Chapter 4 – Jailbreak
The next day at the pool, Deputy Durland was putting sunscreen on the back of Sheriff Blubs. A life preserver ring fell around Blubs, pinning his arms to his sides.
"Wha-what the?" said Blubs.
Another ring fell on Durland, pinning his arms, too.
Durland said, "I'm scared!"
"Me too!" said Blubs.
Wendy and Dipper looked down from their lifeguard seat. There were the ones throwing the life preservers.
"One hundred points!" said Dipper.
Wendy said, "Dude! With this job, you and me are gonna be havin' fun all summer!"
"And not just on the job," said Dipper, smiling and blushing.
"Right," said Wendy, smiling back.
Mr. Poolcheck blew his whistle and pointed to the police officers rolling on the ground, still trapped by the rings. "Pines! Here! Now!"
Dipper stood in front of the pools supply building while Poolcheck paced back and forth.
Poolcheck said, "You gave me your word that you would respect the safety rules of this municipal pool!"
"Mr. Poolcheck? Are you crying?" asked Dipper.
"That's not important right now!" Poolcheck glared at Dipper and wiped his eyes. "You're on thin ice, boy! You wanna keep this job? Well, some maniac broke into the supplies closet last night and destroyed our one and only pool skimmer! I want you on stakeout. If one more supply gets taken, you're fired!"
"I won't let you down!" said Dipper.
Mabel and Mermando were playing in the pool with a ball.
"Mermando, get ready! I'm gonna BRING THE HEAT!" called Mabel as she threw the ball to him.
Mermando, with all his attention on her, caught it easily.
"Mabel, this is wonderful, spending time with you," said Mermando.
"We'll be able to do even more once Operation Jailbreak happens tonight," said Mabel, grinning at him.
That night, Dipper was on duty.
"Alright, Dipper, here's the plan. Catch the trespasser, protect the supplies, get off night stakeout duty and back to spending nights with Wendy, and eventually marry her," Dipper said to himself.
Dipper turned when he heard a sound behind him, and pointed his flashlight. "Freeze!"
It turned out to be Mabel cutting the fence with wire cutters.
"Hi, Dipper!" Mabel said.
"Mabel, I should have known it was you destroying the pool supplies."
"My crime is a lot better than that," said Mabel. "Tonight we free the prisoner from pool solitary. Then my new boyfriend and I will have some privacy."
"Are you sure this is a good idea? Mr. Poolcheck is going to be furious."
"Come on, it's not right for him to keep a kid locked up in there day and night."
Dipper sighed. "I guess you're right. What's the plan?"
"I have the golf cart from the Mystery Shack. I'll use it to drive him far away from here."
"You took the golf cart?" asked Dipper.
With Grunkle Stan temporarily in jail for punching Gideon today, it was easy," said Mabel.
"Poor Grunkle Stan. I wish Gideon would leave him alone," said Dipper.
"Better him than me," said Mabel.
"I think the entry to the pool solitary is through a trap-door in the shed," said Dipper. "Just don't damage any more supplies, all right?"
"No problem," said Mabel.
Mabel opened the trap-door and ran down a narrow hall that ran beside the pool. She found and opened the solitary confinement cell.
As Mabel's eyes adjusted to the dark she saw the prisoner, Pool Hand Luke, standing close to the opening to the pool where he could look out. He was dressed in nothing but a ragged swimsuit.
"Whew, it reeks in here," said Mabel.
"I can't help that," said Luke. "At least water sloshes in sometimes and washes any waste down the drain."
"He has you chained up?" said Mabel, seeing the ankle chain that tethered Luke to the floor.
"Yeah," said Luke. "I don't think you're going to be able to get me free"
Mabel applied her hairpin to the padlock holding the chain, but it was too stiff and rusty.
"Hold on, I'm going to get something," said Mabel.
Mabel ran back to the supply room and found a crowbar that Poolcheck used for lifting pool drains. She grabbed it while Dipper's back was turned and ran back to the cell.
"Here goes," she said.
Using the crowbar she pried at the bolt holding the chain to the floor. The crowbar bent from the strain, but the bolt finally tore loose.
"Got it! Come on," said Mabel.
She dropped the crowbar on the floor and helped Luke limp to freedom.
"Mission accomplished," she called to Dipper. "See you at home later, broseph."
She and Luke got onto the golf cart and drove away.
"Poolcheck is going to be furious about this," said Dipper to himself. "But at least no more pool supplies were damaged on my watch. That's the most important thing."