A Shear of Mystery
It was six nights after Jewelhawk's arrest, my family and I were asleep in our beds. When all of a sudden, the ground shook as a truck rumbled on the road past our house. From my bedroom window, I could have sworn I heard the sound of a small animal. But then I thought it was just a gust of wind blowing and I continued on sleeping. In the morning, my alarm clock woke me up.
Gilbert: Time to start another day!
As usual, I went into the bathroom, brushed my teeth with my Mega Brush-O-Matic, washed my face with my Face Wash-A-Tron and went back to my bedroom to change into my daytime clothes as the Bed Maker 5000 made my bed and Sprocket got out of his dog bed beside it. Then, the two of us went downstairs to the dining room, where Mom, Dad and Destiny were waiting. Dad was reading a newspaper marked 'Wool Shortage! Sheep rustling continues'.
Destiny: Good morning, Gilbert! What have you got today?
Gilbert: Watch this!
I pushed a button activating my new invention, the Porridge Squirter. The machine squirted out a dollop of porridge, which sped above the table and landed spot-on into Dad's bowl. At that moment, Dad put the newspaper down and picked up his spoon. But before he had a chance to get it into the bowl, something strange happened. Another dollop of porridge shot out of the squirter, followed by another heading straight for Dad. But I didn't push the button that time!
Gilbert: That's not supposed to happen!
Mom and Dad were ducking and dodging the porridge squirts. The squirter didn't stop squirting until I turned it off. By that point, Dad and Mom were covered in porridge splats. That's when I saw the problem!
Gilbert: It's like someone has been chewing on the cable.
Chester: Mice, do you think?
Destiny: No, too big for mice!
Mom and Dad had managed to get the porridge off, but then we spotted more mysterious things.
Destiny: Someone has been nibbling on one of our plants.
Gertrude: The porridge box has been nibbled on too!
Chester: Has someone been peckish during the night? Because someone's been at my cheese!
Gilbert: Something fishy is going on here!
The others agreed! Sprocket thought he heard the sound of tiny footsteps, so he followed the sound. He didn't see who was making the sound, but he did find another strange thing.
Sprocket: That's strange! The newspaper has been chewed on as well.
Gilbert: Mom, do you think we should get the pest control people in?
Gertrude: Hard to tell! Oh, I need to make a stop at the wool shop today. A friend of mine needs more wool to finish her knitting.
Chester: I need to stop by the bank to make a deposit, so I think that can be arranged.
Gilbert: In that case, I'll go too! I need to get some electrical tape to fix the cable.
With that, the five of us went into the garage and climbed into our car. Dad sat in the driver seat with Mom sitting in the seat beside him and Destiny, Sprocket and me sitting in the backseat. We buckled our seatbelts, the garage door opened and we were on our way. Our first stop was the wool shop! When we arrived, Destiny saw Oliver washing the shop's windows.
Destiny: Hi, Oliver! What are you doing?
Oliver: One of the window washers is sick today. So, I'm filling in for him.
While Destiny waited outside watching Oliver at work, the rest of us went inside the wool shop. It was only when Mom started thinking about which ball of colored wool to choose for her friend that I noticed a stern looking canine glancing at a newspaper with the headline 'Even more Sheep Rustling'. The wool shop owner smiled and introduced the creature.
Wool Shop Owner: This is Pasco, my dog!
Gilbert: Pleased to meet you, Pasco!
But Sprocket wasn't sure about Pasco at all. Pasco just glared as I patted his head. Finally, Mom decided on a ball of red wool for her friend. Dad reached for one!
Gertrude: No, Chester, don't take the bottom one! Take the top one!
But it was too late! The whole neatly stacked display of wool balls was tumbling from the shelf and rolled about on the floor.
Chester: Oh dear!
Gilbert: Don't worry! That's easy to fix!
Mom, Dad, and I picked up the scattered balls of wool and placed them back on the shelf. We didn't notice that Pasco left the shop and sneaked past Destiny and Oliver.
Chester: Is this place yours?
