still have more harvesting to do.

Elizabeth: Of course.

(?)

Chapter 2
(?)

Elizabeth Brisby: You may go.

(?)

Elizabeth: Why?

Timothy: To make a splint. In case, I should break my leg.

(?)

Timothy: Thorn Valley is here. (?) In case you need me or decide to come and visit.

(?)

Elizabeth: The rats will be good to you. Please send word of how you are Timothy and don't travel at night.

(?)

(?)

(In his dream, (?))

Timothy: Hawk!

(?)

(?)

Male voice: Help! Help! Help!

(?)

Chapter 3
(?)

Timothy: Here! Grab this!

(?)

Male: You … You saved me.

(?)

Rat: Saved by a mouse. Wait till my family hears about this.

(?)

Timothy: My name is Timothy Brisby. Who are you?

Male: I'm Racso. How do you do?

(?)

(?): It was nice to meet you.

(?)

Timothy: Good bye.

Racso: Good bye.

(?)

Timothy: Since you're going my way, I'll wait and walk with you.

(Timothy and Racso walked and walked. (?))

Racso: I've got to stop and rest.

Timothy: (?)

Racso: Good. Have you eaten?

Timothy: Not since breakfast.

Racso: I've got something good to eat. (?) Here.

(?)

Timothy: What is it, Racso?

Racso: It's candy.

Timothy: what's a candy?

Racso: I don't think there was anyone on earth who didn't know exactly what candy is.

Timothy: I didn't think there was anyone on earth who would go into a stream if he couldn't swim.

(?)

Racso: Here. (?) Eat it.

Timothy: It's good.

Racso: You may have the whole bar. I brought an entire bag with me. They've been quite heavy to carry, but there aren't many left now.

(?)

Timothy: Would you like a kidney bean?

Racso: Where did you get it?

Timothy: I picked them in Mr. Fitzgibbon's field.

Racso: Oh. Then you must be a field mouse.

Timothy: That's right.

Racso: I'm not a field rat. I'm a city rat. I left my family and all my girlfriends. They cried, of course, and they pleaded, but I told them I had to go. I'm in pursuit of a better life. I have friends here in the country rats who can read and write.

Timothy: What are the rats names?

Racso: Actually, I don't know their names, but I know they live somewhere in this direction.

Timothy: Have you met them before?

Racso: No, but I'm sure they will be glad to meet me.

Timothy: How will you find them?

Racso: I'll keep walking in this direction. Then I'll turn and follow the trail where the river splits. If what my old man says is right, it will be about one day's threat from there.

Timothy: So your father is a friend of theirs.

Racso: Well, he was.

(?)

Racso: He once shared a cage with one of them at a laboratory called 'NIMH.' Scientists taught them how to read and gave them special shots to make them smart. They got so smart that they figured out how to escape. My dad lived with them for a while. They had a big nest with electric lights and running water and the big refrigerator, but there was a fight and my dad and some of the other rats left.

Timothy: And what happened then?

Racso: I don't know everything. All I know is that my old man was in an accident so bad that the rest of his friends were killed. He was burned, but he managed to save himself after he got better. He went back to the city instead of the colony. He found my mom and moved back in with her and after that, my sister and I were born.

(?)

Racso: Learning is important. I've got to educate myself. I can't spend my whole life lying around in the sewers eating garbage.

Timothy: Have you been to school?

Racso: There are no schools for rats in the city. My dad taught me a few things, but then he got scared. He said education had almost killed him and it had killed six other rats. He said those shots the humans gave him and turned him into a misfit. He said if there's one thing I need to remember is that I'm a rat and nothing more.

Timothy: How did you convince him to let you come here?

Racso: I didn't. I ran away. I'm on my own now. I'm going to get my education and become a scientist. I'm going to make discoveries and become famous. I'll be on TV and on the cover of magazine.

Timothy: But how did you know where to go?

Racso: My dad had an accident in a town called Smithville, so I asked different animals and birds, which highway went toward it and they told me it turned out. There were big green signs along the highway, but I couldn't read them. I bribed a squirrel to lead me into town. I gave him three candy bars and the local rats knew how to get to Mr. Fitzgibbon's farm. Then I met this dumb crow who told me how to get to Thorn Valley. I offered him candy, but all he wanted was a silver cigarette paper. I pulled out of the trash that morning.

Timothy: What was the crow's name?

Racso: I don't know. Jimmy or Jerry or something like that. He was all shook up because his mother was sick and he wanted the silver paper for a present for her. What a jerk.

Timothy: His name is Jeremy. May not be the smartest bird in the world, but he's kind-hearted and he would have given you the directions for nothing. You didn't have to bribe him.

Racso: My old man taught me that nobody gets something for nothing.

Timothy: Your old man?

(?)

Timothy: I'll show you. (?) Rat. Any of certain rodents genus Rattus and allied genre distinguished from mice by their larger size and differences in teeth the best known species are the brown or Norway rat. The black rat and the roof rat. (?) Mouse. any of numerous species a small rodents especially the house mouse found in human habitations throughout the world compare vole.

Racso: You … You … You … You … You can read! Will you teach me please? I'll give you anything you want. If only you would teach me, Timothy.

Timothy: I won't teach you, But I have a friend who will. Rat friends. They have a school at Thorn Valley and they teach almost every subject you can name reading, writing, carpentry, math, astronomy …

Racso: The rats of NIMH.

Timothy: I'm on my way to school right now and you may come with me.

Chapter 4
(?)

Racso: Just one more word. Is this the letter b?

Timothy: we've got to move on. It's only a few hours until twilight and we'll have to stop them.

(?)

Rasco: I'll make a campfire.

(?)

Timothy: It's perfect. The high edges will shelter us from the wind and is probably lined with feathers too. Anyway, it would be dangerous to make a fire on such a windy day.

(?)

Rasco:

(?)

Racso: What's for breakfast?

Timothy: I've got beans and oats, but I'd be willing to bet. There'll be autumn olives down by the river they're berries. Have you ever tasted them?

Racso: I think my mother brought some home from the market once. What I'm not sure.

Timothy: Come on. You always poke under the bushes first with a stick. To make sure, there aren't any snakes hiding there snakes can be very nasty.

Racso: I'll remember that.

(?)

Racso: For lunch, they'll be perfect with the candy bars.

(?)

Racso: I'm thirsty and too hot.

(?)

Racso: I'm sorry, but I have to take a nap.

Timothy: Perhaps we could just sit down and rest for a minute.

Racso: Sure. Don't.

(?)

Racso: I'm afraid I'm used to sleeping during the day. In the city, we, rats, are most active at night when the humans are asleep. I guess that's why being out in the sunlight makes me so tired.

Timothy: Country animals don't go out after dark if they can help it. Owls hunt at night.

Racso: I have in the herds of hours.

Timothy: We'll have to find a place to sleep.

(?)

Racso: I couldn't sleep. it's so beautiful out. There's a full moon come and look.

Timothy: What time is it?

Racso: I don't know.

(?)

Racso: I have never anything so beautiful. In the city and nights like this, we all come out and play. You see rats everywhere dancing, running, jumping. They call it moon fever.

Timothy: I've never been outside the house at night.

(?)

Racso: I don't think I can go back to sleep.

Timothy: I feel wide awake myself.

Racso: I know that you're worried. We didn't travel far enough today. I wouldn't mind walking a mile or two right now.

(?)

Timothy: All right, but we'll have to be careful, really careful.

(?)

Chapter 5
(?)

Cynthia: Hey, mother. We got a letter. Open it.

((?) note by Justin.)

Cynthia: Who sent it? What does it say? What is it?

Elizabeth: Timothy hasn't arrived in Thorn Valley.

Cynthia: What day was he supposed to get there? He left five days ago, so he should have arrived yesterday, but, mother, they didn't know that he was coming on foot and you know Timothy can dawdle.

Elizabeth: That's true.

Cynthia: He'll get there.

Elizabeth: Of course she will. Let's not think about it, until we get further news.

(The crow (?))

Elizabeth: Who are you? Who are you and why are you here?

(?)

Owl: Come in.

(?)

Owl: Mrs. Elizabeth Brisby, you may wonder why I have sent for you.

Elizabeth: Yes.

Owl: I have sent for you because I believe that I have killed your son.

(?)

Owl: Two nights ago, I went out hunting in north woods where the river splits. I was hungry and I saw two rodents on the path in the moonlight. I dove for the larger a small rats, but the smaller one rushed to protect him. I picked him up and he shouted his name here. (?) Timothy Brisby. He was your son, was he not?

(?)

Owl: I dropped him when I realized who he was, but I had grabbed him with my talons. I'm afraid that I pierced his heart.

(?)

Owl: He died a hero like his father that may be some comfort to you.

(?)

Owl: You have other children. You must go home to them. You must prepare to make a long journey away from this country. Men with great machines are working at the north end of Thorn Valley. They are destroying the mountain there and they planned to destroy the woods and farms as well.

(?)

Owl: I killed your son because I had to eat. There was a reason, with men, it often seems that there is no reason at all.

Elizabeth: Money. (?) I have heard it said that men do what they do for pieces of paper called money.

(?)

Elizabeth: Fly North. Fly to the North woods along the river. It's like close to the ground where there is a path. I'm looking for someone there.

Crow: It is nearly dark.

Elizabeth: There will be moonlight. (?) Hurry, there's no time to lose.

(?)

Chapter 6
(?)

Voice: Timothy. Timothy. Timothy.

(?)

Timothy: Someone is talking. Someone is talking to me.

(?)

Rasco: You're alive!

(?)

Timothy: What day is this?

(?)

Timothy: How much food is left?

Racso: Don't worry about that.

(?)

Racso: Tomorrow morning, I want you to find a willow tree.

Timothy: They grow along the river. Willow bark relieves pain.

Racso: I don't think I can recognize a widow tree.

Timothy: I'll describe it and you can take my knife to cut the bark off.

Racso: Won't you be frightened if I leave you?

Timothy: Yes, but I want you to go. The sooner I feel better, the sooner we will be able to leave.

Racso: Don't move. There's a big bird flying back and forth over the path. I covered the both up with leaves, so it couldn't see us. It's flown past again and again as if it were searching for someone.

Timothy: Someone to eat.

Racso: He's calling somebody and and the funny part is, its voice doesn't sound like a bird, but I couldn't make out what it was saying.

Timothy: Could it be the owl returning for his prey? Owls had been known to trick all, but the most cautious mice. We must stay hidden.

(?)

Timothy: It's dangerous for us to camp here day after day. We're certain to be noticed by other animals and not all of them are friendly.

(?)

Racso: I ate earlier.

(?)

Racso: You tried to walk?

