6. Brian’s New Plan

Chapter 6 Brian's New Plan "Cement and iron?" Bradley said. "Maybe they're building a cage for Killer." "But why would they buy a rope ladder and bike parts?" Lucy asked. Brian opened his eyes wide and made a zombie face. "The Killer Dog Mystery!" he said in a spooky voice. Bradley tossed some hay at his brother. "You won't think it's so funny when Dad comes out here looking for his new ladder," he said.

Just then, they heard a loud buzzing sound. "That's coming from their yard!" Bradley said. "What the heck is that?" Nate asked. "It sounds like an airplane!" "It's a chain saw," Lucy said. "My dad has one. He uses it to cut down trees." "Oh no!" Brian said. "How will we get our things back if they cut the tree down?" Five minutes later, the buzzing noise stopped. The kids ran back to the fence. Lucy got to the knothole first. "I can see the tarp and the dog," she said. "No people. No chain saw." "We need a plan," Brian said. "We had a plan," Bradley said. "And it would have worked if the neighbors hadn't come back so soon," Brian said. "And if their dog wasn't a giant monster!" Bradley said. "In the movies, the burglars feed the guard dogs sleeping pills," Nate said. "When they fall asleep, the burglars walk right past them!" Brian grinned. "We don't have sleeping pills," he said. "But you gave me an awesome idea, Nate.

I can sneak over there when the Sargents and Killer are asleep!" "How are you going to get over the fence?" Bradley asked. "Dad's ladder is still on their side, remember? And the gate will be locked." "Easy," Brian said. "You three will boost me over. Then I'll unlatch the gate, and you guys can come in. We'll grab Dad's ladder and my money jar and run back home. Cinchy!" "And my flashlight!" Bradley said. "It will be in the papers tomorrow," Nate said. He closed his eyes and said, "Killer Dog Eats Redheaded Boy." "Not to worry," Brian said. "I can outrun that big old dog." "I like your plan," Lucy said. "When can we do it?" "How about Wednesday night?" Brian said. "Your families are all coming to our house. We'll get permission for you guys to sleep over. At midnight, we'll sneak out. It'll be fun!" Nate opened his eyes wide. "Creeping around in the dark with a killer dog on the loose doesn't sound like fun!" he said.

Brian stood. "Operation Brian is a perfect plan," he said. "Nothing will go wrong." Bradley laughed. "Gee, sneaking past Mom and Dad's bedroom, climbing over a fence in the dark, fighting off a monster dog—what could possibly go wrong?" Brian grinned. "Trust me," he said. During school recess the next day, the four kids talked about Operation Brian. "We should all wear dark clothes," Brian said. "Like ninjas." "I still think it's crazy," Nate said. "That dog is gigantic!" "I sure hope Mom and Dad don't wake up and catch us," Bradley said. The next day was Wednesday. Nate's family came to Bradley's house for dinner at six-thirty. Lucy and Dink's family showed up a few minutes later.

Nate and Lucy had permission to sleep over. They each brought a sleeping bag. Hidden inside the sleeping bags were their dark clothes. Thirteen people sat down to eat supper. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose were excited about Thanksgiving the next day. Bradley, Brian, Nate, and Lucy were excited about Operation Brian. It was only five hours away. After supper, everyone played board games. The kids played Scrabble. Nate went first, and he made DOG as his word. "Did you see our new neighbors' dog?" Josh asked Dink and Ruth Rose. "He's the biggest monster I've ever seen!" Bradley poked Brian, Nate, and Lucy under the table. They all grinned. At ten o'clock, the Duncans and Hathaways thanked the Pintos for supper and went home. Nate and Lucy followed the twins upstairs to their room and unrolled their sleeping bags under the window. Next door, the tarp glowed from the light inside.

The kids saw shapes moving around behind the tarp. They heard sanding noises and scraping noises and hammering noises and chain-saw noises. They heard Mr. and Mrs. Sargent laughing. "They're working on their secret project," Lucy said. "What could it be?" Nate asked. "We'll know pretty soon," Brian said. "If your plan works," Nate said. "Operation Brian will totally work," Brian declared. "In two hours, we'll know what's going on inside that blue tarp. And we'll have Dad's ladder, my money, and Bradley's flashlight." Their dad's voice came from downstairs: "Go to sleep! Not a peep! Or up the stairs I'll creep!" Lucy giggled. "Your dad is so funny!" "Not if he catches us sneaking out," Bradley said. The four kids pulled on their dark clothes. The twins got into their beds, and Nate and Lucy crawled into their sleeping bags. Bradley shut off the light.