Wool Shop Owner: Yes, my dad left it for me along with his debts and a few other things. He was also an inventor of some sort.
Gilbert: Really? I'm into inventing as well!
That's when I noticed the newspaper.
Gilbert: I see they haven't caught the sheep rustlers yet. Still, you've got plenty of wool.
When we exit the shop, Oliver was already finished.
Wool Shop Owner: Oh, they're spanking new! You did a marvelous job!
Oliver: I'm always happy to help out a neighbor!
I must admit the glass in the shop door was now so clean, you wouldn't even know it's there. When Sprocket, my family and I got home from our errands, Dad was eager to relax.
Chester: Let's get that kettle on!
But we were stopped by the condition of our living room. It was in what I can describe as chaos! Everything upside down, cans opened and bottles spilt!
Gertrude: Good gracious!
Chester: Oh my goodness!
Gilbert: Jumping gigawatts! What's happened here?
Destiny: What's all this? Burglars? Thieves?
Then, a clattering sound caught our attention. It was coming from the kitchen! When we went to investigate, who should we come across but a tiny multi-colored lamb. The young one just stood there, covered in jam, gravy, treacle and other messy things, and gnawing a meat bone quite devoid of flesh. That's when Destiny realized it!
Destiny: Looks like we found our hungry culprit!
I picked up the lamb! And looked at the collar he was wearing! The lamb's name was Seth and he came from a faraway farm. He must have escaped from the sheep rustlers!
Gilbert: Come on, little fella! We better get you cleaned up!
The six of us went to my lab in the basement and I put Seth in the bathtub of one of my new inventions: The 2 in 1 Wash and Knit-a-Tron! It processes wool from sheep's back to cozy sweater, untouched by human hands.
Gilbert: There we are! Nothing to worry about! It's just a quick shampoo!
But get this: as I activated the machine and set it to its wash program, Sprocket had a suspicion that we were being watched, yet we still seem to be alone. The washing cycle was soon on its way and Seth was getting well and truly cleaned. But then all of a sudden, the machine started to play up! The fault light started going off and the program setting switched itself from Wash to Light Shave.
Destiny: Oh dear!
Gilbert: That wasn't supposed to happen!
The suction tube sucked Seth out of the tub and into the auto-dryer. Then, Seth was carried to the shearing cage where the shavers shaved his wool.
Chester: What's going to happen now?
We found out soon enough! Pistons pounded, clippers clipped and strands of wool were fed at top speed into the auto-knitter! Moments later, a fully fashioned, miniature sweater was flown from the machine and landed on my head. But…
Gilbert: (muffled) Oh, smashing this! Very cozy but a bit tight round the ears and nose.
I had managed to remove the sweater from my head just in time to see Seth exit the machine, unharmed, yet thoroughly sheared.
Gilbert: It works! Come on, Seth!
As the six of us left the lab, Sprocket paused at the top of the steps and heard something.
Sprocket: (thinking) Have we been observed?
Later, Seth was snug in the sweater I'd passed on to him. Only fair since it was his wool! Dad had a new newspaper that read 'Sheep killer on the loose', while Sprocket and I were working on the Suds Shooter: an adaptation of the Porridge Squirter. I had an idea it would come in handy the very next day, since Oliver had volunteered to clean the town clock at Old City Hall that day.
Sprocket: Gilbert, I can't help but think that we were being watched while Seth was having his bath.
Gilbert: Relax, Sprocket! If there was someone sneaking into our home, the alarm system would go off.
The minute I said those words, an alarm sounded and Zeldox voice was heard.
Zeldox: Warning! Warning! Intruder Alert!
Destiny, Sprocket, and I hurried to the lab! I turned off the alarm system and Destiny checked all the doors. But there was no one there! But then, Sprocket looked at my design table. Someone had snatched the blueprints for the Wash and Knit-A-Tron!
Gilbert: Zeldox, identify the intruder that was here!
Zeldox: It was the sheep rustler the police were after. Answers to the name of McMincer!
Destiny: McMincer?
