Three Times Lucky Chapter 23 Summary

Creative Chaos

  • The next morning a hurricane heads their way and Miss Rose stocks up on supplies to make sure they can hole up in the house for a while.
  • While she's in town, Dale and Mo tie up all the things outside so they can't be tossed around by the wind. Deputy Marla is asleep when the phone rings and Mo picks it up to hear the Colonel's voice.
  • He tells her that he's escaped and not to trust anyone. He also says that she should go into his closet and get the packet on the shelf to give to Miss Rose.
  • The line clicks—meaning that Marla is now listening in—and Mo pretends that she's on the phone with a telemarketer who's trying to sell cruises. Then she hangs up.
  • She tells Dale and they go out on his bike. As they're pedaling into town, though, they see Dale's father driving by.
  • Back at the house, they go into the Colonel's room and find a packet on the shelf. There's a folder with Slate's name on it and a bunch of newspaper clippings and notes about Robert Slate. Why would the Colonel have all of this stuff?
  • As they're checking things out, they hear the front porch door, so they try to creep outside.
  • But as they're going, they find themselves face to face with the barrel of a gun… and the person on the other end of that gun is Deputy Marla.
  • She lowers her gun when she sees it's them, but demands to know what they're doing; when the kids try to leave, she grabs and starts shaking them.
  • The packet falls out of Mo's shirt and Marla goes to grab it, but Mo throws it to Dale. Then Mo picks up one of the Colonel' steel-toed boots and hits Marla with it. She drops like a bag of potatoes.
  • They use the Colonel's neckties to tie up Marla while she's still down, then they grab the packet and the Colonel's bayonet and run on out of there. But not before also flattening Deputy Marla's tires. Good thinking, guys.