Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH Chapter 27 Summary

The Doctor

  • Doom and gloom alert: in the morning, Mr. FitzGibbon starts his tractor, waiting for the men to arrive so he can bulldoze the rosebush.
  • Mrs. Frisby hides so she can watch, hoping that the rats will make it out safely.
  • Doom! A white truck rolls up the driveway and Billy and Mr. FitzGibbon come out to talk to the men.
  • Gloom! The men find the rat entrance immediately and ask Mr. FitzGibbon to bulldoze the rosebush so they can get in more easily. 
  • One of the men calls the leader "Doc." As in, Dr. Schultz.
  • Mr. FitzGibbon begins bulldozing the rosebush, tearing it out of the ground to expose an entrance and an exit, one of which goes nowhere, though the men do not know that. 
  • Doom! The men put on gas masks and get ready to gas the rat holes. 
  • Seven rats stumble out of the hole. They are very organized but somehow make it look seven rats is twenty rats, which confuses the men. 
  • The men run for nets, and while they are doing that, an eighth rat stumbles out of the hole and falls down. 
  • Gloom! Two remain inside.
  • The doctor figures out that they used a decoy exit, so the men start digging and uncover a bunch of garbage that the rats have stashed in their hole to make themselves look more like normal rats. 
  • The doctor shows Mrs. FitzGibbon that there are two dead rats, and explains that the rest escaped because one of the dead rats warned them. 
  • Mrs. FitzGibbon asks if they will let her know if the rats have rabies. "Rabies?" the doctor asks, which confirms that the men are from NIMH. They seem totally confused by the mention of the disease.
  • The men leave with their trucks, and Mrs. Frisby hurries over to the rat who is still lying on his side. 
  • It's Brutus, with Mr. Ages next to him, trying to move him. 
  • Mr. Ages says he is not dead and that they have an antidote to the poison that they made. 
  • Between them, Mrs. Frisby and Mr. Ages move Brutus enough to be able to give him the antidote, which quickly wakes him up. 
  • Brutus explains that he became dizzy from the gas, but another rat pulled him and helped him escape. 
  • When they reached the end of the tunnel, the other rat turned back to see if anyone else was left.
  • Gloom! Mrs. Frisby explains that he never made it out.