Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 "...and then around 100 men, some dressed as Mohawk warriors, boarded the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver and dumped all of the ships' 342 chests of tea into the water," Ms. McKay concluded. Merle, who had remained impressively frozen in place for nearly an hour, suddenly lost his balance and tumbled off the edge of the teacher's desk like a chest of tea into Boston Harbor, hitting the floor with a thud.

Michael sprang up from his seat. "I'll get that!" he announced, managing to cover up the sound of Merle's groan. "Thanks for letting us borrow your squirrel, Michael!" Ms. McKay said as the bell rang. "Yes, ma'am." Michael scooped Merle off the floor and stuffed him into his backpack, then hustled for the door with Justin.

"My whiskers itched sooooo bad!" Merle complained as Michael, Justin, Sadie, and the squirrels piled into Dr. Gomez's car. Merle vigorously rubbed his paws all over his snout, making up for not being able to scratch earlier. "I told you to stay put!" Pearl laughed. "But you did look very dignified up there, 'George Washingsquirrel'!" The kids erupted into laughter as Michael filled his dad in about Merle getting caught by Ms. McKay. "Guys, that is not funny," Dr. Gomez said. Merle shook his head in agreement. "What would have happened if Ms. McKay had figured out Merle wasn't stuffed? That would have been a disaster!"

"You're right, and Pearl was right. I should have stayed put. I'm very sorry," Merle said. "Next time, I'll stay in the backpack." "Hopefully there won't be a next time," Dr. Gomez said. "I picked up the security system and will install it tonight. Merle and Pearl should be safe at home tomorrow." "Oh, can I help?!" Merle asked. He loved tinkering with things, and installing something, whatever it was, sounded like fun to him. "I'm pretty good with my paws!" "Sure, Merle," Dr. Gomez said. "I could use the help." "Can Justin, Sadie, and I help too?" Michael asked. "If you'll remember," Dr. Gomez said, "you're still grounded. I'm going to need to take Justin and Sadie home." "Oh yeah," Michael said. He had broken his mom's favorite elephant-shaped end table by kicking a soccer ball in the house and then blamed it on his little sister. He was happy not to have been grounded for a year and didn't want to push his luck. "But you can help Merle and me after we drop off your friends," his dad said. "All right," Michael agreed. "And when we're done, I have a call scheduled with Dr. Howard to figure out a long-term plan for the squirrels," Dr. Gomez added. Dr. Howard was Dad's boss at the university. Since Merle and Pearl had been

discovered on the archaeological dig sponsored by the university, Dr. Gomez had an obligation to tell his boss about them. "Dad!" Michael said, upset. "What if he wants to send Merle and Pearl back?! How's that any different from giving them to the man in the suit and sunglasses?" Merle and Pearl exchanged a worried glance. "I hope he doesn't," Dr. Gomez said. "But he needs to know."