Gilbert: So, that mechanical menace is back in town!
McMincer is a cyberdog that was designed to herd sheep, but something went wrong and he started killing sheep instead of herding them.
Destiny: Hmm! He seems to be up to something with the sheep he stole.
Gilbert: Yes, but the question is: what would he want with my machine?
I was very upset that the blueprints were stolen, but Destiny and I agreed that solving the mystery of McMincer and the sheep came first. The next day, Oliver was working away on the clock face when I put the Suds Shooter into action. At first firing, Oliver received a helping of suds straight between the eyes.
Gilbert: Sorry, Oliver!
Oliver: That's okay, Gilbert!
Destiny: Let's try this again!
I fired again and this time, Oliver ducked at the right moment. The instant Oliver finished cleaning the clock, Destiny noticed Pasco, sterned as ever, glaring from an upstairs window, while Seth was popping inquisitively into the adjacent yard.
Sprocket: Where's he going?
Gilbert: I don't know!
Destiny: Come on, let's find him before McMincer does!
Meanwhile at Thai Pepper, the Wool Shop Owner was telling Mom and Dad about how her father would have loved to meet me. Outside, Sprocket and I heard this, yet Sprocket felt a disapproval in the air. Just then, Farmer Greenson came to us accompanied by Destiny.
Farmer Greenson: Have either of you seen my flock of sheep? They were stolen two nights ago!
Gilbert: We haven't seen a flock of sheep, but we did find a lamb named Seth. He came into our house and was hungry.
Farmer Greenson: You've seen Seth? Where is he?
Oliver: Look!
We turned and saw what Oliver was looking at. He had seen Seth peering from a hole in the clock tower wall above a tall ladder.
Oliver: How did he get up there?
Farmer Greenson: Well, I'm glad you found my lamb! But now, I better get him home.
Destiny: Be careful when you go up there!
Gilbert: Yes, it could be a trap!
Farmer Greenson shimmied up the ladder, tucked his head through the hole and found himself face to face with Seth, only to be startled by the flash of a camera. Somehow, he sensed the presence of the Sheep Rustler! Farmer Greenson got his head out of the hole and sped down the ladder.
Farmer Greenson: Darn camera flash! It blinded me!
Gilbert: A camera flash? Sounds like there's a trap in there!
Destiny: Come, boys! We must investigate while we give Farmer Greenson's vision some time to restore!
Destiny, Oliver, Sprocket, and I hurried through the clock tower until we reached the room we were looking for.
Oliver: So, this is where Farmer Greenson was blinded!
Destiny: Indeed! There's a hole in that picture!
And Destiny was right! On the wall with the hole in it was a picture of a butcher wielding a meat cleaver. But the butcher's head was missing at the very point at which Farmer Greenson would have inserted his own head through the wall.
Gilbert: It WAS a trap! McMincer must have found out he was being followed.
Just then, Sprocket began to bark!
Gilbert: What did you find, boy?
He brought out a can marked 'Pasco's Dog food"
Destiny: This must be a very important clue!
At that moment, Farmer Greenson arrived just in time to hear Oliver make another discovery.
Oliver: There's a truck in the empty Commerce Street Parking Lot!
We looked and saw the truck.
Farmer Greenson: That's the Rustler's truck! And look, Seth is inside it! My poor lamb!
The five of us raced out of the Clock Tower to the truck and discovered that the truck was overflowing with sheep. Farmer Greenson's sheep, to be exact! I opened the back of the truck, letting the sheep out.
Gilbert: Run! Get to somewhere safe!
The sheep hurried off the truck, across the street and out of sight. Farmer Greenson got into the back of the truck and found Seth tied up. This time, McMincer had gone too far, but he was about to go even further! Farmer Greenson had freed Seth just in time but got himself trapped inside the truck and driven off by Pasco.
Farmer Greenson: PROTECT MY FLOCK!