(Timothy (?))

Racso: Don't cry. I got you into this mess and I'm going to get you out of it. I've already decided what to do. I'm going to build a sling and pull you along the trail. I'll get you to Thorn Valley if it's the last thing I ever do.

Chapter 7
(?):

Racso: Just leave it all to me. Last year, I snuck around the behind the baseboard at the movie theater and saw a show about how to live in the words. It was called, "The Last of the Mohicans." There was an Indian in the movie who was kind of short for his age and looked a lot like me and he made a sling to move his wounded friend.

Timothy: Animals who live in the wild have certain rules about how to act in the woods. I've been thinking that it would be useful to review them with you.

Racso: I probably knows him already, but you can tell me if it will make you feel better.

Timothy: The first one is always cover up your trail.

Racso: Of course, i just happened to like to flip my tail around that song.

Timothy: I could tell where you'd walked that means an enemy could too. The second rule is this. If you hear something coming even from far away, take cover.

Racso: I hid us from that birds the other night, didn't I? And that bird was looking for someone even in the dark. I could tell that it flew back and forth over the path again and again.

Timothy: What if that bird had not been the owl? Here's another rule. Never light a fire in the woods.

Racso: The Indians did.

Timothy: We're not Indians. Anyway, they were careful. They knew how to make a fire without setting the woods on fire.

Racso: So do I. I toasted marshmallows the night before I met you. I melted chocolate squares right in the middle of the marshmallow. The girl scouts do that, you know? It's a famous dessert.

Timothy: Racso! I put that fire out myself the next morning. You could have burned the whole forest down and killed us both.

Racso: You'd better rest now. You're getting upset over nothing, Timothy. And if there's one thing we don't need right now is a worried little field mouse.

(?)

Racso: Wrap the ends of this around your paws a couple of times, so that it can't slip out. (?) When you're ready, I'll get up on all fours and run up the bank as quickly as I can it may hurt but at least you should be over with fast.

(?)

Racso: We're ready to go.

Timothy: Where's the paper bag?

Racso: It's empty.

(?)

Racso: I have to rest a while. Did you once mention that your family ate acorns?

Timothy: Look under there. There will be hundreds of acorns on the ground. Bring me a couple and I'll show you how to eat them.

Racso: (?) It's bitter. I like berries, but I don't like acorns.

(?)

Racso: We've reached the spot where the river splits. I can see a large stream flowing off to the left.

(?)

Racso: I'm hungry.

Timothy: Is there any food left in the knapsack?

Racso: It's for you.

(?)

Racso: You eat it.

Timothy: I like the beans just as much. (?) Here.

(?)

Racso: I thought I heard something. (?) Let's hide. (?) I don't see anything.

Timothy: Shh! (?) What is it, Rasco? What do you see?

Racso: Rats. Four large rats.

Timothy: What do they look like lift me up, so I can see. (?) More. More.

(?)

Timothy: Justin. Justin!

Racso: Timothy, Be quiet! What are you doing?

Timothy: Justin!

(?)

Racso: He's coming right this way.

Timothy: Justin!

Racso: Take cover! He's going to kill us both.

Timothy: Justin.

Large rat: Timothy! (?) Thank goodness. We found you at last.

Chapter 8
(?)

Justin: When you didn't show up, we knew something was wrong. Then we heard about Jeremy's mother and we realized you'd be coming on foot. We decided to wait three more days before we started looking. We even sent a message to your mother at Fitzgibbons.

Timothy: She'll be worried.

Justin: We'll let her know you've been found.

Isabella: Poor Timothy! I hate owls. Don't you, Justin?

Justin: We should prepare to return to Thorn Valley. If we leave here now, we can arrive there by nightfall.

(?)

Racso: Is something funny?

Isabella: No. Nothing at all.

Racso: What is it?

Isabella: If you must know, it's your hat. Where did it come from?

Racso: Out of the trash can. My dad said it used to belong to a doll. It fits perfect, don't you think?

(?)

Racso: What's so funny? Don't you have any hats at Thorn Valley?

(?)

Isabella: You got me in trouble with Justin.

(?)

Justin: We have only about one mile to go before we reach Thorn Valley, but that mile is the most difficult part of our trip. We must cross over the mountain and descend into the valley and there are only about three hours of daylight left. We must decide now whether we want to finish the journey this afternoon, or whether we should camp for the night and arrive tomorrow morning.

Brutus: I can go faster. Timothy is very light.

Brendan: I'm ready to go on. I'm not as strong as Brutus, but I'll pull the sling for as long as I can.

Isabella: I'll do whatever you want to do, Justin.

(Racso (?))

Justin: Pulling the sling by yourself must have been tiring. Let's stop and eat and rest for a while. Then you can decide whether you want us to go on with the journey tonight.

(?)

Justin: How do you feel now?

Racso: What's better? I'm ready to go on.

(?)

Justin: The sooner we get medical care for Timothy, the better off he'll be. On the other hand, it's going to be hard for you to finish this journey today. You haven't had the physical training that we have and the mountain trail is steep. This is my suggestion. Brendan, you walk with Racso. If he gets too tired, the two of you should camp overnight and finish the trip tomorrow.

(?)

Brendan: We do this in case one of us should slip. If you feel someone falling, grab onto the rock nearest you and hold on tight.

(?)

Brendan: Look how the rivers flooded to the north there. Justin says we have to find out why we might even send out an exploring party.

Racso: I could be one of the leaders. I know a lot about the woods and about scouting. I learned it from a movie about the Indians.

(?)

Brendan: The rat with the eye patch is Nicodemus. He's the founder of the community. He's nice, but he's strict.

Racso: What about the female?

Brendan: She's Hermione. We elected her to be presiding rat this year to call the meetings and make sure everyone gets a chance to speak. You'll get to know her because she's the school teacher and Justin is the head of rat security.

(?)

(?): We welcome you to the community of Thorn Valley, Racso. We hope your visit with us will be a pleasant one. We do not often have visitors from the outside world. We are always eager to learn what is happening there. For our life at Thorn Valley has made us a bit isolated you see. Thank you for taking care of Timothy when he was hurt. I shall write to my dear friend, Mrs. Brisby, tonight to let her know that he is here and I shall mention your parts in caring for him and bringing him here.

Racso: Thank you.

(?): As for you, I hear that you've made yourself a hero and knowing your father as I did and also Mrs. Brisby. I'm not surprised. Welcome back, Timothy, we hope you'll have a good year at school.

(?)

Isabella: Justin says to show you to your bed. You'll be sharing a room with Timothy.

(?)

Chapter 9
(?)

Racso: Where was Timothy?

(?)

Brendan: Good morning, Racso. Did you sleep well? I'll bet you're hungry. I'm going to take you to the cafeteria for breakfast. After that, you'll get the whole tour.

Racso: Just let me get my hat and slick down my fur.

(?)

Brendan: The bedrooms were built along a high bank, so that they could be lighted by the sun or moon. Some of the storerooms on the insides. ere have no windows. We like those with beeswax candles.

Racso: I thought you'd have the electric lights.

Brendan: We used to when the colony lived under the rose bush at the Fitzgibbons. I was too little to remember, but I've heard the others talk about it. But we were stealing electricity from the farmers, and the leaders didn't think it was right to do that.

(?)

Brendan: We use those mostly in colder weather. The soup we made last night was special, for Timothy's homecoming.

Racso: Timothy? You think he's a star.

Brendan: Where are the others? (?) We get up with the sun. Most of the colony is hard at work by now: gardening, harvesting, gathering wood, weaving baskets, digging up the ground for a new water main. The babies are in the nursery - that's just down the hall and to the left - and of course, the young rats are in school. I'm to take you to see Nicodemus. Then I'll go back to school myself.

(?)

Brendan: If you don't mind, I'll go past my room and pick up my books.

Racso: Would you give me a pen since you have more than one?

Brendan. No. You must make your own. Until you do, you're right on the floor with a sharp stick all the beginners learned that way.

(?)

Brendan: Hey, Racso! Give that back!

Racso: Give what back?

Brendan: Give me my pen!

Racso: You don't really need two pens. You can write with both paws at once. can you?

(?)

(?): Give him his pen immediately, Racso. And you, Brendan, you go on to school.

(?)

(?): Please sit down. I'll join you in a moment.

(?)

(?): Tell me about yourself.

(?)

Racso: I was born in the city. My family is very poor and lives in the basement wall of an abandoned house. My father works all night hauling garbage from the central market to an orphanage of little rats whose parents died from rat poisoning, but he wants me to have an education, so he sent me here. A strange rat came to the orphanage and told my father about Thorn Valley that there was a school here and plenty of food and this year, my parents decided I was old enough to come.

(?): But how did you come to be here?

Racso: I followed the highway to Smithville, and then i found out where the Fitzgibbons live and I met the big crow over there. I gave the crow a shiny cigarette paper and he told me where to go, and then, I met Timothy.

(?): I don't have any useful liars. I'm going to set you aside, set you outside, and you can go back where you came from.

Racso: No. I don't want to.

(?): Will you tell me the truth this time?

Racso: Yes. Please.

(?): Well?

Racso: Jenner is my father. I know you don't like each other anymore, but please let me stay here anyway I really wanted to learn to read and write.

(?): Jenner? You mean he's alive?

Racso: He was the only one who survived the accident.

(?): Alive! (?) Where is he now?

Racso: At home in the city.

(?): If only we had known. We could have helped him. The papers said there were seven dead.

Racso: He managed to creep away. He was badly burned, but he lay in a deserted basement while his wounds healed. There wasn't anything to eat. By the time he was strong enough to crawl out the window, he was practically starving.

(?): My poor friend.

(?)

(?): What happened to him?

Racso: He crawled along the ditch besides the highway, until he was strong enough to walk and then he walked, until he came to the city when he found my mother he was covered with scars.

(?): If only we had known. We could have gone after him and brought him back. We could have kept him in the infirmary, until he was well.

Racso: Is that there that you didn't?

(?): Why?

Racso: I was born after the accident, so I don't know what he was like before the accident, but my mother says he changed he's bitter and scared all the same time. He won't go out of the nest because he doesn't want the others to see his scars and whenever we go out, he gets scared.

(?): Scared of what?

Racso: I'm not sure he's scared that something will hurt us. A car, a person, another animal, even where is that the telephone pole will fall on us or a building will topple while we're inside looking for food.

(?): Paranoia.

Racso: He didn't want me to learn to read. He felt that the more I learned the more dangerous, my life would become because I would want to learn even more and see more … He wanted me to stay in the rat hole with him and eat garbage and sleep, but I couldn't do that.

(?): So you ran away?

Racso: I don't want the others to know.

