Chapter 49

“Tonight we turn the tables.”

The Rebels were sitting in Mrs. Natcher’s room. It wasn’t the most secure location, but, seeing as how the janitorial closet was full of ocean water, it would have to suffice. Daisy had asked Bookworm to guard the door, and Spencer could see his garbage-pile silhouette in the doorway.

It was nearing midnight in Welcher, but there was still so much to be done before they could sleep.

“I can’t believe you used to be friends with that weirdo,” Dez said when Alan had finished explaining what had happened.

“Rod Grush was nothing like Mr. Clean,” Alan said.

“I thought you said Rod Grush was Mr. Clean,” said Daisy.

“He is,” Alan admitted. “But I never thought my old partner could be capable of such crimes.”

“Why do you suppose he tried so hard to keep his identity a secret from you?” Walter asked.

Marv grunted. “Coward, is my guess.”

But Alan shook his head. “Rod Grush was anything but a coward. I knew him better than anyone. We went through a lot together. I know how he acts and how he thinks. That’s probably why Mr. Clean didn’t want me to know who he really was.”

“So how can we use this to our advantage?” Penny said. “If Rod Grush just had his hideout destroyed and his hammer stolen, what would he do next?”

The look on Alan’s face became very somber. “He’d come here.”

“Then I guess we’d better skedaddle,” Bernard said.

“It doesn’t matter where we go,” Alan said. “He’ll find us and take revenge for what we’ve done.”

“The time for running is past,” Walter said. “The Rebel Underground has survived under a rock, avoiding the BEM and trying to stay hidden. No more. Tonight we turn the tables.”

Bernard raised his hand. “I hate to be the pessimist in the group,” he said. “But there are only nine of us here, if you count the Thingamajunk. What kind of tables can we turn against the entire Bureau of Educational Maintenance?”

In reply, Walter laid a blue binder on the desk he was occupying. Spencer recognized it as Professor DeFleur’s translation of the Manualis Custodem. Spencer had wondered if the binder had survived the flood, but he hadn’t dared ask about it in front of the others. Apparently, Walter had untaped the binder and moved it to safety before the water came through.

“You’ve all been very patient,” Walter said. “And I thank you for trusting my orders. Our reason for stealing all three bronze hammers is much greater than a desire to take away the BEM’s warlocks.”

He opened the binder. “This is a translation of the Manualis Custodem an original first-edition Janitor Handbook penned in Gloppish by the Founding Witches themselves.”

“How long have you had this?” Penny asked, looking a touch hurt that she hadn’t heard about it until now.

“Since the landfill,” Walter answered. “Though the translation was only completed a few days ago.”

“So what does it say?” asked Bernard, sitting forward on the edge of a desk.

“It says that the Founding Witches are not dead,” Walter said. “They are trapped in the source of all Glop, counting on us to free them back into the world.”

It was silent for a moment. Penny, Bernard, and Marv looked wide-eyed at the news. Even Dez stopped grooming his wing long enough to stare at the binder on Walter’s desk.

“So that’s how we’re turning the tables?” Bernard asked. “We’re bringing back the Founding Witches?”

Alan nodded. “Exactly. And we need to do it tonight. Before Mr. Clean can recover from the blow of losing his laboratory.”

“Where’s the source?” Marv asked.

“Tonight,” Walter said, “the source of all Glop is going to be right here in Welcher Elementary School.”