Chapter 3 (revised): Revenge at Last

While our new friend, Martin, Basil, and I were headed off to search for more clues, Ratigan was doing his daily show of his hatred toward us. (shudder)

On one wall of Ratigan's cabin was a picture of Basil, the toy maker's daughter, Olivia, and myself. It was taken after Basil had outsmarted another one of Ratigan's traps, during my first mystery with him. You can learn more on that, if you rent Disney's The Great Mouse Detective. Like always, Ratigan was using this photograph as a dart board.

"Curse you, Basil!" the cruel rat yelled. "And your plump assistant, too!" He grinned, as the thought of revenge came into his mind. "We'll meet again."

"Are you sure this is the place?" asked I.

"The clues definitely point to here as the place where our friend, Gonff, was captured," Basil replied.

Basil investigated everything, from the footprints on the ground, to broken fern branches. After a few minutes, he got up, without warning. I shuddered when I saw the expression on his face. It looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"It can't be," he said, softly.

"Ah, but it is, dear Basil," rang an oh too familiar voice. It was our old enemy, Professor Ratigan!

"Y-you can't be alive!" my partner cried, as his hated rival stepped into view.

"Ah, but I am, Basil of Baker Street," Ratigan said.

"You fiend!" yelled I, enraged. "You won't get away with this!"

With a snap of Ratigan's fingers, we were surrounded by vermin. "But I already have, good fellow. I already have."

With that, Ratigan had us thrown into a dungeon with Gonff. Neither Martin nor Gonff were happy about being locked up, but were satisfied that they were with each other again.

"After all this time," Basil sighed, "Ratigan has finally had his revenge on me."

"Don't go through these distressing moments again!" I cried. "Last time you did, we almost lost our lives, and the queen!"

"What does it matter?"

"What does it matter!? You were able to save our skins, that time, and devise a plan to save the queen!"

My companion and friend sighed, "I had sources to rely on, things to support an idea. Now, there's nothing I can do to get any of us out of this."

I frowned. It saddened me to see Basil like this.

Okay, I'm giving a contest for reviewers to figure out how Basil and company are going to escape in the next chapter. Sorry I hadn't posted in, like, a bazillion years. [aren't I the exaggerator?]