(?): Know what?

Racso: About Jenner. He's my dad.

(?): Why not?

Racso: Because he left … Because he was a troublemaker …

(?): Your father had a strong convictions and he followed them. That takes courage.

Racso: He doesn't have any friends now. He doesn't care about anyone. Only me, and my mother and sister.

(?): He must love you a great deal. I shall try to send him a message, so that he'll know you arrived here safely. And since you've requested it, I won't tell the others about Jenner.

Racso: Timothy already knows.

(?): Yes, Timothy … I wrote to Elizabeth Brisby this morning. Our doctor, Elvira, thinks that he will make a quick recovery. We appreciate your taking such good care of him.

Racso: Thank you.

(?): As for you … We haven't talked about whether you should stay.

Racso: I want to stay.

(?): Why?

Racso: I want to be a scientist. I want to be a hero, like Jonathan.

(?): (?), but nobody's a hero. The Thorn Valley is not in the business of raising heroes. Heroes are creatures of an adversity, war, fire, accident, or disaster. Our dreams for Thorn Valley don't include the tragic circumstances that produce heroes. What we want is a community where rats cooperate to provide food and shelter, where work and pleasure are part of everyone's life.

Racso: But (?) heroes. (?) leaders.

(?): Leaders, yes. But leaders are no more heroic than the rat who carries more grain than she really has to, or the student who does not lose his temper when another rat takes what is rightfully his. (?) I have to go see if Arthur's back. He's our chief engineer. he went with a few others to the Trout River to check on the flooding there, and he's due to return this morning. I won't be long. Perhaps you'd like to sit here and think until I come back.

(?)

Chapter 10
(In the classroom, (?))

Racso: Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z.

Hermione: That's wonderful! You've learned a lot in just three weeks, Racso.

(?)

Sally: We're finished. Come and look at what we've done.

(?)

Racso: I can see the emerald pond.

Sally: There's the playground.

Racso: And here are the entrances to the nest - the front door, the back door, and the emergency door.

Sally: Here's where the creek flows out of the Trout River and winds around until it gets to the dam at the pond … and here's the swimming hole … and here's the spot where we catch crayfish - you can tell because there's a bin toward the south right there.

(?)

Racso: But I can swim! What am I going to do? Who would save me?

Hermione: We've faced other problems, Racso, and we've always found solutions. Just last fall we invented a trap to catch a red-tailed hawk who had built a nest on the cliff north of here. We blindfolded her and carried her to the other side of the mountain, where we let her go. And no one got hurt.

Racso: But what about the life preserver?

(?)

Brendan: Maybe Timothy will save you again.

(?)

Racso: Just leave Timothy out of this!

(?)

Racso: Is it really just for us? The ones I've seen have always been for human kids.

Timothy: Arthur helped us build it last spring. The whole class worked on it together.

Racso: I want to go on the slide! I want to swing on the grapevine!

Timothy: Go ahead. There's only one rule that we take turns. Everyone gets to go once before anyone goes twice.

(?)

Racso: But I don't like to take turns. And anyway, the others had lots of turns before I ever got here. I need a chance to catch up.

(?)

Hermione: There's a meeting tonight. We'll be talking about the flooding and trying to figure out what to do.

Rasco: Do the children go?

Hermione: Of course. We couldn't possibly make a decision as a group without having the children there.

Racso: Will we vote about what to do?

Hermione: Only if there's widespread disagreement. Usually, after a long discussion, we agree among ourselves on what seems best. But when we can't agree, we vote, and the majority rules.

Racso: Even the children vote?

Hermione: Everyone but the very small babies. So listen carefully and think hard. You may be the one who will solve the problem.

(?)

Hermione: Quiet down! Get ready to think!

Justin: All of you know that the Trout River, which is fed by the stream and pond outside, has risen almost three feet in the last two months. We've measured the rainfall as we usually do, and we know that there hasn't been enough rain to cause this kind of flooding. The flooding is being caused by something else. We have made three short trips to the Trout in the past two weeks, but so far we haven't been able to find a clue to what's happening.

Arthur: I think we should send scouting parties in both directions along the river for a distance of 10 miles. They should leave early next week and plan to be gone for two full weeks. When they return, we can discuss what they found and work from there.

(?)

Justin: Each party should have six or seven rats in it. They should be rats who like to walk and have keen powers of observation.

(?)

Justin: Brendan, Sally, Jean, Francis, Max, Brutus, Tom, Becky … I need three more.

Racso: Me! Me!

Justin: Beatrice and Frank … (?) Are you sure you're well enough?

Timothy: I'm sure.

Elvira: I'll send an extra dose of dried broth, just in case. But I think he'll do fine.

(?)

Justin: Next time, …

(?)

Brendan: Where's Racso?

Timothy: He left after the scouting parties were chosen. I think he felt hurt he wasn't picked.

Brendan: I expect Justin wanted rats who could read. Racso's learning fast, but he couldn't read anything on his own yet.

Christopher: I wish I could go. I didn't even bother to raise my paw. My parents won't let me. They think I'm too wild.

Brendan: There's always next time.

Christopher: Racso and I will have a good time. There'll be plenty to do right here at Thorn Valley.

Brendan: Plenty of trouble to get into, you mean. You and Racso should get along just fine.

(?)

Chapter 11
(?)

Arthur: My group will travel due South from Thorn Valley until we reach the river about midday tomorrow. From there, we'll follow the riverbank until the canyon makes it impossible. If we haven't found anything by then, we'll climb the canyon wall and follow it outside the state forest into human territory.

Justin: We'll had due South along the river. I expect the terrain there to be wooded with sloping hills - that's what the crows have said. But no matter what we find, we'll plan to meet you back here at the end of two weeks.

Arthur: Good luck.

(?)

Arthur: Up another six inches.

(?)

Beatrice: I felt it too. It reminds me of the feeling of thunder in the sky before you can really hear it.

Frank: Perhaps it's about to storm.

Arthur: We should set up camp well back from the water.

Max: I'm hungry.

(?)

Timothy: What could it be?

Arthur: I'm not sure.

(?)

All rodents: What's that?

(?)

Arthur: Dynamite. It's a powder used by humans to blow holes in the Earth. It's very dangerous, although not as powerful as an earthquake or a volcano. It can level a mountainside if they use enough of it.

(?)

Timothy: What are they using it for here?

Arthur: I don't know. But I'd be willing to bet -

(?)

Frank: Wait. Listen.

(?)

All: Arthur!

Beatrice: What is it?

Arthur: I'd know that sound anywhere. The last time I heard the day the humans ruined the nest under the rosebush at Mr. Fitzgibbons' farm. It's a bulldozer.

(?)

Max: What are they building?

Arthur: We should rest. When it's dark, we'll go down and investigate.

((?) Beatrice (?))

Arthur: We were worried. What have you found?

Beatrice: They plan to flood the valley.

Arthur: A dam? Why would they want to build a dam in the middle of the forest?

Beatrice: Their plans are in the trailer. I'll show you.

(?)

Max: We won't let them do it. We just won't.

Chapter 12
(?)

Racso: I thought they had caught you. I thought we'd never see you again.

(?)

Christopher: I've heard she's mean.

Racso: Who told you that?

Christopher: My cousin. One day, she stepped on a pea plant when she was playing tag and Bertha yelled at her. She thinks vegetables are wonderful and delicious and children are a nuisance.

(?)

Bertha: I will meet you back here at four. I expect each task on the list to be performed thoroughly and well. The two of you will be working in square two-B.

(?)

Bertha: If there are no more questions, I'll be on my way.

Racso: But we never asked the first question.

(?)

Racso: What are they?

Christopher: Cabbages?

Racso: Even I know better than that - cabbages are round.

Christopher: Whatever they are, we have to do the things on this list to them.

Racso: Which of the things on the list shall we do first?

Christopher: The first one.

(?)

Racso: Here.

(?)

Christopher: Well, hurry up! What does it do?

(?)

Christopher: What's so funny?

Racso: You, that's what.

Christopher: I may be funny, but nobody's going to be laughing long if we don't get started on this work. Now, what are we supposed to do first?

Racso: How would I know? I can't read.

Christopher: But I can't read either.

Racso: I know.

(?)

Christopher: It's ruined.

(?)

Racso: We have to pick them.

(?)

Christopher: Peppermint!

Racso: Of course. We used to make mint tea during the cold weather.

Christopher: Tea. (?)

Racso: In the city, we eat it in candy. Haven't you heard of peppermint patties?

Christopher: No.

(?)

Christopher: I've never tasted candy. But I've heard that it isn't good for you.

Racso: That's ridiculous. I used to eat the doggy time and look at me.

Christopher: You are a little short for your age.

Racso: That's because I could never get enough of it. No. Believe me, Christopher, if there's one thing that dawn valley needs is candy.

Christopher: Maybe we could use this mint to make some. There's a cookbook in the kitchen. Isabella works there. She could look up the recipe and read it to us.

Racso: Wonderful.

(?)

Racso: There's a treat for you in the meeting room.

(?)

Racso: Let's lie down and rest for five minutes.

(?)

Bertha: Ahhhh!

(?)

Bertha: You ruined it!

(?)

Mitchell: What happened here?

(?)

Bertha: They ruined it.

(?)

Bertha: I gave them explicit instructions! I wrote it down!

(?)

Racso: We can't read.

(?)

Mitchell: Do you have plans for this?

(?)

Christopher: Yes, we wanted to make a wonderful surprise. It will be something new, and I'm sure you'll all like it a lot.

(?)

(?): Surprise?

Mitchell: I like surprises.

Berhta: I'm going to tell everyone. I'm going to tell them that they ruined my mint patch.

Mitchell: Our mint patch. And if it hadn't been picked soon, the cold would have destroyed it anyway.

(?)

Christopher: What do we get the surprise?

Racso: What color is it?

Christopher: Is it bigger than a cabbage? Is it smaller than a peanut?

(?)

Chapter 13
(?)

Arthur: Until we know what their plans are. We won't be able to fight back.

Frank: If we're in the meeting room at night when the flooding begins. We'll be trapped in there and we'll never escape alive.

Beatrice: Like drown the rats. Isn't that the expression they use?

Max: Stop talking about it.

(The water?)

(?)

(?)

Timothy: Shall we tell everyone at once?

Arthur: I think it would be better for each of us to speak to a group of 15 or 20 rats. That way we'll have time to answer everyone's question as well as we can we can speak then of the need to devise a plan.

Beatrice: It will come down to a choice. Leaving or fighting.

(?)

Racso: Welcome back! Did you find anything?

(?)

Racso: Hey, Timothy. Welcome home. Did you have a good time? Christopher and I are planning a surprise. Did you find out why the river is flooded?

