Checkmate

Chris: Previously on Adventures in Odyssey.
Rodney Rathbone: Whit created a gang that did good works.
Chris: Which is what I wanted to do.
Dr. Blackard: But now we're in some kind of battle. It's good versus evil, the greatest battle of all.
Jason: Look, if you won't keep the Israelites going, then I will.
Lucy: Where's Jack?
Mr. Glassman: This note is his resignation.
Connie: What?
Mr. Glassman: Jack won't be working at Whit's End anymore.
Jason: Any reason I can't get started on my display?
Mr. Glassman: There are several reasons we can't license that tunnel as a display. For one thing, it contains elements that are so unusual that we don't dare allow the public down there until we know more about them. Safety precautions, you understand.
Eugene: I've been working on a program for the Imagination Station.
Connie: What kind of program?
Eugene: One that may help me to understand what is happening at Whit's End and why.
Richard Maxwell: Maxwell. How you doing, Jellyfish?
Jellyfish: When'd you get out of jail?
Richard Maxwell: About six months after you did. Actually, Miss Kendall, I've made a decision. The time has come, you see. I would like you both to to pray with me.
Connie: Eugene, you want to pray to become a Christian?
Eugene: Yes. Dear God, my new Father in Heaven.
Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, Doctor Regis Blackard.
Dr. Blackard: Hello, Odyssey. I've come home. I order that the city of Odyssey until further notice, Whit's End is closed.
Mr. Glassman: It's done, Dr. Blackard. Total victory.
Dr. Blackard: Total. Glassman, if our victory is so total, then why am I still here in my brother's flea bag theater instead of at Whit's End? You've accomplished nothing.
Mr. Glassman: But sir, the Edgebiter scam worked. The people believed it.
Dr. Blackard: You're leading Tom Riley in all the polls. And Whit's End is closed to the public. In the first place, I couldn't care less about Tom Riley or the polls. In the second place, merely closing down Whit's End is pointless if the employees are still allowed inside. I want the place completely deserted.
Mr. Glassman: But sir, I thought.
Dr. Blackard: You're not here to think, Glassman. You're here to do as you're told. Now listen carefully. I'll speak slowly and use small words so you'll be sure to understand. I need free reign of Whit's End and its surrounding grounds. Therefore, you will get the place completely closed down so that no one is allowed within a hundred yards of it. Is that clear?
Mr. Glassman: Yes, sir.
Dr. Blackard: Good. And don't pout, Glassman. It's not becoming. Get Jellyfish and that gang of his to help you. I'm sure the two of you can come up with something workable.
Mr. Glassman: I'll get right on it.
Dr. Blackard: Fine. And Glassman,
Mr. Glassman: Yes, sir?
Dr. Blackard: Don't fail me again.
Mr. Glassman: Yes, sir.
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Lucy: Jason? Billy?
Jason: Hi, Sam.
Billy: Hi, Lucy.
Lucy: What's going on, you guys?
Sam: Yeah, where are the rest of the Israelites?
Jason: That's what Billy and I want to talk to you about. After everything that's happened lately, we need to restructure things a bit.
Sam: Restructure?
Billy: Yeah, Lucy. We don't want a repeat of what happened to Butch.
Sam: Does this mean we're not going to do good deeds anymore?
Jason: Yeah, we will, but of a different sort.
Sam: What do you mean?
Jason: Well, the Bones have figured out what we're up to. They keep sabotaging what we do.
Sam: And now everybody thinks we've gone bad.
Billy: Right. That's why we need a new strategy. Until now, we've been on a defensive, waiting for them to strike and then cleaning up after them. We've been playing it safe. It's time for something new.
Sam: Like what?
Jason: Well, now we need to go on the offensive. We're going to do things to show them that we're not safe or predictable, and that'll make them nervous before they can do anything. Oh, and along the way, maybe we can get some proof that'll help place the blame where it belongs.
Sam: So what are we going to do?
Billy: Sam, you know where the Bones' hideout is, right?
Sam: Oh, yeah.
Billy: Well, I think it's time you and I paid a visit. Tonight.
