First mate's log:

November 24, 1973

Peter called and said he's not sure when he can come back to work, because he's so busy doing stuff for Bobby. I wanted to yell at him that he made a commitment, and Mary Ann is going to rely on all of us more in the next few months. But I'm not really a yeller, and I can't tell Peter about the baby yet of course. So I just said, "Well, just remember, even slaves are people," and hung up on him.

If Mary Ann and I end up having more than one kid, I hope none of them save each other's lives. I remember saving Mr. Howell's life and he adopted me, and that wasn't all it was cracked up to be. A sincere thank-you is more than enough. OK, and maybe some food or cash.

Carol Brady's diary:

November 25, 1973

Well, Peter is no longer Bobby's "slave." Last night, the girls were off at their sleepover. Greg had a date, and Mike and I went to a post-Thanksgiving dinner party at the Howells'. Alice was home but watching a movie on the TV in the family room.

As when Mike and I went out for the evening when Greg and Marcia were quarreling over the attic months ago, I was worried about Peter and Bobby. Peter was still doing favors for Bobby, who was really exploiting him by that point. I did talk to Bobby, but he didn't understand what he was doing wrong, since Peter offered this arrangement.

And when I talked to Peter, he admitted he's not happy, but a Brady "always keeps his promises." I decided it wasn't the time to point out how he didn't live up to his promises to Marcia and Mr. Haskell. I did remind him that he made a promise to Mary Ann to work as a delivery boy, but he said he'll figure something out when he's back at school on Monday.

As with the attic fiasco, Mike told me that it would be fine and the kids would work things out in our absence. He was sort of right and sort of wrong. Peter and Bobby had a big fight and divided up their room. Then Bobby threw a pillow and broke the wing on Peter's model airplane. So Peter chased after Bobby, who hid in their walk-in closet. Peter left the room, unaware that the knob inside the closet came off and Bobby was trapped in there.

Peter went and made a few phone calls to friends he'd been neglecting while waiting hand and foot on Bobby. By the time he went back upstairs, Bobby was pounding on the closet door and yelling for help, convinced he was going to to die from lack of fresh air. So when Peter opened the closet door, Bobby was convinced that Peter had saved his life.

The boys decided to call it even, so that's resolved. As for Marcia, she's decided she will take a break from dating. She's not sure about getting another job just yet, since she wants to focus on her studies and extra-curricular activities.

November 30, 1973

Ginger called Mary Ann in a panic an hour ago. All three of the Hinkley boys have run away! Ginger was at the BITV studio while the kids were at school. The Professor was at the library. There was nothing unusual about that, and they both did try to get home before the kids. But Ginger had to reshoot a scene for her soap opera, and the Professor got lost in his research. So they both got back about half hour late. And there was no sign of the kids!

They of course called the school, but the attendance office said Matt, Dwayne, and Steve were all in class that day. They checked with the boys' classmates, but the boys are still each other's best friends and haven't really gotten close to anyone else yet. Then the Professor and Ginger asked around the neighborhood. Not only hadn't anyone seen the three kids since they left for school that morning, but Mrs. Payne said some bigoted stuff about orphans and "troublesome minorities."

Mary Ann promised Ginger she'd let her know if we saw the kids or heard anything about them. After she hung up, she asked me to tell her honestly if I was covering for the Hinkley boys. I could understand her suspicion. If it was Peter and Bobby when they were younger, I might've helped them hide out. But I'm definitely not as close to Matt, and I hardly know Dwayne and Steve. They seem like good kids, but Matt hasn't confided in me in weeks, months?

I don't think they could've left Blenford, because they're definitely too young to manage a boat, unless it was a rowboat or a canoe. Mary Ann didn't think that was reassuring, because she pictured three little boys on a boat, or maybe even a raft! I'm sure being an expectant mother made her even more worried, because she could even picture our baby on a raft.

I said what I could to reassure her, but I'm worried about the Hinkley kids, too. And I feel really bad for the Professor and Ginger, who are probably blaming themselves for not being home on time, or maybe home more in general. It makes me wonder how much Mary Ann or I should work when our kid is in school. Then again, the Pizza Parlor is a perfect place for kids to hang out, so maybe it won't be a problem.

We of course checked with the Skipper, to see if the Hinkley boys took the ferry over to our island, but he said he hasn't seen a sign of them. He'll of course let us, Ginger, and the Professor know if he does.

December 1, 1973

Mike and I found a big surprise in our backyard last night. Well, we have had children hiding in Tiger's old doghouse before, but never three of them at once! The Hinkley boys were all squeezed in there.

Mike and I had gone out to dinner on Blenford and were coming back, when we thought we heard loud whispers and suppressed laughter. I thought of when Bobby hid in the doghouse when he thought Millicent might've given him the mumps, but of course he wasn't hiding with anyone. I really doubted it was thieves, even incompetent ones.

Mike investigated and found the three eight-year-olds. They ran away from home! It wasn't like when Bobby was a little younger than their age, and Mike and I made sure that he didn't make it out the front door. Ginger and the Professor weren't even home at the time, although that's not why these boys ran away. They love their adoptive parents, and their new home, especially because they get to be with each other.

Unfortunately, there's a very bigoted woman who moved in next door about a month ago. She keeps making rude remarks to Ginger and to the boys, but she does it in a pseudo-polite manner. In some ways, that kind of people are harder to deal with than crude bigots.

The boys didn't want to cause any trouble for their new parents, so they stowed away on the ferry after school. They figured Mike and I have so many kids, we wouldn't mind three more. We tried not to laugh. We told them that their parents are probably very worried about them, and they shouldn't care what hateful people say.

We got them to come inside and warm up with some cocoa. And after awhile, we got them to agree to let us call Ginger. She sounded so tearful and relieved on the phone. She and the Professor came over by boat as soon as they could, and we met them at the lagoon with their sons.

I hope that their family will be stronger than ever. I also hope that the well-named Mrs. Payne moves away, preferably off Blenford entirely.