(?)

Christopher: Hey, Timothy. Look a this. (?)

Timothy: Racso. (?)

(?)

Christopher: What's wrong with him?

Timothy: I don't know. Maybe you'd better go fetch Elvira.

(?)

Elvira: Paralyzed by fear. A little horseradish broth should bring him out of it. I'll get Brutus to carry him down to the infirmary and I'll pour a bit of it down his throat. He'll be alive and kicking in no time.

(?)

Curtis: You could have given me tea and honey. That's what my mother would have done.

Elvira: But I'm not your mother.

Racso: You're not a good doctor either. Torturing your patients with stuff like that. I could do better than that myself.

(?)

Elvira: I'm in the process of developing some new remedies. I'll let you do a little experiment.

Racso: What is it?

Elvira: I'll let you taste them all and you can tell me which is the most bitter.

Racso: Very funny.

Elvira: I'd be careful with that tail of yours if I were you. You could crack one of the vestigial vertebrae, then I'd have to put a tail brace on you and those can be awfully cumbersome.

(?)

Justin: What I don't understand is how they can do it the state forest is supposed to be preserved forever by law. That's one of the reasons we moved here.

Arthur: May not be legal, but whether it is or not they're doing it. We saw them with our own eyes.

Justin: But why? Why are they willing to take that risk?

Arthur: Money. If the dam is built, tourists will flock to see the lake and tourists mean money.

Justin: But the farmers will fight it. They've been on that land for generations.

Arthur: It will be hard for the farmers to fight. The dam legally will take time and money and the farmers don't have much of either.

Justin: Then it's hopeless.

(?)

(?): No, it is not hopeless.

(?)

(?)

Brutus: A crow with a with a mouse on his back. I just saw it. It came from the sky.

All: Where?

Brutus: By the emerald pond. I was fishing and I looked up and saw them. They didn't see me. I hid behind the reeds.

Hermione: Calm down.

(?): You go and investigate. Send us word of what you find.

(?)

Jeremy: But I always land here. A little water never hurt anyone. Don't worry. They'll find us.

(?)

Justin: Mrs. Brisby. It's wonderful to see you.

Mrs. Brisby: I'm glad to be here. (?) We've brought news from the farm and I'm afraid it's bad. (?) The council wrote me that Timothy is here and well. I'd like to see him.

Justin: Of course. (?) He's fine. He really is.

Chapter 14
(?)

Jonathan: For three days, we thought he was dead.

(?)

Justin: We wrote you.

Elizabeth: The winds were strong the night. The courier came the packet dropped far south of our house in a thicket along the fence row and the letter wasn't found until several days after you sent it.

(?): It must have been terrible for you.

(?)

Hermione: By now, you all know what Arthur's group discovered at the northern end of the Thorn Valley. Men have begun work on a dam to block off the Trout River the dam will be operated by a computer and will create a deep lake in the valley. Flooding our home and the homes of animals who live near us. The farms that lie just outside the state forest will be taken over by the state for highways, motels, and campgrounds. This means that old friends like Mrs. Brisby will also be forced to move.

(?)

Hermione: One thing in our favor is this. Concrete which forms the main wall of the dam will not set in freezing weather. We can be sure that the remaining work on the dam will not be completed until spring. That means the water will not rise any higher than it is now, so the danger to us is not immediate.

(?)

Hermione: They hoped to open the dam in the late spring. Today is the 18th of November, so we have six months. We have faced crises before and we have found solutions. A dam is a big problem and we are small, but being small and smart has its advantages. We can move quickly and hide ourselves easily and an unknown enemy is hard to fight.

(?)

Hermione: Tell them what you know, Mr. and Mrs. Brisby.

Elizabeth: I don't think we can.

Jonathan: It began one evening when we noticed a stream of cars and trucks pulling into the Fitzgibbons driveway. At first, I thought there must be a party. The way there is every Christmas, but people were standing around in the yard talking seriously. I recognized the Simmons family from down the road and the Hanson boys they were carrying chairs into the barn. No one was laughing and for some reason that made me feel nervous. I decided I'd better find out what was going on. It wasn't as easy to get into the barn as it usually is. I checked first for the cats then sneaked along the fence row until I came to the crack in the side of the barn. There were a lot of people in the barn 40 at least. I could tell by their clothes that most of them were farmers. I scurried up on the big beam where I could get a clear view of what was happening a stranger in a suit called the meeting to order he introduced himself as Representative Jones from the state legislature. He showed the farmers the maps of where the dam and lake would be. He said they would be well paid for their land which would be turned into campgrounds and motels for tourists.

Elizabeth: That was when the shouting began. I was so shocked by the news that I was in a daze for a few moments, so I didn't hear everything they said. I kept thinking. What about us? What about the animals? The farmers were yelling about their land saying that they didn't want to sell it and they didn't want the dam or the lake that it was being forced down their throats. There was a newspaper reporter there too. Her name was Lindsay Scott and she had red hair and glasses. I remember that she asked about what would happen to the wildlife in the valley and later, she asked another question that made Representative Jones very angry. It was something about his cousin's construction company which was working at the dam site.

(?)

Hermione: I know that you are a bold explorer and are known among the rest of the crows for your keen eyesight.

(?)

Hermione: Have you visited the dam site?

Jeremy: Yes, the men throw away their bread crusts. They taste good.

Hermione: How long does it take to fly there from here?

Jeremy: It's an easy flight. If the wind is right, it takes only an hour.

Hermione: Do you think you can help us by flying some of us up there or by carrying messages back and forth for us?

Jeremy: I know I could. If my mother will let me, she told me not to go there anymore. That's where she broke her wing. Now humans being. The humans made a big bang and rock's dirt flew into the sky where she was flying for a moment. She was blinded. She flew into a ladder on a big truck. She said she's lucky to be alive, but I want to help. I want to save the valley.

Hermione: I know. We all want that. I'll send word to your mother.

(?)

Nolan: I don't know where we'd move this time.

Beatrice: We've done so much to build a home here. I'd hate to abandon the valley after all those days of planning and hard work, but I think we can build a new home if we have to.

Arthur: But should we …? (?) Yes! No! How can we fight something like this? It involves hundreds of people.

(?)

Beatrice: There are hundreds of us. More than a hundred, but we're not as important as people.

Arthur: We are, too, and they have no right to harm us or the other animals that live in Thorn Valley.

Justin: They're making people move too. Could we work with the farmers who are fighting the dam?

Arthur: No. They'd kill us or worse - put us back in the laboratory.

Beatrice: Not if we help them win this battle.

All: What could we do?

Christopher: We could drill little holes in the dam.

Isabella: They filled them in.

Brendan: We could pretend to have rabies. Then the workers might refuse to go there to fix the dam.

Justin: I think they'll fix the dam eventually no matter what we do to it. Breaking the dam is a good idea, but we have to do more than that. More than that.

(?)

(?)

(Racso (?))

(?)

Jenner: You are a very foolish, young rat. You set off the alarm on the computer system. You could have been caught and they would have killed you.

Racso: I had to do it.

Jenner: I have to do this. ((?) spanked (?))

Racso: Ouch!

(?)

Racso: We'll program the computer. We'll program it to destroy the dam.

(?)

Christopher: And we'll make it wreck itself afterward, so they can't use it again.

Arthur: If it would wipe out everything they've done.

Beatrice: And it would look like their mistake. As if they didn't know what they were doing, they'd have no one else to blame.

Justin: But could we do it?

Arthur: Hopeful. After all, what do we know about computers?

Sally: We can learn.

(?): We'll write our own program. It may be hard, but I think we can do it.

Beatrice: I think so too.

(?)

Racso: We will do it. I'll bet I could write the program.

(?)

Isabella: Sure. You and Albert Einstein.

Racso: Wait and see.

(?)

Chapter 15
(?)

Justin: Try not to be disappointed, if you're one of those who is asked to stay here. Remember that the evacuation of Thorn Valley is worked just as vital to our survival as the mission itself.

(The young rats (?))

(?)

Arthur: When we were captives in Dr. Schultz's laboratory, the scientists shared a computer and a room just down the hall from us. We used to let ourselves out at night to go look at it. It was big almost as big as a piano. Today that same computer's memory could be stored in a space as small as a surface of a pebble.

(?)

Arthur: The computer plays the disc in the same way that a photograph plays a record. The disc has instructions on it and the set of instructions is called a program.

Christopher: Who will program the computer that runs the dam?

Arthur: The humans have probably developed their program already. I expect it will be at the dam site when we arrive stored in a special file. We will use their program to create ours on the night before the dam is to open. We plan to erase their program and substitute ours on the same disks.

(On Christmas, Racso (?))

Timothy: You could have asked me.

(?)

(?)

Racso: All you do is reverse the order of the letters. Then you sound them out. It's like a secret language.

Timothy: Wow! That's neat.

Racso: My old man showed me how. He did it on my name. I liked the way it sounded. So much that after that I never wanted to be called anything else.

Timothy: Let's see. (?) R-A-C-S-O. Then I turn them around O-S-C-A-R. Oscar. Is that your real name?

Racso: It was, but I changed it officially when I ran away from home. Oscar sounds like silly, but Racso sounds tough.

Timothy: Let's see what my name would be. (?) Yhtomit. Sounds like a guy from outer space, doesn't it? Or some kind of monster.

Racso: Want me to call you that?

Timothy: Sure.

(?)

Brenden: Where did you learn about the backward code?

Racso: My father showed me, but since I didn't know how to read a night. I couldn't do it he had to help me.

Brenden: Who taught your father how to read?

Racso: There's a tutor at the mansion and my old man overheard him teaching the kids, so he picked it up there.

Brenden: It's quite a coincidence that you turned up at Thorn Valley. The only other place in the world where rats can read and write. Not only that, but Thorn Valley is a secret. Rats outside the valley don't know about it.

Racso: Some do. My father did.

Brenden: He might have had some connection with NIMH in the past. The rats in the laboratory got special shots that made them smart. There's no evidence that an ordinary rat could have learned to read.

Racso: He did.

(?)

Brenden: Maybe your dad was at NIMH. Maybe he just never told you about it. All the rats who escaped those who had gotten the special shots that is stayed together along with Jonathan Brisby and Mr. Ages some of the mice did get swept away in the air ducts, but everyone else traveled as a group until they finally settled under the rose bush at the Fitzgibbons farm and then they stayed together until just before the move to Thorn Valley. I remember that in the history.

Christopher: Maybe your father is really a mouse. Maybe he found his way out of the air ducts and …

Brenden: That would explain why you're so short.

(?)

Racso: He's not a mouse and stopped making up stories about him! Stop talking about it!