Sam: Cool.
Lucy: Wait a minute. What if the Bones are there?
Jason: Aha, they won't be. You see, one of the things Butch told us was that the Bones have joined, of all things, a bowling league.
Lucy: Bowling?
Sam: The Bones are rather bowlers?
Jason: Yeah. Apparently it was Jellyfish's idea. He thought it'd make him look wholesome or something.
Billy: They'll be at the bowling alley tonight at 8:30. So meet me here at 8:15, Sam.
Sam: 8:15. Got it.
Lucy: What about me?
Jason: Lucy, you need to go to the bowling alley and keep an eye on the Bones. The last thing we want is for them to leave early and catch Sam and Billy at their hideout.
Lucy: That could be painful.
Jason: Right. Now, here's my cellular phone number. I can contact Billy on his pager. You watch the Bones and keep me posted, all right?
Lucy: Right.
Jason: Right. Well, let's do it.
Eugene: this code over here. this function here. Okay. Fine. This all up. And hit save.
Connie: Eugene. Eugene. Eugene, will you slow down?
Eugene: I'm sorry, Miss Kendall, I really can't.
Connie: Why not?
Eugene: Because I finally succeeded in adjusting the search function on the Imagination Station so that it'll record data on backup disks in the computer room, and I must now use the station to learn what I can about Whit's End, the land it sits on, and the tunnels beneath it in order to help us battle Mr. Glassman. Excuse me.
Connie: But what makes you so sure you're going to find out anything in history that'll help us?
Eugene: Elementary. Why after all these years would Mr. Glassman suddenly choose now to close down the shop?
Connie: Well, he didn't have the nerve while Whit was here.
Eugene: No, too much time has passed. What has happened recently to trigger this event?
Connie: Jason wanted to turn the underground railroad tunnel into a display.
Eugene: Correct. That tunnel has been getting a lot of attention from Mr. Glassman and that scientist friend of his.
Connie: Mr. Bavol, Bavrel.
Eugene: Correct again. I've investigated the tunnel through orthodox means and cannot find a single reason for Mr. Glassman to be so determined to get to it, except for that mysterious but rather uninteresting element we scraped off the walls and tested at the college laboratory.
Connie: But you just said it's uninteresting.
Eugene: Downright boring. So to find the answer, I must resort to unorthodox methods of investigation and search throughout Whit's End's history in the Imagination Station to see what I can discover. Excuse me.
Connie: Was there anything I can do?
Eugene: Oh, as a matter of fact, there is.
Connie: What?
Eugene: Pray for me, Connie. I would be most grateful.
Connie: Oh, yeah, sure. It's nice to have you back.
Jason: This is Jason.
Lucy: Jason, it's Lucy.
Jason: Hey, what's going on, Lucy? Everything all right?
Lucy: Well, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't actually seen it, but Rodney and the Bones are here, bowling away. What's more, they're not half bad.
Jason: Sam and Billy should be at the hideout by now. Keep your eyes peeled and call me if the Bones leave.
Lucy: Right.
Rodney Rathbone: Strike!
Rusty: Oh, that was beautiful, Rodney.
Rodney Rathbone: Oh, that was beautiful, Rodney. I can't believe this. Me, the leader of the Bones of Wrath, reduced to bowling.
Rusty: We're a diversion, you know that.
Rodney Rathbone: It's my gang, Rusty. Why should I be a diversion?
Rusty: 'Cause Jellyfish told you to.
Rodney Rathbone: Jellyfish.
Rusty: Hey, look at the bright side, your game's getting better.
Rodney Rathbone: I don't want my game to get better. I want my gang back. Hey, look who's here over by the phones. Well, well, Lucy.
Rusty: I didn't know she bowled.
Rodney Rathbone: She doesn't, you cork brain. She's spying on us for the Israelites. Come on.
Rusty: Where are we going?
Rodney Rathbone: On a little fact-finding tour.
Rusty: Huh?
Rodney Rathbone: We need information on the Israelites, and Lucy knows all about them. Now, come on.
