On Saturday, the first light snow of the season fell on Elwood City. The kids didn't take much notice, as it wasn't enough to build snow people or engage in snowball fights. Francine, in particular, was too busy scouring the neighborhood for her missing cat to even think about fun in the snow.

Arthur and D.W. decided to stay indoors, enjoying a few games of Scrabble with their guest, Alan (formerly known as The Brain) Powers.

"How do you spell 'schloopy'?" D.W. asked Arthur and Alan.

Arthur peeked over at D.W.'s letters. "'Schloopy' isn't a real word," he informed her. "And you don't have the right letters anyway. That is, if it's spelled the way I think it's spelled."

"'Schloopy' is too a real word," D.W. insisted. "It's in the Crazy Bus song."

Arthur sighed bitterly. "You have an A and a T," he pointed out to D.W. "And there's a C on the board. You can spell 'cat'."

"Yes!" Alan muttered quietly and eagerly.

"How many points is that?" D.W. asked Arthur.

"Three points."

"That's not very many...is it?"

"Just do it, D.W.," said Arthur impatiently.

D.W. carefully placed two tiles on the game board, spelling the word CAT.

"Thank you, D.W.," Alan exulted as he placed all seven of his tiles next to the T in CAT, spelling the word NEUTRINO.

Arthur gaped. "What's a neutrino?"

"It's a radioactive particle," Alan replied proudly. "I used all of my tiles, so I get fifty bonus points."

"I could have used all my tiles if Arthur had let me put down 'schloopy'," D.W. complained.

"I miss Buster," Arthur moaned. "I could beat him most of the time."

There was a knock at the door. "Come on in," Arthur called out.

The front door opened and Francine walked in, wearing her red coat and usual jeans. "Hey, boys," she addressed them, smiling.

"I'm not a boy," D.W. pointed out.

Arthur stood up from the floor. "Hi, Francine. Have you found Nemo yet?"

"No, I haven't," Francine answered, "and thanks for not making any bad movie puns."

"Have you tried the pound?" asked Alan, who was replacing the Scrabble tiles in the bag in preparation for a new game.

"I was just there," said Francine. "I couldn't get in. There was a police line."

Arthur's eyes widened (although it was hard to tell because of his glasses). "A police line? Why? What happened?"

Francine took a seat on the couch. "I guess somebody broke in and let all the animals loose." She picked up the remote and switched on the TV. "Maybe it's on the news."

She flipped channels until a news broadcast appeared on the screen. "In local news, police remain baffled as they investigate the breakin at the animal shelter," said the newswoman. "Reporting live from the scene is our correspondent, Wolf Blitzen."

"I'm at the Elwood City Animal Shelter," said Wolf into his microphone, "where all the animals have gone missing. It seems that someone broke in during the night and cut open all of the cages. I'm talking to Mr. Sergei Helmholtz, the shelter manager."

Wolf held the microphone in front of a rabbit man with a Russian accent. "I've never seen anything like it. It would take one person with a wire cutter hours to do this much damage. The guard who was on duty at the time claims that someone threw him into a closet and barricaded the door so he couldn't get out."

As he spoke, the camera showed footage of the vast array of animal cages in the shelter. They appeared as if someone had systematically sliced them open.

As Arthur watched from the couch next to D.W., Francine, and Alan, he noticed that Pal was sitting motionlessly on the floor, also observing the broadcast.

"Weird," Francine remarked. "First pets start disappearing everywhere, and now this."

"Who could have done such a thing?" Alan wondered.

"This looks like the work of an old friend," Pal said to himself. "But why?"

"Well, I don't think Nemo's at the pound," said Francine. "I guess there's nothing to do now but start putting up lost cat posters. As if the telephone poles aren't crowded enough already."

"Yeah, and the funny thing is," Alan commented, "most of the missing pets are big dogs."

Francine turned to Arthur and Alan. "Would you boys like to help me put up posters?"

Arthur, D.W., and Alan looked at her with surprise.

"I'm just a girl," Francine continued. "I can't do it all by myself."

"Uh...sure, Francine, I'll help," said Arthur a bit hesitantly.

"Me, too," said Alan.

"Thanks, boys," said Francine sweetly. "You're so helpful."

Alan shot Arthur a puzzled look.

----

At the Elwood Memorial Hospital, Carla led Sue Ellen toward the revolving doors that led to the outside world. The girl's left arm was in a full cast and sling, and she clutched a red balloon in her good hand.

As the passed through the hospital exit, Sue Ellen saw two familiar, smiling faces waiting for her.

"Mom! Dad!" As she rushed toward them, they knelt to embrace her.

"Hello, honey," said Mr. Armstrong. "We came as soon as we could wrap things up in Jakarta."

"Has Carla been treating you well?" Mrs. Armstrong asked her.

"Oh, we've been having a great time," Sue Ellen replied. "Up until the accident, anyway."

She followed Carla and her parents as they strolled down the sidewalk in the direction of the parking garage. "Are you here for good?" she asked. "Or are you gonna leave again?"

"We're staying here until next summer," her father answered. "Then we're going to Bangladesh, and you're coming with us."

"Awesome!" Sue Ellen exulted.

"How's your arm feeling?" her mother asked.

"It doesn't hurt, but that's just because of the painkillers. The doctor says it won't work as good anymore. I guess I'll have to give up tae kwon do."

"Oh, come on," said Mr. Armstrong encouragingly. "Don't they teach you how to fight with just one arm?"

"I don't need two good arms to play saxophone," Sue Ellen remarked. "That's all I care about."

----

"My name is Jean Stiles. You may remember me from such movies as 'Death Wore a Derby' and 'Chicken Fried Love'. Are your children doing poorly in science? Do you worry about their future in our technology-driven age? Well, worry no more. I'm here to tell you about a wonderful new program called Blinded by Science."

Mr. Pryce-Jones watched the video presentation thoughtfully. "She does have screen presence," he commented. "I wonder why she didn't make it in Hollywood."

"Well, talent isn't everything," said Muffy, who sat next to him in the media room at Uppity Downs.

The scene on the video screen changed to one of a mother describing to her son the steps of the Blinded by Science program.

"You say you filmed this yourself?" said Mr. Pryce-Jones.

"Yes, I did," said Muffy proudly. "I've got the most high-end digital camcorder out there. I edited it, too."

"Blinded by Science is based on the most natural method of teaching science," said Alan, who appeared on the screen holding a colorful box. "Sometimes the student asks a question and the teacher answers it, and sometimes it's the other way around. The method goes all the way back to the ancient Greek philosophers."

"Blinded by Science is the most effective way to put your child on the road to an exciting and rewarding scientific career," said Beat, who was standing next to Alan in the video.

After that Binky, Fern, and George appeared in turn, each smiling and saying, "Blinded by Science worked for me."

"Those are friends of yours?" asked Mr. Pryce-Jones.

"Yes," Muffy answered. "They haven't actually tried the program, but they will, and it will work for them. Even Binky."

"I'd like to run some trials as soon as possible," said the teacher. "I think about one hundred children should be enough."

Muffy's jaw dropped. "One...hundred..."

"What, not ambitious enough for you? Very well, five hundred."

(To be continued...)