Brenden: You act like you're trying to hide something.

Racso: I'm not!

(?)

Chapter 16
(The council (?))

(?): It's not that there's anything wrong with them. It's just that there isn't that much right with them. Either how much good does a rock star do. Do rock stars really make the world a better place? They're fun other things are fun too.

Racso: I know. Like gardening and square dancing and playing hide and seek and eating your fresh vegetables and being a good little rat.

(?)

Racso: And some of the rats around here are losing their sense of humor if you ask me.

(?): It's hard to be lighthearted in a crisis.

Racso: I'm in trouble too.

(?): What about?

Racso: Lying and Jenner.

(?): What do you want me to do about it?

Racso: Help me.

(?): Advice?

(?)

(?): All right, but the advice will cost you something.

Racso: What do you mean?

(?): We'll give you advice, but before we do, you'll have to agree to this. To give up rock stars and code language for the rest of the winter until this sabotage unit leads.

Racso: But that's blackmail.

(?)

(?): Look, Racso. They're all troublesome times for us with the dam crisis hanging over our heads. Everyone is scared we don't know what will happen or where we'll be six months from now. There's a danger that we could lose our direction and if that happens their mission will fail. We have to do whatever we can to keep the community united until this crisis is over and we need your help.

Racso: Okay, no more code until Thorn Valley is saved.

(?): Thank you. Now what's this about lying and Jenner?

Racso: You remember I didn't want to see others to know about Jenner, so I told them my father lives in a mansion. I learned to read from the children's tutor there, but Brendan said an ordinary rat couldn't have learned to read and that my father must have been at the laboratory, so I'm afraid they're going to figure it out.

(?): And what if they do?

Racso: They'll hate me for what he did and they'll make fun of me for wanting to be a hero because my old man was …

(?): We would say he was a rebel.

Racso: I don't want to lie about him, but I can't stand to tell the truth either.

(?): Why not?

Racso: They'll think it served him right what happened to him.

(?): Why don't you tell them that you lied about your father living in the mansion, but that you had your own reasons for doing so and ask them not to ask you more about it until you're ready to say more.

Racso: Thank you.

(?): I'm going for a walk in the garden. Would you like to come with me?

(?)

Racso: That's the first letter of my name.

(?): We remember that we told you. We want Thorn Valley to be a place where heroes are unnecessary, but the truth is that we haven't reached that point the move from Mr. Fitzgibbons' farm was a trial for us. For some, a test of faith for others a test of physical endurance. Two rats gave their lives, so that we could make that move. This is a memorial to them.

Racso: Who were they?

(?): One was a rat called Martha who had come with us from NIMH. She had tremendous strength and cunning and was almost fearless. She was older than most of us and then fought on the streets before she ever got to the laboratory. She volunteered to be part of the last guard. The rats who stayed to trick the humans into believing that they had destroyed an ordinary rat's nest.

Racso: And the other?

(Flashback (?))

(?): The truth is that we don't really know. He was a large reddish rat who simply appeared on our doorstep at Mr. Fitzgibbon's farm in late winter. About a month before the move, he was practically starving. We gave him food and sent him away, but he kept on coming back. He said he wanted to pay us back for helping him out. Eventually, we let him stay. He was different from us. He was not bright even for a normal rat and he never understood why we had decided to leave our nest. We tried to teach him letters and he tried to learn, but 'R' for red was the only letter he ever recognized. But what a worker. We don't know if we would have been ready to move if it hadn't been for him. He could move one pound of seed in a single carry and he worked around the clock. The day came when the colony left for Thorn Valley. Nine of us stayed to destroy the nest. Red came back that night. I want to help he said we knew the end would be dangerous. Mrs. Brisby had overheard that Dr. Schultz from NIMH planned to gas the nest to collect specimens. He suspected that some of us were the rats of NIMH at dawn we heard the tractor starts. They must have put a bulldozer blade on it because we saw the roots of the rose bush fly up into the air. There was a terrible stench. I ran behind the others tore the hidden door. I could see the sky when Justin stopped me. We were missing too. Red never spoke. He just turned around and went back in. I came out gasping after the others had stopped circling and dodging. I counted later seven. Later, Brutus was pushed out. Red had saved him and gone back for Martha.

Racso: Why did he do it?

(?): I don't know. I've thought about it a lot. We've never been able to find his family or even where he came from. We never even got his body. The doctor took that too and Martha's too. That's one of the reasons we put up this stone.

Racso: The 'R.' Does it stand for red?

(?): It stands of 'rat.' It's for him and for Martha and for other rats who work or die for what they believe in.

Racso: For what they believe in?

(?)

(?): Last week, Elvira came to talk with me. She's looking for an assistant to work in the lab with her. Starting next summer, I knew you were interested in science, so I mentioned your name. She wasn't very enthusiastic at first, but after we talked a little longer, she thought it might work out. I think the two of you could get along if you tried.

Racso: Oh! I think I'd like that. I'm sure I could help Elvira. I've sampled children's vitamins and cough drops in drugstores all over the city. I know all the best flavors and what they're made from medicine doesn't have to be bitter, you know.

(?): Isn't that the training unit lining up over there?

Racso: I'm late!

(?)

Chapter 17
(?)

Racso: We're going together, you know. You and me?

Isabella: How could I forget?

(?)

Racso: I've got my pin and some paper. Do we need anything else?

Isabella: You could use a few more inches if you ask me.

(?)

Justin: What's this? You haven't left yet?

Isabella: We're just going now.

Justin: Why are you taking that produce basket? Isn't that going to be clumsy in the brush?

Isabella: I'm in charge of dinner tonight and I thought I might find some persimmons near the creek. Persimmons are one of your favorites, aren't they, Justin?

Justin: Run along now. Don't forget to blow the emergency whistle. If you get into trouble and try not to be late.

(?)

(?)

Isabella: You should write the words one at tree. Otherwise, that could be any tree on the south side of the creek.

(Isabella drew (?))

(?)

Racso: What was that?

Isabella: It's coming from the creek somewhere beyond the wind.

Racso: We better hide.

(?)

Racso: Calm down.

(?)

Racso: I heard voices and they didn't sound like us.

Isabella: What did they sound like?

Racso: Like …

Isabella: Could it be true?

Racso: Like humans.

(?)

Brendan: I think it's a boat.

(?)

Timothy: We've got to warn everyone. If it is a boat and if it has people in it, we've got to make sure they don't make it all the way to the pond.

(?)

Brennen: We've got to tell, Justin.

(Timothy (?))

Male voice: There's a little beach. Let's eat lunch.

(?)

Racso: The boat is called a canoe and the two wooden sticks are paddles. The American Indians use canoe. I know because I saw one in the movie 'The Last of the Mohicans.' There's a man and a woman in the boat. She has long red hair and glasses and the man has a black beard and a knitted cap. A little bit like mine. They're right alongside the shore now. They're getting out. They're pulling the canoe new up on the sand. They're going to sit on that old elm log just beneath us.

(?)

Male voice: How did you end up covering the dam story, Lindsay?

Lindsay: I was one of the reporters at the state legislature when the money for the dam was passed. Representative Jones sponsored the Bill. At the time, I thought it was strange that he would do that since most of his district is farmland. Sure enough, when I went to some of the public meetings held by the farmers. They opposed the dam on the ground that it would destroy their livelihood, but other people argued that this land is just being wasted as it is now.

Man: Wasted. (He shook his head) There are only a few wilderness areas left in this state and Thorn Valley is the largest if it's destroyed all the animals that live here will die too.

Lindsey: That's one of the reasons I asked you to come with me, Jack. If you take some photographs or try to get them printed in the paper, that way people will have a chance to see what Thorn Valley is like.

Jack: I'm surprised other people haven't come here to go hiking or canoeing.

(?)

Lindsey: Before the construction company blasted, a road through the mountain. The valley was almost inaccessible. The north end is a deep gorge and where it ends. The river goes over a series of falls to a steep for boating.

Jack: I'll set up my tripod right here. We'll get some shots of the creek and that old walnut tree behind it and then we'll do some of the mountain over there to the west.

Lindsey: Great, but we can't take too long. I want you to get some pictures of the gorge too. And the area where the dam construction is going on.

(?)

Lindsey: Brrr! The water's freezing. (?) What's this?

Jack: Well, I'll be darned. There must have been people here and not too long ago.

(?)

Lindsey: It looks like a toy, but it's beautifully made.

Jack: It couldn't have been here long or it would have rotted.

Lindsey: Look at these vines. They're almost like a little harness.

(?)

Sally: Christopher! Come down out of that tree! We're supposed to go as soon as the whistle blows. Christopher, didn't you hear the whistle? We're going to get in big trouble. Come back down here.

(Christopher (?) the branch (?))

Lindsey: What was that?

Jack: It came from the pine tree across the creek. I think. See the branches are still moving? We may have scared an animal that was nesting there.

Lindsey: It gives me the creeps. I feel like someone was spying on us.

Jack: Want to have a look?

Lindsey: I think I'll stay here. You go.

(Racso (?))

(?)

Lindsey: Jack, did you find anything? Jack? Jack?

Jack: Lindsay, I'll be back over there in a minute.

(Racso (?))

(?)

Jack: There was blood. It was still warm and the branch was there too. A fairly small one. It was rotted most of the way through. It must have collapsed under the weight of the animal.

Lindsey: So someone was spying on us.

Jack: I don't blame them. Whoever they are, this is their value. They have reason to fear us.

Lindsey: They can't know that.

Jack: They can sense it.

Lindsey: What do you think it was?

Jack: Raccoon or possum probably. Too bad I didn't get a shot of it when I took the photographs.

Lindsey: We'd better get back on the river. It's quarter of one.

Jack: What did you do with that little basket?

Lindsey: I must have dropped it when I heard the crash.

(?)

Jack: You must have dropped it into the creek. The water swept it away.

Lindsey: Maybe. It sure was strange who would have brought a little kid with toys into the wilderness.

(?)

Jack: Maybe it belonged to your spy.

Lindsey: Very funny.

(?)

Chapter 18
(?)

Racso: Is he going to be all right?

Elvira: I don't know it's a dangerous time of year to be sick. The cold makes it harder to recover.

Racso: I don't want him to die.

Elvira: Of course you don't. None of us does.

Timothy: I had pneumonia and I got over it.

Elvira: You were lucky.

Racso: He's going to be fine. You'll see.

(?)

(?)

(?)

(?): There's always tomorrow. You know.

(?)

Isabella: You can't do this to me! You just can't!

(?)

Justin: I'm sorry, if your feelings …

Isabella: No! No! No! I love you. I won't leave.