Rusty: I don't know, Rodney. Maybe we should just stay here and bowl like Jellyfish told us.
Rodney Rathbone: I don't take orders from Jellyfish. This time we're going to do things my way. Now, come on.
Billy: The hideout's deserted, all right.
Sam: The door's unlocked. Come on.
Billy: Hmm, this is easier than I thought.
Sam: Oh, this place is disgusting.
Billy: Hard to believe they actually hang out in here, isn't it?
Sam: Yeah.
Billy: Okay, let's get started. Look for anything that might work as evidence.
Sam: Right.
Jason: Connie, you're still here?
Connie: Yeah, thought I'd give this place a thorough cleaning. It'll be spick-and-span when we open again.
Jason: Where's Eugene?
Connie: Oh, he's still in the Imagination Station. He's been there for hours.
Jason: Without a break?
Connie: Well, he came out a little while ago to get a drink and go to the bathroom. Said he's crossed back and forth in time through the complete history of Whit's End. He even talked to Teddy Roosevelt when he came through town on his whistle-stop presidential campaign.
Jason: Really?
Connie: Yeah. Nothing to help us, though.
Jason: Well, I hope he finds something.
Connie: Then you really think it's worth it?
Jason: I don't know. But I trust Eugene's instincts, and I wouldn't want to get in his way.
Eugene: Journal entry supplemental. My lengthy quest through history in the Imagination Station has yielded little information on the tunnel or the mineral thus far.
Reverend Andrew: Come on in, son. Glad you found the tunnel. It's the safest way. I've built one that goes over to the basement of the church too. Oh, are you hurt?
William: All I got's a scratch on my arm. Got caught in some thorns.
Reverend Andrew: Hmm, fairly deep. I've got some sav I can put on it. I'm Reverend Andrew. Welcome to my humble home. Well, the basement of it anyway. What's your name?
William: William.
Eugene: Are your parents heading north? I want to make sure I'm right. I am once again seeing the story of William Ross, a slave who used the underground railroad and whose path took him to the parish church of Reverend Andrew in the 1850s. I travel as an observer only.
Reverend Andrew: Do you want any more soup?
William: No, thank you.
Reverend Andrew: How's your arm?
William: It's good.
William: What was that you put on there?
Reverend Andrew: It's a sav. The Indians around here showed me how to make it from some herbs and strangely enough, a mineral we found down in the tunnel.
Eugene: Mineral?
William: So this is your house?
Reverend Andrew: It belongs to the church. It's called the Rectory.
Eugene: If you want to get up to your family - I didn't notice that before! Stop! I want to go back, you unwieldy machine, back!
Rodney Rathbone: Hi, Lucy.
Lucy: Rodney, Rusty.
Rusty: What are you doing?
Lucy: I-I was just.
Rodney Rathbone: Let's make this easy, okay? We know why you're here. You're spying on us.
Lucy: Spying? I.
Rodney Rathbone: Oh, we don't hold it against you. We do the same thing to you Israelites.
Rusty: Rodney, why'd you tell her that?
Rodney Rathbone: Why not? She knows. Right, Lucy?
Lucy: What if I do?
Rodney Rathbone: Nothing. Only wouldn't it be nice if someone would just give you information so you wouldn't have to spy no more?
Lucy: Like who?
Rodney Rathbone: Oh, somebody in the know.
Rusty: Rodney, what are you doing?
Rodney Rathbone: Quiet, Rusty.
Lucy: Why would this somebody want to provide me with information?
Rodney Rathbone: Cause maybe he's tired of the way things are going. And maybe he wants things back the way they used to be. And maybe he has the scoop about what's been going on around town.
Lucy: All right. Maybe I'm interested. Let's talk.
Rodney Rathbone: Not here. Follow me.
Lucy: Follow you?
Rodney Rathbone: Only if you want the information. I'll even take you to our new hideout.
Lucy: New hideout?
Rusty: Rodney!
Rodney Rathbone: Quiet! Well, what do you say?
Lucy: All right, lead on.
Sam: Oh, this place is really awful.
