The Mouse Watch Underwater by J. J. Gilbert

Author:J. J. Gilbert [Gilbert, J. J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Published: 2021-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

At the signal from Squint, the other dozen rats with Juno advanced with their knitting needles and sharp crochet hooks and pointed them threateningly at his shinbones. One of the rats, a big gray one named Snaggle, held a can of hair spray the same size as him, and a match, planning to use it as a flamethrower. He chuckled at the captain with an unpleasant, gurgling laugh.

The captain’s feeble attempt at courage failed, and he raised his hands in surrender.

“Tell me where you want to go,” he said. “Just don’t hurt me.”

A few minutes later they were under way, following the weak signal of a tracking beacon to the open sea. The boat rocked up and down as it headed into the breakwater, and Juno couldn’t help feeling relief that they were finally on their way. Every moment they spent heading to their destination meant that they were that much closer to the whole mission being over.

But the rats’ initial optimism didn’t last long when the blip they’d been following vanished suddenly.

Oh great, thought Juno. Now what are we gonna do?

Juno glanced back at the diving bell that was being towed behind them, a huge metal ball that acted like a sort of minisubmarine and was equipped with basic navigation controls. It was built much better than the stolen boat. It came directly from the R.A.T.S. lab and was tied to the transom like a dinghy. But the fact that the portable radar had failed made her wonder if once they were inside the diving bell it might leak.

Sometimes, the R.A.T.S. tech just wasn’t very good.

Juno sighed. She wondered, not for the first time since joining R.A.T.S., if her life could have taken a much better path. Sandwiched between the ferocious Squint, who had a well-earned reputation for a short temper, and a leaky boat, she considered her odds of either getting clobbered or drowning to be pretty high.

Feeling miserable, Juno rummaged around in the duffel bag she’d brought. Then, after withdrawing a small radio transmitter, she pressed the “On” button and gazed at it skeptically. She’d been assured by the boss that it could intercept underwater transmissions, and that it was coded with hydrophone technology capable of picking up transmissions from any submarines up to thirty miles away.

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then the machine started making noises like a radio tuning to different stations. After a few seconds of static and whiny frequency noises, a green light flashed and a voice crackled over the tinny-sounding speaker.

“This is the Cheese Dip. We’re on course and heading due west at thirty knots, over.”

A second later another voice responded, “Read you loud and clear, Cheese Dip. Maintain radio contact until target is acquired, over and out.”

Juno’s face brightened. What do you know, it actually worked! she thought. It was a bright spot in an otherwise hopeless day. It didn’t exactly tell her where her target was, but at least she had the right direction.

“Full speed ahead to the west, Captain, if you please,” she said.

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