Justin: We talked and we don't feel that you …

Isabella: No!

(?)

Brendan: It was because she panicked when she saw the humans. They figured she couldn't stand up to the pressure of the mission if she couldn't get through that.

Sally: Anyone can panic. I don't think she should be thrown out of the training program just because she panicked.

Beatrice: In an emergency, you have to be able to control your emotions. Otherwise, you won't be able to do what you're supposed to.

Brendan: Look at Racso. He sat there. He realized what had to be done and he did it.

Sally: But he must have been afraid.

Brendan: Anyone is afraid in a dangerous situation. It makes sense to be afraid.

Beatrice: Fear and panic are different. (She turned to Racso.) How did you feel?

Racso: I was scared. I think. At least I remember that my heart was pounding, but I wasn't as scared as Isabella because I'm used to humans. I've been around them a lot. I knew they wouldn't be able to catch me if they started chasing me and I figured if they saw me. They'd probably think I was a muskrat.

Brendan: So you were able to figure things out even though you were scared?

Racso: That was good.

(?)

Racso: I told I lie.

All: What?

Beatrice: Do you mean that you didn't tell the truth about how you felt when you saw the people?

Racso: Not that. About my family. About living in the mansion with rich people that wasn't true. I just wanted to impress you, so I made it up. There's more to … (?) But I can't tell you everything now. I'm just not ready.

Brendan: You lied about your background. Why should we believe anything you say?

Racso: Because I admitted it. Nobody forced me to tell you. I wanted you to know.

Beatrice: That's true. Nobody forced him.

Sally: I'm glad you told us. I never really believed all that stuff anyway.

Brendan: But when will you tell us the truth?

Racso: I-I don't know.

Sally: Stay tuned for the next dramatic chapter of Racso. The rat's true confessions coming we don't know when on another channel.

(?)

Brendan: Is that really what TV sounds like?

Racso: You just have to make your voice a little deeper like this.

(?)

(The councils (?))

(?)

Sally: It's my fault. If I hadn't started yelling for him to come down, he never would have fallen. He was trying to signal me to be quiet.

Hermione: You saved him. If the humans had found Christopher, they probably would have taken him with them in their boat and tried to care for him. A veterinarian would have told them he was a Norway rat. They might have begun to ask questions why were domestic rats nesting in the middle of a wilderness. When Christopher woke up, he might have cried out not realizing where he was.

Sally: And then what?

Hermione: It wouldn't have taken them long to connect the talking rat with the little basket. They would have been back. And they would have known what they were looking for.

(?)

Sally: It was scary to hear a big animal coming up the bank when I was trying to help Christopher. I dragged him behind an oak tree and covered him up with leaves and then I ran back and wiped up the blood. I missed some of it though because that was the first thing the man saw.

Hermione: How did you feel when you saw the man?

Sally: Terrified. I dug myself under the leaves right beside Christopher and didn't look out again, until he was gone.

Racso: You were lucky. He wasn't an Indian scout. They know how to track animals. If he'd been an Indian, he would have found you.

Brendan: Indian scouts don't paddle. Metal canoes.

Racso: I know but …

Brendan: Stop!

(?)

Hermione: Someone may be dying. We're sitting here laughing and talking nonsense. We're doing everything we can for Christopher.

Timothy: Not everything. Mr. Ages gave me a special powder three years ago when I had pneumonia. I asked Elvira about it, but she says the plant it's made from doesn't grow in the valley.

Hermione: The trip to Mr. Fitzgibbon's farm in mid-winter could take weeks, Timothy. It would be dangerous and more lives would be risked.

Timothy: We'll be risking lives at the dam site to save many lives. All the animals who live here. I still think we can do more for Christopher.

(?)

Racso: I just mean that I've never seen you like that before. You've always been so good. What's wrong with you?

Timothy: Nothing's wrong with me. Do you think you're the only one who can argue?

Racso: No. It's just that I'm not used to you doing it. I guess.

(?)

Racso: Are you sure you're all right, Timothy? You just don't look like yourself?

(?)

Racso: Timothy?

Timothy: No. Three nights ago, I had a dream. I'm not sure whether it was about me or Christopher during the dream. We seem to be the same, but it was awful.

Racso: What happened?

Timothy: I dreamed that I was in Christopher's bed in the infirmary and that I was going to die and I could see into the future because for me. There would be no future. My bed lifted up and flew out the window, like a magic carpet. I leaned over the side and could see things changing slowly at first, but then faster and faster.

Racso: What kind of things?

Timothy: I saw the dam being built. The valley began to fill up with water. I saw the rats leaving going single file over the mountain. Carrying their tools on their backs. Many of the other animals stayed too long and drowned. Their screams were horrible. But finally, the valley became a great lake and there were more than 20 roads coming to it. Each road was crowded with cars. Every car was filled with people some parts of the valley that had remained above water were turned into parking lots. There were metal garbage cans and the animals that were left crept out at night to eat from them. Because there was no place else to get food. I flew on in my bed following one of the highways and I saw the Fitzgibbons house with a road running beside it where the bean field used to be. When I came closer, I saw a sign out front that said 'Antiques.' There was no garden and the water in the brook looked dark and oily where the barn had stood. I saw a restaurant with a big plastic statue of a monkey holding a plate of sandwiches. I signaled the bed to come down and it landed in the Fitzgibbon's old garden. The big stone was still there, but for a minute, I didn't see our cinderblock house. Then when I did see it, I was afraid to go inside. The entrance was blocked with bits of paper and broken glass. I pushed my way through. I called out, but no one answered. The living room was awful. It was littered with bits of junk in one corner. There was a little pile of dried grass. The bedroom was empty. I left and walked toward the brook. I found my family. There, my mother, father, Cynthia and Teresa. Mother and father hugged me tight. Martin is taken Breta and the children and gone away. She said he should. He said he couldn't stand it here any longer. I saw her brush away tears. He had to change the way we live. Timothy, they were guns and their fur looks coarse and patchy. We've decided to live by the brook all year round now. Mother said. The sound of the water is soothing. We couldn't get used to the noise from the highway. What do you eat? we've learned to live on the scraps that people throw away. Mostly meat and bits of fried potato. What about water? We drink from the book from the brook. Teresa said. It's oily, but you get used to it after a while. Cynthia pushed her way through the others. Are you going to stay, Timothy? Are you going to stay here with us? We've missed you so much. He can't stay, Cynthia. My mother interrupted. One of his friends is very sick without Timothy. Christopher may die, but how can I help him? My voice rose in desperation. Don't give up. Her voice seemed to fade. How? Tell me how. I said. And then I woke up.

(?)

Racso: You must tell the council. Go tomorrow morning. They'll know what to do.

Chapter 19
(?)

(?): We understand how you feel after that awful dream. But I just don't see how we can do it.

Justin: It would be a terrible trip and the sky looks like snow.

Timothy: Let me try. If only I could get the medicine from Mr. Ages.

(?): No!

Timothy: Is there anyone else who could go? It would mean Christopher's life.

(?): We can't give up one life to save another and that's what we would be doing. The mountain is covered with ice. The descent on the other side would be impossible.

Timothy: There must be some way. What about Jeremy?

Justin: He's not due in for another week and we have no way to contact him.

Timothy: We have the emergency signal for the couriers. Another crow could drop the message at Jeremy's nest.

Justin: I think it's worth a try. I could go up this afternoon and set up the signal.

(?): Do it, then. But you … (?) Don't get your hopes up. There's a storm brewing. We may not have a warrior, until it's over and that could mean days.

Timothy: All right.

(?)

Racso: He's too sick to eat.

(?)

Isabella: It's terrible. I wish there was something I could do for him. Believe me. I know what it is to suffer. This last week has been the worst of my whole life.

Racso: That's different. You don't have something physically wrong with you.

Isabella: Rats die from broken hearts too. You know. I never thought Justin would treat me this way. After all my years of devotion.

Racso: I think you're taking it too personally. Other rats have been asking to leave the training program too.

Isabella: The others would have reacted the same way I did, if they'd seen people. Justin just expected too much of me. He has higher standards for me because I'm special.

Racso: All you can think about is yourself. Everyone else is just as special as you are. Look at me. I made a long trip from the city all by myself and I know about a lot of things you don't. Telephones and rock stars and movies and Indians and video games and candy.

Isabella: Shut up, Racso! You're nothing but an obnoxious little rat.

Racso: I won't shut up! (?)

Isabella: Bite me! (?) Go ahead and bite me, Racso. Bite me.

(?)

Racso: I'm not going to bite you, Isabella.

Isabella: Aha! You're afraid I tell Justin. Aren't you?

Racso: I'm not afraid of anything.

(?)

Isabella: Aren't you just little Mr. Know-It-All? Movie stars, Potato chips, Go-karts, Candy. Maybe we ought to bow down and worship you. You know so much.

Racso: Shut up, Isabella! (?) Candy. Candy.

(?)

Racso: Isabella. We might be able to help Christopher. You and I.

Isabella: What?

Racso: We might be able to save him. Sit down.

(?)

Brendan: Justin, I didn't expect to see you up here. Shift changes it for another three hours and Beatrice too.

Justin: We've come to try to signal courier. Christopher is much worse. We're going to try to send a message to Mr. Ages for medicine.

Beatrice: He has a white powder made from the roots of a plant that doesn't grow in the valley. Timothy had it when he was sick three years ago and it helped him. He's the one who insisted. We try to get it.

Sentry: I don't think anyone's going to be flying on a day like this. There's a winter storm blowing in.

Justin: We can try.

(?)

Justin: After all, it could mean Christopher's life.

Sentry: Is that bad off?

Justin: He's unconscious and Elvira hasn't been able to get him to eat or drink. He's strong, but she doesn't know how long he can last. He doesn't take a turn for the better.

Sentry: Poor kid.

Beatrice: If anyone responds to the signal, we need this taken to the old foundation. Just beyond the Fitzgibbon's farm. It should be dropped in an obvious place. Explained that there's an old white mouse living there that he's a doctor and that no harm must come to him. His powders have saved many lives, including birds.

Sentry: All right.

Beatrice: There's another message too. For Jeremy. It should be dropped at his nest. We're asking him to fly the powder here if it's safe to do so.

Sentry: Got it. Sure you don't want to warm up a little more before you head back?

Beatrice: We'll be fine.

(?)

(?): Dreams aren't real, but often they represent fears that are real. It's not surprising that in the dream. You worry about Christopher. Changed itself into worry about your family in Thorn Valley. You'll care a great deal about both of them.

Racso: That makes sense. After all, there was in danger.

(?)

Timothy: I'd run away before I'd live at that place. I saw in that dream. I couldn't stand that.