As the truck rolled out of sight, Destiny, Oliver, Sprocket, and I could tell Farmer Greenson was in trouble. And we were right! The next day, the newspapers were full of news of Farmer Greenson being in jail. Farmer Greenson had been framed for McMincer's crimes! On every page was the picture of Farmer Greenson in butcher's clothes and apparently aiming a meat cleaver at Seth. It was the photo the real criminal took to get the police off his tail! Destiny went to the police station to convince the police to release the poor farmer. Meanwhile, Farmer Greenson's sheep went to hide in our backyard. Oliver, Sprocket, and I were putting them up until we can find them proper lodgings.
Oliver: I hope Farmer Greenson's okay! That's a lot of sheep he's got!
Gilbert: Putting them up is easy, it's the putting up with them that's the problem.
Sprocket: So it would seem!
Gertrude: Don't they ever get full?
Chester: These guys are so hungry, they're like bottomless pitbulls!
Just then, Destiny came home! She had tried to tell the police that McMincer was the true criminal and that Farmer Greenson had been framed, but no luck!
Destiny: Bad news, everyone! They won't release Farmer Greenson until we can prove it was McMincer who's responsible for the crime. And we've only got until tomorrow evening!
Oliver: But how do we do that?
I decided that there is only one thing to do.
Gilbert: We'll have to catch McMincer in the act tonight!
Gertrude: Catch him in the act?
Chester: But how?
The answer was simple! That night, the six of us setted up a stakeout in Bresemann Forest while the sheep grazed on the grass. Mom, Dad, Destiny and Oliver were in the car which was hidden in a junkyard on Bressmann Blvd S. I was on my hoverboard and hiding in the trees nearby. Sprocket was hiding behind a bush close to my location
Oliver: Will it really work?
Destiny: I hope so! You know when my brother's got an idea in his head, there's no stopping him.
Just then, a light fell across the grass and a familiar truck arrived. It stopped by the sheep who were outside the junkyard. A figure in shepherd's clothing stepped out and turned. The figure was the Wool Shop Owner! She blew a shepherd's whistle as Pasco emerged from the driver's seat and herded the sheep into the truck. All of them, except Seth! With one of his glares, Pasco strolled towards Seth in a threatening way until the Wool Shop Owner stepped in.
Wool Shop Owner: Stop it! I've had enough of this rustling! It wasn't so bad when it was just for the wool. But this is murder! Daddy didn't create you for this!
Gertrude: (whispering) What did she mean?
We found out soon enough! We saw Pasco turn against the Wool Shop Owner and drove her and Seth into the truck with the sheep.
Wool Shop Owner: Let me out! You're not going to turn me into dog meat!
Chester: (whispers) Dog meat?
Sprocket started barking, loudly!
Gilbert: It's McMincer!
Destiny: STOP RIGHT THERE, THIEF!
But Pasco heard us and quickly drove onto Military Rd S. I got out of the trees, Sprocket jumped aboard my hoverboard and the six of us chased after Pasco. Wherever he's going, he's going lead us to his plan whether he likes it or not! With the car following behind the truck, Sprocket and I zoomed through the air close behind.
Gilbert: Sprocket, activate the Suds Shooter!
The Suds Shooter popped out of Sprocket's back. Earlier, I had filled the sprayer with thick porridge mix! We zoomed up to the truck's cabin and aimed the shooter at Pasco.
Gilbert: Ready…...aim…FIRE!
SPLAT! The shooter shot the porridge at Pasco, covering him in it. The shooter kept firing striking him again and again until Pasco rolled up the truck's window. At that point, the truck turned onto S 11th Street and across the Fosa Waterway bridge all the way into the Solo Cup warehouse. Dad parked the car in the parking lot and the six of us went into the warehouse. Inside, we had some shocking surprises.
Chester: What the-? There's a sheep mincing machine in here!
Gertrude: With a conveyor belt of dog food cans attached to it.
Oliver: That would explain the dog food can Sprocket found!
Destiny: Gilbert, where did he get that from?
I turned and saw what Destiny was talking about. Pasco had his own Wash and Knit-A-Tron!
Gilbert: That's my machine! I've got patent pending on that!
