Read Online Home Alone 3 by Todd Strasser, John Hughes - Free Book Online
Authors: Todd Strasser, John Hughes
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stripe across his eyes.
Instant raccoon.
Next a jangling sound caught Alex's attention. Someone was trying to get through the gate from the alley into the backyard. Alex ran to the back of the house just in time to see Alice climb over the gate.
Bad idea, Alex thought with a smile.
On the other side of the gate was a muddy patch of ground. The night before, Alex had hooked a garden hose to the hot water line in the basement and run it out to the gate. Hot water had been seeping into the ground all night.
Splat! Alice dropped down on the other side of the gate and immediately sank down in mud up to her knees.
And somewhere in that mud was a trip wire made of fishing line. The line was connected to a cinder block carefully balanced on the roof gutter. When Alice hit the trip line, it made the cinder block tip out of the gutter.
Bonk! Alice collapsed into the mud. Now she had a nasty bump on her head, too.
With those three temporarily out of commission, Alex began to wonder about Jernigan. He hadn't seen or heard from him since he sat down in the "electric chair."
Creak! Alex heard the sound of the garage door opening. Now he knew where Jernigan was. He ran to the kitchen and peeked out through the window as Jernigan carefully stepped into the garage.
Alex smiled to himself. In the back of the garage was a loft. Alex had taken a big old stuffed gorilla of Molly's and dressed him in pants and shoes and put him up there with his legs hanging over the loft edge. The gorilla doll was part of a pair—one boy and one girl. For as long as Alex could remember, they'd always been together. Alex had hated to separate them, but duty called.
38
This was it, Jernigan thought. He could practically smell the kid in the garage.
There! From the garage floor he could see the kid's legs hanging over the edge of the loft.
"I got him!" Jernigan yelled gleefully as he reached up and grabbed the legs.
He pulled them as hard as he could.
Down came the kid.
No, wait! It wasn't the kid! It was an old stuffed monkey in kids' clothes.
And around the monkey's neck was some kind of rope.
It looked to Jernigan like a pull cord to a lawn mover.
Now, why would that be tied around the mortkey's neck? Jernigan wondered.
Varrroooom! He heard a sound like a lawn mower starting.
Jernigan scratched his head. It sounded like the lawn mower was up in the loft. But why would anyone put a lawn mower up there?
The lawn mower rolled forward. Jernigan looked up just as it rolled out of the loft.
Onto him.
39
"Ahhhhhhhh!" came the scream. It sounded to Alex like Jernigan had just found out what it was like to get a close haircut with a lawn mower.
It was time to go up to the attic. Alex would have preferred keeping the burglars out of the house, but he knew that probably wasn't possible.
So he'd booby-trapped the inside of the house as well.
In the attic he turned up the volume on the baby monitor he'd brought up from his bedroom. The other monitor was strategically placed down in the living room.
Alex heard a sawing sound and assumed that Beaupre was now sawing through the front door. He had to say one thing for these burglars—they sure were determined.
The front door creaked. Alex knew Beaupre had gotten into the house. What Beaupre didn't know was that the front door was attached by a string to Molly's old Baby Sniffles doll in the front closet. The string pulled the loop in the doll's back that made sounds.
"Ha-choo." Through the baby monitor came the sound of Baby Sniffles sneezing in the closet. Alex assumed Beaupre must've heard it.
Thinking it was Alex who had sneezed, Beaupre would position himself in front of the closet.
He'd swing open the door.
"Uhhhhhnnn!" Beaupre let out a groan as the boxing glove shot out of the doset and hit him right in the stomach.
Bang! The sound of a gun firing caught Alex by surprise. Was Beaupre dumb enough to try and shoot the boxing glove?
On second thought, maybe the gun had discharged
Instant raccoon.
Next a jangling sound caught Alex's attention. Someone was trying to get through the gate from the alley into the backyard. Alex ran to the back of the house just in time to see Alice climb over the gate.
Bad idea, Alex thought with a smile.
On the other side of the gate was a muddy patch of ground. The night before, Alex had hooked a garden hose to the hot water line in the basement and run it out to the gate. Hot water had been seeping into the ground all night.
Splat! Alice dropped down on the other side of the gate and immediately sank down in mud up to her knees.
And somewhere in that mud was a trip wire made of fishing line. The line was connected to a cinder block carefully balanced on the roof gutter. When Alice hit the trip line, it made the cinder block tip out of the gutter.
Bonk! Alice collapsed into the mud. Now she had a nasty bump on her head, too.
With those three temporarily out of commission, Alex began to wonder about Jernigan. He hadn't seen or heard from him since he sat down in the "electric chair."
Creak! Alex heard the sound of the garage door opening. Now he knew where Jernigan was. He ran to the kitchen and peeked out through the window as Jernigan carefully stepped into the garage.
Alex smiled to himself. In the back of the garage was a loft. Alex had taken a big old stuffed gorilla of Molly's and dressed him in pants and shoes and put him up there with his legs hanging over the loft edge. The gorilla doll was part of a pair—one boy and one girl. For as long as Alex could remember, they'd always been together. Alex had hated to separate them, but duty called.
38
This was it, Jernigan thought. He could practically smell the kid in the garage.
There! From the garage floor he could see the kid's legs hanging over the edge of the loft.
"I got him!" Jernigan yelled gleefully as he reached up and grabbed the legs.
He pulled them as hard as he could.
Down came the kid.
No, wait! It wasn't the kid! It was an old stuffed monkey in kids' clothes.
And around the monkey's neck was some kind of rope.
It looked to Jernigan like a pull cord to a lawn mover.
Now, why would that be tied around the mortkey's neck? Jernigan wondered.
Varrroooom! He heard a sound like a lawn mower starting.
Jernigan scratched his head. It sounded like the lawn mower was up in the loft. But why would anyone put a lawn mower up there?
The lawn mower rolled forward. Jernigan looked up just as it rolled out of the loft.
Onto him.
39
"Ahhhhhhhh!" came the scream. It sounded to Alex like Jernigan had just found out what it was like to get a close haircut with a lawn mower.
It was time to go up to the attic. Alex would have preferred keeping the burglars out of the house, but he knew that probably wasn't possible.
So he'd booby-trapped the inside of the house as well.
In the attic he turned up the volume on the baby monitor he'd brought up from his bedroom. The other monitor was strategically placed down in the living room.
Alex heard a sawing sound and assumed that Beaupre was now sawing through the front door. He had to say one thing for these burglars—they sure were determined.
The front door creaked. Alex knew Beaupre had gotten into the house. What Beaupre didn't know was that the front door was attached by a string to Molly's old Baby Sniffles doll in the front closet. The string pulled the loop in the doll's back that made sounds.
"Ha-choo." Through the baby monitor came the sound of Baby Sniffles sneezing in the closet. Alex assumed Beaupre must've heard it.
Thinking it was Alex who had sneezed, Beaupre would position himself in front of the closet.
He'd swing open the door.
"Uhhhhhnnn!" Beaupre let out a groan as the boxing glove shot out of the doset and hit him right in the stomach.
Bang! The sound of a gun firing caught Alex by surprise. Was Beaupre dumb enough to try and shoot the boxing glove?
On second thought, maybe the gun had discharged
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