Racso: You should stop worrying about it. Arthur and Justin have finished the plan for the sabotage mission. They're going to unveil it at the training session tomorrow night.

Timothy: If only the plant succeeds.

Racso: Timothy, look. Look. Isn't that a bird up by the cliff?

Timothy: I think you're right and it looks like it's gonna land.

Racso: If only it agrees to take the message to Mr. Ages.

Timothy: If only … that seems to sum it up right now, doesn't it?

Racso: Timothy. Look. It's snowing.

(The snow (?))

(Elvira (?))

Elvira: Christopher, I want you to drink.

(?)

Female voice: Come in. (?) Is he better?

Elvira: No. But not really worse. He's stronger than he looks.

Male voice: He hasn't eaten in almost a week.

Female voice: How much longer can he go on like this?

Elvira: I'm not sure.

Female: Another day or two perhaps?

Male: There's nothing you can do?

Christopher's mother: Not right now. He's our only child.

Elvira: It's possible that he could recover. Try not to despair. Talk to him. He may hear you. Even though, he can't respond.

(?)

(?)

Isabella: Add beet, sugar. Now more water. It has to be smoother than that, Racso.

(?)

(?)

Isabella: The cookbook says they should cool for at least an hour, so we'll have to wait.

Racso: But I want to taste it. Just one. Please, Isabella?

Isabella: Absolutely not.

(?)

Racso: If it works. If the candy saves Christopher's life, this will be a great achievement.

Isabella: And don't forget that it couldn't have been accomplished without me. I found the recipe and started the fire in the stove and showed you how to grind the paste and I made the carob coating.

(?)

Isabella: Wait until Justin hears about this.

Racso: An hour is up.

(?)

Racso: More! I need more.

Isabella: You must certainly do not. The rest is for Christopher.

(?)

Elvira: A bad night to be out.

(?)

Sentry: You'll never guess who picked up that letter you and Beatrice brought up.

Justin: Who?

Sentry: A horned owl.

(?)

Sentry: A really big one. To tell you the truth, I thought he was coming after me. I was terrified, but after he landed, he just nodded toward the pile of stones. I gave him the papers with the instructions you told me and he nodded again and then he took off.

(?)

Male: How's the kid doing?

Elvira: Better than you'd be now. If you hadn't left the mountain, the moment you did. You took a real chance, you know. Another 15 minutes and I don't think you'd have made it down.

Male: Oh, it hurts.

Elvira: That means you can feel. We can be thankful for that by tomorrow. You should be as good as new.

(Racso (?))

(?)

Racso: Hey, Christopher. I brought you something to eat.

(?)

Racso: It's what we picked the mint for. Remember the stuff I told you about that I used to eat back in the city. We made for you some for you. Some candy.

(?)

Racso: I'll just put a bit in your mouth, so you can see how good it tastes.

(?)

Racso: You can just let it melt. If you don't feel like chewing right now, it's good that way too.

(?)

Racso: Hey, Christopher. I have to leave. I'll sing your favorite song.

(?)

Racso: Sweet Lorinda (?)

(?)

Chapter 20
(?)

(?)

Justin: Today, I'll present what you've been waiting for. The master plan for the sabotage of the computer and the dam the plan will not be easy to accomplish. It will take skill and intelligence and stamina, but we think it can be done. We will leave here in two weeks and establish a headquarters and living quarters adjacent to the dam site. We'll set up a security force and do all our work under their supervision at night. During the first two weeks, we'll become familiar with the layout of the site and with the computer. We'll study the computer manual and make copies of the programs that are in use. The next month will be spent practicing with the computer. Each night, we'll enter parts of our program. Check them, then erase them before we have to leave. We'll open the computer and study the circuitry inside it. We'll study the gates and spillways of the dam itself and the mechanisms that open and close them. Security will be crucial. The humans will be checking their equipment carefully. They must never notice that it has been tampered with. If they did, they might increase the number of watchmen guarding the site at night. That could make our work impossible. Our program will be entered into the computer once and for all on the night before the grand opening ceremony. There are risks to this many risks. We will have only one night to accomplish all that must be done, but the grand opening will have an audience of thousands. Fit is a disaster and we plan to make it a disaster. The people will be angry. They will think the Joneses are incompetent and they will not want more money spent on the dam.

Brendan: But if the computer has a different program in it, they'll figure out that someone else was involved.

Justin: Let me finish.

Brendan: Sorry.

Justin: Our plan is that the computer and the program inside. It will be destroyed, but as an extra precaution, Arthur has worked things out, so that our program closely resembles the real program. Under close inspection, it will appear that someone accidentally typed the wrong information into the computer.

(?)

Arthur: These numbers represent the formula. The humans use to figure out the speed at which the dam's gates will open and close. They used information like the pressure exerted by tons of water on the face of the dam and the thickness and weight of the gate themselves to arrive at what they think is a safe speed. We've used their formula to calculate the opposite the unsafe speed. These are the numbers we'll be typing into the program. They will cause the gates to rise, so fast that their intense vibrations will shatter the concrete wall of the dam.

Sally: You mean will be typing numbers into their program.

Arthur: It would be easier if we could, but their program is designed with certain limits that ensure the safety of the dam. As it is now, their program would shut off if we inserted the numbers that we want to. Our program will have no safety limits.

Racso: How are we going to wreck the computer?

Arthur: I was getting to that. We'll be placing a fuse between two electrical connections. Inside the machine, we'll soak the fuse and oil first. To make it more flammable, the next time the program is activated. The fuse will ignite. The fire will creep along a piece of twine to a small heap of blasting powder. For that, we'll figure about an hour from the time. The program begins the explosion will be strong enough to destroy the inside of the computer without hurting anyone standing nearby.

Beatrice: It sounds good, but you've left out one part that we all want to hear.

All: What do you mean?

Beatrice: You haven't said who is going.

(?)

Justin: The names will be posted on the door of this room next Monday.

Hermione: I've got good news. Christopher regained consciousness for a moment this afternoon. He's still very sick, but it's a good sign.

All: Hooray!

(?)

Hermione: He spoke. Elvira wasn't sure what he meant, but she heard the word clearly. He said more.

(?)

Hermione: I've been tired all day, but the sacrifice was worth it. I was up till four o'clock this morning. You know. Making candy is a lot of work.

Elvira: But I never saw you come in and I was with Christopher all night. Except for when the sentries came in and that was earlier.

Isabella: Actually, it was my helper who gave the candy to Christopher.

All: You're a helper?

(?)

Isabella: Racso.

All: Racso?

Elvira: But Racso never came in either.

Isabella: He sneaked in and put some candy in Christopher's mouth and it just dissolved there. And when Christopher tasted it, he knew he had to wake up to get another piece.

Elvira: Is this true? You were asleep in your chair. Were you afraid to ask?

Racso: He was just so sick. I thought you might think it would make him worse.

(?)

Elvira: Where's the rest of the candy?

Racso: It's hidden in the storeroom. In the basket where we keep the mint.

Elvira: Go get it. We may never know exactly what helped Christopher, but he does seem better and if it was the candy, then we should give him some more.

(Racso (?))

(?)

Elvira: Everyone's down outside. Jeremy just arrived he flew through the storm. Last night, finally, he couldn't see anymore, so he was forced to hole up in the hall of tree. His feathers are half frozen, so they're building a bonfire to warm him up and Isabella ran up to the kitchen and made him some soup, but he brought the medicine.

Racso: That's wonderful.

Elvira: He deserves a warm welcome and all thanks.

Racso: Yes, he does.

(?)

(The councils (?))

(?): The rat who carries more grain than she really has to or a student who does not lose his timber when another rat takes what is rightfully his.

(?)

Elvira: Racso?

Racso: I was thinking.

Elvira: Christopher drank it all and he ate two pieces of candy.

Racso: Can I see him?

Elvira: Not yet. He's still very weak, but if he's better tomorrow.

Racso: Hooray! Hooray!

Elvira: Watch that tail! You might knock something over.

Racso: Hooray!

(?)

Elvira: How can I run an infirmary with rats dancing and shouting and waving their tails all over the place?

Racso: I'm leaving in a minute. Everyone deserves a chance to celebrate now and then. You know.

Elvira: Oh. You're good at it, aren't you?

Racso: At what?

Elvira: Celebrating.

Racso: Why I suppose I am.

Elvira: Maybe one day, you'll give me a lesson. I'd like that.

Chapter 21
(?)

(?)

(?): Good luck. Do the best you can but be careful we want you back alive. We'll think about you every day.

(?)

(?)

Arthur: The chief engineer.

(?)

Sally: It's so big.

(?)

Arthur: The three of you can take cover under this desk while I get my bearings. Your goal tonight is to memorize the location of everything in the room, so that we could tell the others exactly what to expect. I'm going to look for the computer manual.

Sally: I can't move.

(?)

(?)

(Arthur (?))

(The watchmen (?))

(?): All clear.

((?) 'Jones ' (?))

Arthur: It's the password into the system. It means we'll be able to go into the computer and get out any information. They've already programmed in.

Sally: Great!

Arthur: But we have a lot of work ahead of us. This note-taking could wind up being a very slow process.

(?)

((?) 'Xerox ' (?))

(?)

Racso: The Xerox 223 copier clean, efficient, economical. Don't let your office be without one.

Beatrice: What? What are you talking about?

Racso: That's it! In Xerox machine!

(?)

(?): What's a Xerox machine?

Racso: It makes copies on pieces of paper. We could use it to copy the computer manual. We could probably copy the entire thing in two or three nights.

Arthur: Of course. A copying machine. I've read about them, but I didn't realize what it was.

Vincent: Will we be able to operate it?

Arthur: I'm certain we can figure it out. Racso and I will go in tonight and try.

(They worked (?))

(?)

Night man 1: A rat!

Night man 2: Catch it!

Night man 3: Kill it!

Guard man: Don't fire your gun in here. You might damage the computer.

(?)

Night man (?): Here! I've got it! Be careful they can bite, you know.

Guard man: I'll put the screen over the top.

(?)

Chapter 22
(?)

Guard man (?): I don't care what we saw. No one will believe us.

(?)

Hank the Heavy man: I mean it, Ray. This is our chance. What do you think Barnum and Bailey would pay for this? Ripley? Even Johnny Carson? A rat who can write. It's got to be worth a million.

Ray: They wouldn't believe it. But we saw it with our own eyes and we have the sign.

Hank: Probably, it'll never write another word and when we say it can. We'll think we're nuts. Then, we'll have to get it to cooperate.

Ray: How?

Hank: We'll offer it bribes.

Ray: What do rats like?

Hank: Cheese, peanuts, seeds?