Billy: Well, the only evidence we'll find here is that these guys are real slobs.
Sam: Yeah. I thought they might have written down their plans somewhere.
Billy: Well, even if they did, I don't think we could find them in this mess.
Sam: Right. Well, let's get on with the operation.
Billy: Operation? There's more?
Sam: Uh-huh. Jason wants us to give the Bones a sign that we've been around, that we know where they are and how to get to them.
Billy: You mean we're going to trash the place?
Sam: How could you trash a dump like this? We're going to clean it up.
Billy: What?
Eugene: What? What is this? What's happened? Journal entry supplemental. I am in what looks like the charred remains of Reverend Andrew's house in Odyssey. If I remember correctly, it was burned to the ground after slave traders came looking for William.
Reverend Andrew: You there. Have I told you looters and gawkers once, I've told you a dozen times to stay away from my house.
Eugene: Oh, my humble apologies, sir. I am neither looter nor gawker. Reverend Andrew, is it not?
Reverend Andrew: That's right. You'll have to forgive me if I seem bristly, but we've had so many come through here just to exploit what happened.
Eugene: I understand. I am a scientist and I'm particularly interested in unusual geological elements, minerals, that sort of thing. I understand the tunnel beneath the church has yielded some curious matter.
Reverend Andrew: How could you possibly know that?
Eugene: Oh, I learned it from William Ross.
Reverend Andrew: You know William?
Eugene: Well, I.
Reverend Andrew: That's all right then. Please, come back to my lodging. We can talk there.
Connie: Well, I guess everything's going according to plan, huh?
Jason: Yeah, Billy and Sam should be cleaning up the Bones' hideout by now.
Connie: I'd love to see the expressions on the Bones' faces when they find out what we're doing.
Jason: Yeah, I would. Good grief. What's that? I'll have a look. Connie, you stay back.
Connie: Can you see anything?
Jellyfish: And now, a message for the Israelites, and all their friends at Whit's End.
Connie: What?
Jason: Connie, get down now!
Reverend Andrew: The sav I used on William is a strange mixture of molds, fungus, and a mineral derived from the ground in this area. When we dug the tunnel, we found an abundant sampling of the mineral. By itself, it seems to serve no purpose at all.
Eugene: Does this mineral have a name?
Reverend Andrew: The locals call it Boogalind One. I guess because it's mixed with squishy.
Eugene: What? What's going on? Indian words. Boogalind. Power loss? No. Not when I'm so close.
Connie: Jason!
Jason: Keep your head down, Connie!
Eugene: What in the world, Jason? Connie!
Jason: Eugene, stay up there and call the police!
Jason: What a mess. Well, I told the police I'd file a formal complaint with them tomorrow.
Connie: Yeah, for all the good that'll do. We still no proof as to who did it.
Jason: Ah, it's like a war zone around here. You all right, Connie?
Connie: Yeah. But you should get that cut taken care of.
Jason: I've had worse. It'll be okay.
Connie: We found this sheet of plywood in the shed.
Jason: It should cover that left panel. Good. Just lean it over there. Any more like it?
Eugene: Assistance!
Jason: Eugene, that's heavy. Why didn't you ask for help?
Eugene: I believe I just did.
Jason: All right, here, I got this in. Just set it against the wall. You all right, Eugene?
Eugene: I'm not positive, but it's entirely possible that I may have strained something.
Jason: Why don't you have a seat?
Eugene: I believe I shall.
Connie: They sure did a number on us, didn't they? But I still don't understand how this could have happened.
Jason: Well, Sam, I guess there were a few problems with my plan.
Sam: Oh, don't blame yourself, Jason. Butch must have gotten the facts wrong.
Jason: No, he didn't. Lucy called. The Bones were at the bowling alley.
Eugene: But obviously not all of the Bones.
Sam: Yeah, like Jellyfish.
Jason: Right.
Connie: Hey, where is Lucy anyway? I mean, she should have been here by now, don't you think?
Jason: Oh, great. What happened to Lucy?
