7 A REAL STEAL

CHAPTER 7 A REAL STEAL The next morning, Alexander wolfed down his cereal. He was out the door before his spoon hit the table. He ran through the woods behind his house to an old caboose— the S.S.M.P. headquarters. Rip and Nikki were inside, playing a heated game of tic-tac-tunnel fish. "You guys," said Alexander, "the Bumpy Mummy is alive! I saw it last night!"

Rip and Nikki looked at each other. Rip snorted. "Come on, Salamander!" he said. I already told you the Bumpy Mummy is just a bag of bones at the museum." "No, Rip! I really saw it!" said Alexander. "I mean, I'm pretty sure. It was dark out, and I was kind of far away. But I saw this shiny person, all dressed in white." "That could have been anyone!" said Rip. "Like a nurse! Or a chef! Or a fencing coach! Not necessarily a monster." "But it had bumps all over!" said Alexander. "And besides, even if I am wrong about the mummy, I saw something else: a crawling hand! In my bathtub!"

"A monster hand?" said Rip. "Now you're talking!" "And it had my dad's golden mirror!" said Alexander. "It did?" Nikki said. "What if that hand monster stole the other missing stuff, too? Like the projector! And the telescope!" She looked at her friends. "It sounds like our new hand monster is a thief!" "Did you find any hand monsters in the notebook?" asked Rip, "Yeah," said Alexander. "Sort of." He opened the monster notebook to a wrinkled-up page.

HITTIN' MITTEN They look cute, but they pack a punch. HABITAT Glove compartments. DIET Lint, fuzz, fur balls.

BOW-WOW! Hittin mittens run when they see an art-scarf. BEHAVIOR These warm, fuzzy mittens turn into boxing gloves as soon as you put them on. Then: BAM! stop hitting yourself! stop hitting yourself! WARNING! Hittin' mittens work in pairs. If you separate them, they become powerless.

Alexander closed the notebook. "The thing I saw wasn't a mitten— it was a hand with fingers," he said. "All right. Let's spring into action!" said Rip. "So, uh, what should we do?" "Let's see if anything else is missing," said Alexander, "Go home and snoop around for missing stuff. Then we'll compare notes tonight at the sleepover." "Sounds like a plan!" said Nikki, "See you on the bus! And watch out for hand monsters!" The three friends gave one another a high fifteen (high five times three). Then they ran home to start snooping.