Ray: I'll tell you what. If you can get it to write again, I'll go in with you. Otherwise, I say we should stuff them both in a bag with a few bricks and throw them in the river and then forget it. Should I just drop the pencil and paper into the can?

Hank: Sure. Why not?

(?)

Ray: Let's see what it wrote. "I am a rat. I like candy." What do you know about that?

Hank: What did I tell you? This is our million, Ray. Our ship has finally come in.

Ray: Give it some candy. Keep it happy.

(?)

Ray: It's almost a quarter of five. Why don't we hide them in the storeroom and make one last round? We haven't punched the time clock for three hours. The boss is bound to notice.

Hank: Let him notice.

Ray: Why are you now?

(?)

Ray: You guys be good. You mean a lot to me.

(?)

Beatrice: You saved my life. Thank you.

(?)

Brendan: Are you all right?

Racso: Yes.

(?)

Justin: Quickly. Quickly now. Hurry.

(?)

Justin: What else? The notes you wrote Racso. Where are they?

Arthur: Here's one.

Racso: It was on the desk.

Beatrice: He put the other one in his pocket when he took the candy bar out.

(?)

Justin: Do the Xerox machine get turned off?

Beatrice: Right before they came in.

Justin: Okay. Let's get out of here.

(?)

Timothy: It could have happened to anyone. At least we're all safe.

Brendan: It proves that we need another guard outside the control room. That way, no one will ever be left alone.

Timothy: What about Racso's note? The man had it in his pocket.

Sally: Nobody will believe it. They'll think they're both crazy.

Arthur: Or drunk. I expect they'll be fired, if they talk about it.

Justin: What if they can prove they weren't drunk?

Arthur: What do you mean?

Justin: I mean what if they do convince someone that it really did happen. Not necessarily their bosses. I mean anyone.

Brendan: You're kidding, Justin. A rat who can read and write.

Justin: But they do have the note and men convince each other that they've met ghosts and creatures from outer space. And sometimes, they go on TV or quoted in the newspapers.

Arthur: Then what?

Justin: There are people who would be interested.

(?)

Arthur: The news will never get that far. Anyway, let's hope it won't. We've got other things to worry about for the next few days.

(?)

(?)

Sally: All clear.

Man: All clear.

Sally: We can relax for a moment. The men are on their way to the trailer to punch in.

(?)

Sally: What step is that?

Racso: The hokey pokey.

(?)

Racso: I'm going to die, so this is what my old man was afraid of. I want to scream, but my voice is gone.

(?)

Brendan: It's okay, Racso. You're going to be okay.

(?)

Timothy: Can you walk?

(?)

Timothy: We'll take you back to headquarters.

(?)

Brendan: I almost died. you were lucky to hit that beam.

Racso: I would have been smashed against the rocks.

(?)

Racso: There's something I want to say to you.

Sally: Why don't you wait until we get back to headquarters? We'll feel better after you get a chance to rest.

(?): Now.

Racso: My father is Jenner.

Brendan: Jenner's dead, Racso.

Racso: No more dead than I am.

(?)

Jeremy: From the council. He's been to the library in Smithville.

(?)

(Justin (?))

News reporter: Jones denies corruption in assignment of dam contract. Yesterday, reporter Lindsay Scott learned that state investigators are trying to find out whether Representative Jones improperly influenced legislation and bidding on the Trout River dam contract, which was awarded to a company owned by him and his two cousins. Local farmers charge Jones. Sponsored the legislation in his own self-interest. Meanwhile, work at the dam is continuing at a breakneck pace. However, farmers charge that the joneses are trying to finish the job before a grand jury orders work at the dam stopped.

All: Hooray!

(?)

Arthur: Much work lies ahead of us. We don't know whether the farmers will succeed and if they do, whether it will be in time to save the valley, but it's nice to know that someone else is on our side.

(?)

Chapter 23
(?)

News reporter: Joe's construction company announced today. A grand opening date for the Trout River dam. Saturday, April 11th at 12 noon. The public is invited to attend.

(?): And so it will be sooner than we thought.

(?)

(?): Our lives have been busy here. My trip to the library was difficult, but exciting. I stayed up all night clipping the newspaper articles and skimming the latest editions of computer news. Jeremy flew us home early the next morning. Yesterday, we made our ninth trip to the ridge. We have selected a large dry cave there for an emergency shelter. It has three separate rooms and three entrance ways all of them small enough to keep the foxes out. We have carried three bushels of seeds to the cave, including carrot, cabbage, onion, potato, and tomato seeds. There is a small clearing about 100 yards south where these can be planted. They should produce a crop large enough to feed all of us. If we cannot return to Thorn Valley, we have been observed by the other animals. And of course, there have been rumors and panic as the word of the dam has spread to the nests and burrows nearby and farther away. We have tried to reassure those who have come here for information telling them our plans for an emergency evacuation and urging them to make plans too. Christopher continues to recover from his illness. Yesterday, Elvira permitted him to leave the nest for the first time, since he got sick. He insisted on helping us sort seeds and made a list of all that remained to be carried. He hounds Isabella for the candy recipe and claims that he will carry the mint seeds in his own knapsack. Listening to the radio, last night, I learned that an opening date for the dam has been set April 11th at noon. We think of you each day.

(?)

(They (?))

(?)

Mother Bird: Get away! Get away, you horrible crow!

Jeremy: But wait! I want to help you. I want to save your lives.

Mother bird: You want to eat our children?

Jeremy: Leave the valley! Leave the valley where you will drown!

(?)

(The rats (?))

(Arthur (?))

(Brendan (?))

(Beatrice (?))

Nolan: There he is!

(?)

Nolan: Where have you been?

(?)

Brendan: Am I late? I stayed at headquarters a little while. Because a crow had arrived just as I got there. I wanted to make sure there wasn't any urgent news.

Beatrice: But I saw your shadow on the bridge fifteen minutes ago.

Brendan: It couldn't have been me.

Arthur: Could you have seen the shadow of a bird or a bat?

Beatrice: It was one of us.

Nolan: I saw it too.

Arthur: We're all tired and we've been under a lot of strain.

(?)

Justin: We'll look again.

(?)

Nolan: If it was one of us and it wasn't me and it wasn't Beatrice and it wasn't Arthur and it wasn't Justin and it wasn't Brendan.

Arthur: Then who was it?

(?)

Sally: It wasn't me.

Mitchell: Or me.

Arthur: Not me either, but who was it then?

Nolan: Who was it?

Justin: 12 o'clock tomorrow. That's when we'll know.

(?)

Justin: It's time.

(?)

Arthur: No. What's the holdup?

Justin: I don't know.

(?)

Arthur: We've got to get over there and get started. The guards will signal when it's safe. Until then, we'll just have to wait.

(?)

(Beatrice (?))

(The men and women (?))

Man 1: All set?

Man 2: Big success.

Man 3: Ready to roll.

(?)

Brutus: All clear.

(?)

(Justin (?))

(?)

(They erased (?))

(?)

(Timothy (?))

Timothy: This is for her. This is for father. This is for Cynthia. This is for Martin. This is for Teresa.

(?)

(The water (?))

Arthur: I hope it works. I hope it works. I hope it works.

(?)

(?)

(Sally (?))

(?)

(Arthur looked (?))

Arthur: This is it then. isn't it?

(?)

Justin: You mustn't blame yourself. We knew there would be factors beyond our control. We couldn't predict the interview.

Arthur: Timing.

(?)

Justin: We must save ourselves.

Racso: In another half hour, we might be done. We have to try. We have to.

Justin: We would be found.

Sally: No!

Justin: We must leave now!

(Racso (?))

Chapter 24
(?)

Justin: A power failure.

(?)

(?)

Arthur: Look! The power's out all over the site, even in the parking lot. They'll have to use the emergency generators.

(?)

Justin: Let's get out of here! Quickly!

Arthur: They're safe in the cave at the top of the ridge. They went there last night. They don't expect to hear from us, until we can send them a full report and that includes an investigation of the blackout.

Sally: They should know the worst. You just don't want to give up. Admit that we've failed.

Arthur: We're not certain that we have failed. I don't think they can open the dam site without electricity.

Sally: You know as well as I do that they have emergency generators.

Arthur: But those are a backup system. They can only supply a limited amount of power.

Sally: The rest of us want to go home. This is a time when all of us should be together.

Arthur: All I want is a few hours! A few hours to find out what went wrong.

(?)

Beatrice: We're all tired and that makes it easier to fly off the handle. Sally, you and Arthur worked terribly hard last night and you both did a good job. The rest of us did too. We need rest. If Arthur wants to go out and investigate while we're sleeping, let him. Perhaps he'll find that we can take advantage of the blackout and if that's true we must do so.

(?)

Timothy: I want to go too.

Racso: Me too.

Arthur: Sure. Come along.

(?)

Men: Sabotage!

(?)

Justin: Who besides us? Who besides us would care?

Timothy: The farmers.

Racso: Or the man in the canoe. He cared about the river. He thought it was beautiful and shouldn't be destroyed.

Justin: But we would have seen them. The farmers are here.

(?)

Timothy: Save our farms!

(?)

(?)

Justin: The Joneses themselves I believe. And they do seem a bit upset.

Arthur: There won't be any grand opening today. It'll take the at least a day to fix the cable and the generators.

Justin: Giving us another night to work on our program? All the time we'll need. I should think.

(?)

(?)

All crowd: Boo!

(?)

(The police (?))

(?)

Reporter 1: It's an animal! Whatever it is. It's badly burned.

Woman: You mean? It smells awful.

Work man 1: It must have been in the tunnel when the cable shorted out. And was probably looking for food and bit through the rubber insulation.

Work man 2: It's the culprit all right. You can see the tooth marks here on the wire.

Work man 1: Jones thought it was sabotage when both the cable and the generators went out at once. He thought the farmers did it.

Work man 2: Whoever wrecked those generators knew what he was doing. But anyone with a brain would have known that to break the rubber on that cable was certain death.

Justin: Of course he knew.

(?)

Arthur: But who? and why?

Justin: I don't know but he gave us a chance to complete our mission.

Sally: He died to save the valley.

Timothy: Could he have known about us?

Beatrice:

Chapter 25
(?)

Somewhere in the ending
(The humans are building the dam because the Thorn Valley flooded and the rats of colony and council will (?).)

Somewhere in Chapters
(?): Nicodemus died.

Racso: Jenner is my father. He's the one who planned to destroy your home to move out the garden.

(?): Where are we gonna find the (?)?

(Timothy had a dream. He (?))

(?): We here to rescue you.

(The crowd begin to march and having a petition)

Crowd: Save our farms! Save our farms! Save our farms!