Chris: Want to contact us about the episodes you're hearing? Visit our website at adventuresinodyssey.com, or talk to someone at Focus on the Family. Call 1-800-A-FAMILY, with a parent's permission, of course. We always love hearing from you.
Rodney Rathbone: This is going to be great, Rusty, just great.
Rusty: I guess we're about to find out, Rodney. Here comes Jellyfish.
Jellyfish: Hey, Rodney, Rusty, what are you guys doing here?
Rusty: Uh, it was Rodney's idea.
Rodney Rathbone: That's right. We got a little surprise for you inside the cave.
Jellyfish: Surprise? What kind of surprise?
Rodney Rathbone: Oh, just Lucy Cunningham Schultz.
Jellyfish: What? You brought Lucy here?
Rodney Rathbone: Yep.
Jellyfish: I don't believe this. Of all the boneheaded, moronic, idiotic things to do.
Rodney Rathbone: Hey, what was boneheaded about it?
Jellyfish: You mean besides the fact that we're going to have to find a new hideout?
Rodney Rathbone: I brought her up in the dark. She couldn't find her way back if she wanted to. And even if she could, big deal. So we find another cave.
Jellyfish: There's more to it than that, you simple-minded gurken. Now there's a witness who can tie us all together.
Rodney Rathbone: They've already tied all of us together. You don't think Butch told them all about you?
Jellyfish: We didn't kidnap Butch.
Rodney Rathbone: We didn't kidnap Lucy either. She came here of her own free will.
Jellyfish: What? She did? Why?
Rodney Rathbone: Because I told her I'd give her information about us. But if we press her a little, she can tell us plenty about the Israelites.
Jellyfish: Yeah, and just how are you going to press her?
Rodney Rathbone: I thought you were supposed to be some big smart guy. Ever heard of scaring somebody?
Jellyfish: All right, Wrathbone, we'll do it your way. But I won't forget that you didn't follow my orders.
Rodney Rathbone: Oh, you're breaking my heart. After you.
Lucy: Rodney, I've been here long enough. Are we going to talk or not?
Rodney Rathbone: Actually, Lucy, you're going to talk.
Lucy: What do you mean?
Jellyfish: He means we need information about the Israelites.
Lucy: Who are you?
Jellyfish: Never mind who I am. The only thing you need to know is the sooner you start talking, the sooner you'll get out of here.
Lucy: I knew it. I knew you couldn't be trusted, Rodney. I'm getting out of here now.
Jellyfish: Fine. I hope you can find your way back in the dark.
Lucy: The dark?
Jellyfish: Yeah. Cause if you don't know your way, well, you know, you could wind up lost. Very lost.
Lucy: You brought me up here, Rodney. You'd better see that I get back.
Jellyfish: Well, I suppose Rodney or Rusty here could try to take you back. Yeah, but their sense of direction isn't all that good, you know. Yeah, they might get you really lost, stumbling around in the dark, with who knows what crawling around out there, just waiting to pounce on you. Why, it's enough to drive some people crazy.
Lucy: You'd better get me out of here.
Jellyfish: Sure, sure, right after you tell us what the Israelites are up to. Well, I'm waiting. Okay, Rusty, take her out.
Rusty: It'll be a pleasure.
Lucy: Ah!
Jellyfish: What was that? I don't know. Rusty?
Rodney Rathbone: He's out cold.
Jellyfish: What happened to him?
Rodney Rathbone: I'm not sticking around to find. Ah!
Jellyfish: Rodney! What's going on? What's happening?
Richard Maxwell: Don't you know? It's a rescue.
Jellyfish: Who is that? Who are you?
Richard Maxwell: Don't get all bent out of shape. It's just me.
Lucy: Richard?
Jellyfish: Maxwell? What do you want? Why are you doing this?
Richard Maxwell: Lucy is a friend of mine.
Jellyfish: A friend? Hey, look, I'm sorry. I didn't know.
Richard Maxwell: Too late. It's like I told you, Myron. I never forget.
Jellyfish: Yeah, but wait, no. Ah!
Lucy: Richard, what'd you do to them?
