enough that he runs his zoo like a prison — he turns the owl loose at night to terrorize the poor little creatures so they’ll be too scared to try to get out of their cages!” Her voice rose in volume until she was drowning out the cries of Klaus in the ductwork.
“All the more proof that we’re doing the right thing,” Griffin decided. “Luckily, we had the perfect plan.”
“Perfect?” Pitch exploded. “Darren never showed! Ben practically died tonight! There’s a guy trapped in the ceiling! And now we’ve got to row a million miles on the world’s slowest boat and pray we can find Cedarville again!”
“There were a couple of hiccups,” Griffin admitted. “But now we’re in good shape. Keep hold of Cleo and let’s get out of here before Hoo over there comes back for another dive-bombing run.”
“We can’t,” Savannah said.
Griffin was taken aback. “What are youtalking about? This whole operation is for
you
— to save your monkey!”
“And I’m grateful,” she told him. “But if we take Cleo and go, we’ll be leaving all these other animals in the hands of a cruel man who mistreats them. We have to rescue everybody.”
The protests bubbled up from all sides:
“Are you nuts?”
“There are too many of them!”
“We need a bigger boat!”
“Like Noah’s Ark!”
“It’s not part of the plan,” Griffin concluded.
Savannah was adamant. “I don’t care about the plan. If it’s right for Cleo, it’s right for the whole zoo.”
“No, it isn’t,” Ben argued. “The monkey is yours. But you don’t own the chipmunks and the beaver and the ferret. And you definitely don’t own that bloodthirsty raptor!”
“We’re all members of the animal kingdom. We have to stand up for our brothers and sisters.”
Behind them, the piglet oinked in agreement.
Griffin sighed. “Look, Savannah. I know this must be hard. But it won’t work.”
Still hugging Cleopatra, Savannah sat down on a stool. “You guys go. Cleo and I are staying.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Griffin snapped. “You’ll get caught.”
“That’s what I want. If I can’t rescue everybody, the next best thing is to get arrested. Then there will be so much publicity that this so-called zoo will be exposed as the chamber of horrors that it is.”
Pitch blew her stack. “You’re crazy! And the worst part is we’re going to have to do it just to keep you out of jail!”
Melissa’s eyes emerged from her curtain of hair. “It’s possible, you know,” she said softly. “They’re just little animals. There aren’t any elephants.”
“Even if we
could
get them all out of here, what would we do with them?” Griffin challenged Savannah. “Even you can’t have fifty pets.”
“Maybe we should set them free,” Logan suggested. “Then we’d just have to cut them out of their cages and open the door.”
Savannah was horrified. “Absolutely not!Mr. Nasty trained that owl to attack! Half of them won’t make it thirty feet from the boat.”
“But isn’t that the whole nature thing?” Ben asked. “Survival of the fittest?”
She shook her head. “Not for animals living in captivity. These poor little guys don’t have the tools to compete in the wild. We have to take them with us.”
“And keep them where?” Griffin demanded.
“In the shed in my backyard,” Savannah replied readily. “It’ll only be for one night. First thing tomorrow, I’ll call Dr. Alford. She finds places for animals all the time.”
“That’ll be an interesting conversation,” Pitch predicted. “ ‘Oh, hi. I knocked off a zoo boat last night, so my shed’s full of critters. What’s new with you?’ ”
“Dr. Alford doesn’t judge. She just wants what’s best for the animals. And she has contacts at every zoo and wildlife preserve in the country. I know she’ll help.”
Griffin heaved a sigh of resignation. “Fine, we’ll take them all. But we’re going to have to get Hoo under control before we crack
“All the more proof that we’re doing the right thing,” Griffin decided. “Luckily, we had the perfect plan.”
“Perfect?” Pitch exploded. “Darren never showed! Ben practically died tonight! There’s a guy trapped in the ceiling! And now we’ve got to row a million miles on the world’s slowest boat and pray we can find Cedarville again!”
“There were a couple of hiccups,” Griffin admitted. “But now we’re in good shape. Keep hold of Cleo and let’s get out of here before Hoo over there comes back for another dive-bombing run.”
“We can’t,” Savannah said.
Griffin was taken aback. “What are youtalking about? This whole operation is for
you
— to save your monkey!”
“And I’m grateful,” she told him. “But if we take Cleo and go, we’ll be leaving all these other animals in the hands of a cruel man who mistreats them. We have to rescue everybody.”
The protests bubbled up from all sides:
“Are you nuts?”
“There are too many of them!”
“We need a bigger boat!”
“Like Noah’s Ark!”
“It’s not part of the plan,” Griffin concluded.
Savannah was adamant. “I don’t care about the plan. If it’s right for Cleo, it’s right for the whole zoo.”
“No, it isn’t,” Ben argued. “The monkey is yours. But you don’t own the chipmunks and the beaver and the ferret. And you definitely don’t own that bloodthirsty raptor!”
“We’re all members of the animal kingdom. We have to stand up for our brothers and sisters.”
Behind them, the piglet oinked in agreement.
Griffin sighed. “Look, Savannah. I know this must be hard. But it won’t work.”
Still hugging Cleopatra, Savannah sat down on a stool. “You guys go. Cleo and I are staying.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Griffin snapped. “You’ll get caught.”
“That’s what I want. If I can’t rescue everybody, the next best thing is to get arrested. Then there will be so much publicity that this so-called zoo will be exposed as the chamber of horrors that it is.”
Pitch blew her stack. “You’re crazy! And the worst part is we’re going to have to do it just to keep you out of jail!”
Melissa’s eyes emerged from her curtain of hair. “It’s possible, you know,” she said softly. “They’re just little animals. There aren’t any elephants.”
“Even if we
could
get them all out of here, what would we do with them?” Griffin challenged Savannah. “Even you can’t have fifty pets.”
“Maybe we should set them free,” Logan suggested. “Then we’d just have to cut them out of their cages and open the door.”
Savannah was horrified. “Absolutely not!Mr. Nasty trained that owl to attack! Half of them won’t make it thirty feet from the boat.”
“But isn’t that the whole nature thing?” Ben asked. “Survival of the fittest?”
She shook her head. “Not for animals living in captivity. These poor little guys don’t have the tools to compete in the wild. We have to take them with us.”
“And keep them where?” Griffin demanded.
“In the shed in my backyard,” Savannah replied readily. “It’ll only be for one night. First thing tomorrow, I’ll call Dr. Alford. She finds places for animals all the time.”
“That’ll be an interesting conversation,” Pitch predicted. “ ‘Oh, hi. I knocked off a zoo boat last night, so my shed’s full of critters. What’s new with you?’ ”
“Dr. Alford doesn’t judge. She just wants what’s best for the animals. And she has contacts at every zoo and wildlife preserve in the country. I know she’ll help.”
Griffin heaved a sigh of resignation. “Fine, we’ll take them all. But we’re going to have to get Hoo under control before we crack
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