cheight

Chapter 8 Alvin Is Found      Alvin woke up to find hinself still in that dark, smelly place.
     "Am I ever going to get out of here?" he wondered, stretching his little legs, "And will I EVER find anything to eat?" he asked as his tummy rumbled loudly.
     "Well...I guess Id better be on my way..." he sighed and started off once more to look for a way out.
      The boy woke up suddenly. "Oh no!! I'll be late for school!!" he thought, jumping out of bed. It was when his feet hit the cold floor that he remembered there was no school that day. And that meant he could go looking for Alvin.
     He quickly dressed and hurried downstairs to fix himself some breakfast. He ate quickly and quietly. He was just clearing up after himself when his mother appeared wanting to know what he was doing up so early.
     "I want to go look for Alvin," he explained. "Maybe if he hears me calling he'll come out. Please Mom? Can I?"
     His mother looked at him intently, then smiled.
     "Go ahead," she said, giving him a hug, " Just be back by lunchtime, ok?"
     "Ok," he agreed, heading for the door. And with a quick "Thanks Mom," he was gone.
     All morning he rode his bike around town, calling to Alvin, hoping his friend would hear him and come out of hiding, or make enough noise so the boy could find him.
    But by lunchtime he was cold and hungry...and Alvinless.
     He just sat down to eat when the phone rang.

     Very carefully Alvin picked his way through the narrow tunnel. It was slippery and wet and cold, and he had to watch his step. He was tired of this tunnel, and hoped it wasn't a dead end. Walking out of there backwards wasn't something he really wanted to do, not with all the twists and turns the thing took.
     Alvin stopped for a minute to rest his legs. This was hard work and he was getting tired.
     "Why did I ever want to come down here?" he asked himself. "This is no fun at all!"
     He started forward again, and then suddenly stopped. He had heard something, and it seemed very close.
     Alvin listened carefully, trying to figure out what the noise was. "I hope it isn;t those eyes things..." he thought giving a little shiver.
    And then, suddenly he knew what it was! It wasn't those eyes things...it was PEOPLE!! Those were voices!! The boy had come for him!!
      Going as fast as his legs and the slippery floor would let him, Alvin hurried towards the sounds. At last he would be going home!
     Rounding a wide bend, he suddenly found himself standing in what felt like a huge room. He couldn't see very well because of the bight sunlight that filled the space and dazzled his eyes.
     After a few moments his vision adjusted and he he looked around for his rescuer. But it wasn't the boy he'd heard at all! It was two men, standing in the pool of light just at the bottom of a metal ladder that led up to an opening to the outside.
     Alvin stood perfectly still, listening, trying to determine if they were the kind who would turn him into a belt or not.
     Finally he decided he had to take a chance. He'd almost rather be a belt than go back into that tiny dark place.
     Slowly he walked towards the men, finally stopping a few feet away. He stared at them for a moment, then gave a tentative little squeak. They didn't seem to hear him, so he did it again, louder, moving a bit closer this time, and slapping his tail into one of the pools of water that lay here and there on the floor around him. This time the men stopped talking.
     "Well.....what have we here?" asked one of the men, bending down to get a better look.
     Alvin shook a little, then gave another little squeak and raised his head to stare back at the man. The two of them studied one another for a long minute, then the man called to his friend to take a look.
     The two men stared at Alvin, and then the second man smiled.
     "Hey.....it's Alvin!" he said, "You know..ALVIN. The little alligator on all the posters...."
    His friend slowly nodded. "Well...what do you know! There really IS an Alvin! I thought it was just some kind of joke! I mean..alligators around here? But that's him alright. No doubt about it...."
     Alvin couldn't believe his ears! Not only weren't they going to turn him into a belt, they knew his name! They knew who he was! What luck! Now if they could just get him home....
     "Say little fellow, I bet you'd like to be going home" the first man said, "And I'll bet you're hungry too."
     The man reached into his lunchbox and pulled out a piece of sandwich. "Here, you eat this and I'll be right back. I know someone who will be mighty glad to see you again!"
   And leaving Alvin and his sandwich under the watchful eye of his friend, the man climbed up the ladder and disappeared.

     The boy got up and ran for the phone. He listened for a few minutes, then, saying "thank you..THANK YOU!!!" he hung up and ran looking for his mother.
     "Mom...MOM!!!" he called, "It's Alvin!! They found Alvin!!"
     He was so excited he could hardly get the story out, but he finally calmed down enough to tell his mother what had happened and where Alvin was.
     "Can we go get him now?? Can we Mom?? Please????"
     "Of course we can," she told him. "Go get your brothers and we'll all go."
     And that's just what they did.

To Chapter 7
To Chapter 9