That's when it struck me! I had been observed by Pasco watching me operate the machine. He then purloined the blueprints for it!
Gilbert: Pasco had been watching me!
Just then, we saw the Wool Shop Owner and the sheep being wheeled in by a copper cart. The cart then dump its passengers into the machine's bathtub. Somehow, Seth had avoided the plunge! One cleansing bath was enough for him! But as Pasco was about to turn on the suction tube, we took action! Sprocket fired the Suds Shooter at Pasco to distract him, while Mom, Dad and Destiny helped the Wool Shop Owner and the sheep out of the tub. As soon as the only things remaining in the tub were water and bubbles, Oliver got in front of Pasco!
Oliver: Think the sheep need a bath? Looks like you need one too!
He pushed Pasco into the tub. SPLASH! Then, I took control of the machine's controls! The suction tube activated and sucked Pasco into auto-dryer, where he was dried off. Then, just before he reached the shearing cage, I set the machine's controls to 'close shave'.
Gilbert: This should teach you a lesson!
Pistons pounded, Clippers clipped and strains of wool woven from Pasco's fur were fed into the auto-knitter. When the clippers stopped, the door to the shearing cage opened and out stepped a cyberdog we recognized.
Gilbert: McMincer! I knew it!
The Wool Shop Owner was disturbed and scared more than ever.
Wool Shop Owner: Daddy had created him for good, but he's turned out evil.
McMincer: You cursed humans! You exposed my true form!
Sprocket: And for a good reason! You stole sheep from farms so that you can mince them into your dog food.
Gilbert: You stole the blueprints of one of MY inventions for you evil doing.
Destiny: And you framed Farmer Greenson, so that the police can arrest him and get him off your tail.
McMincer: Alright, I confess! It was me! I've had enough of living in a human's shadow!
McMincer headed straight for us until Sprocket bit him in the behind,
McMincer: OOOOWWWWW! Let go! Let go!
Quick as a wink, Oliver grabbed a long-sleeved, steel wool sweater from the Wash and Knit-A-Tron and placed over McMincer, distracting him long enough for Destiny to slap the handcuffs on his arms.
Destiny: McMincer, you're under arrest for sheep rustling, mincing them in your dog food and framing an innocent person.
Gilbert: And for stealing one of my invention blueprints!
McMincer: Curses! I was so close to having enough dog food to sell! And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling humans!
The next day, we brought McMincer to jail. Then after all charges against Farmer Greenson had been cleared up, he was proven innocent and was free to go. But McMincer was proven guilty and was locked up. Later, after Farmer Greenson went home with his sheep, the Wool Shop Owner turned to us.
Wool Shop Owner: I couldn't pass by without saying thank you.
Gilbert: You're welcome! As soon as it's time, I'll be able to fix that cyberdog so he can't do anymore damage.
Wool Shop Owner: You're so kind!
Chester: Would you like to come over to our house? I'm in the mood for some cheese!
Wool Shop Owner: Oh no, not cheese! Sorry, it gives me rashes!
Destiny: I see!
Wool Shop Owner: Well, I must be on my way!
So, we said goodbye to the Wool Shop Owner and headed for home. Back at home, the construction crew working on my secret project called me on the phone. The reward money for catching McMincer was enough to pay for the finishing touches. The secret project was almost done! After hanging up the phone, I joined the others in the living room.
Oliver: That was one Sheep Rustler catching adventure we had, don't you think?
Destiny: It sure was! If I don't see that McMincer, it will be too soon.
Gilbert: Then, you might want to look the other way when I start fixing him for good.
Gertrude: It's a shame the Wool Shop Owner is allergic to cheese!
Chester: Oh well, all the more for us and not a sheep to worry us!
But Dad spoke too soon! When he lifted the cover from the prized slice of cheese he'd been saving for a special occasion, there was Seth! He had eaten it all!
Chester: Get off my cheese! Get off!
But on the bright side, at least Seth shares Dad's passion for cheese. All in all, we had to agree that we had our share of a shear of mystery.