Richard Maxwell: Don't worry. I just zapped them with an electrical stunner. They'll be out for a few minutes and then wake up with a headache.
Lucy: Oh. Myron?
Richard Maxwell: Jellyfish's real name. Are you all right?
Lucy: Yeah, fine. How did you know I was here?
Richard Maxwell: I've been staking out this cave. Come on, let's get out of here.
Lucy: Okay.
Richard Maxwell: You really should have one of these for protection, you know. I got this one on sale at the Electric Palace.
Jason: Well, I just got off the phone with Lucy.
Connie: Is she all right?
Jason: Yeah, she's fine. Apparently, she went on a little walking tour with Rodney Wrathbone last night to the Bones' new hideout.
Connie: Walking tour?
Jason: Yeah, Rodney lured her there by promising information about the Bones. She met Jellyfish face to face. She was rescued by Richard Maxwell.
Connie: Really? Wow. Yeah, she said you'd know who he is. Yeah, I do. He used to be on the bad side, but he had a change of heart.
Eugene: Jason, do we have any more fuses?
Jason: I don't think so, Eugene. How's it going?
Eugene: Well, without fuses, it isn't going. Neither is the Imagination Station.
Jason: You'll get it fixed.
Eugene: I hope so. I was so close to a breakthrough.
Mr. Glassman: All right, boys, start here and work your way up and out.
Jason: Hey, hey, what's going on, Glassman?
Mr. Glassman: Ah, Jason Whittaker and minions, just the folks I wanted to see. Get out.
Connie: Ow!
Jason: If anybody's getting out, Glassman, it's you.
Mr. Glassman: You don't want to touch a state official, especially when the Sheriff's Department's surrounding your building.
Connie: We're surrounded?
Jason: All right, Glassman, what's this all about?
Mr. Glassman: Well, Jace, it's like this. That element you've got in the tunnel down there is showing signs of being extremely toxic.
Eugene: That's ridiculous. My tests reveal the mineral to be completely inert.
Mr. Glassman: Well, fortunately, our tests are more thorough, and professional.
Eugene: What?
Mr. Glassman: Which means it'll be necessary to inspect every aspect of Whit's End and the surrounding grounds for 100 yards in all directions.
Connie: 100 yards?
Mr. Glassman: Besides, we heard about what happened here last night. This place seems to be a magnet for vandalism. And since we really can't risk anyone's safety.
Jason: Look, I'm the proxy owner of the building. I take personal responsibility for everyone's safety.
Mr. Glassman: Once again, I remind you that you don't own the land. You can't guarantee their safety getting to and from the building.
Jason: Listen, Glassman.
Mr. Glassman: Whittaker, I have the authority of seven different state, county, and local departments on my side. Authority that even overrides Mayor Riley. Don't make this tougher than it has to be. I'll give you all five minutes to gather your things and leave.
Connie: Five minutes.
Jason: All right, Glassman, you win. Connie, Eugene, do as he says.
Mr. Glassman: As I said, sir, total victory.
Dr. Blackard: You're certain the building and the grounds are secure?
Mr. Glassman: Completely. For 100 yards in all directions. And we control a secluded maintenance road. No one can see us coming or going.
Dr. Blackard: Check and mate. Congratulations, Glassman. It's about time you did your job correctly. Now go tell Jellyfish to bring the truck around on the back road. And inform the professor that he can begin the excavation.
Mr. Glassman: Yes, sir.
Dr. Blackard: Oh, for so long I have awaited this day. Whit's End is mine.
Chris: Dr. Blackard has taken over Whit's End. Since we now know he doesn't really want to be mayor, what does he want? And what was the clue Eugene almost found in the Imagination Station? The only way to find out for sure is, tune in next time. Meanwhile, if you want to write, just send your card or letter to Adventures in Odyssey, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80995, or in Canada write to Box 9800, Vancouver BC, V6B 4G3. And when you do, ask about how you can get your own copy of today's episode. It's called Checkmate. Adventures in Odyssey is a presentation of Focus on the Family. Checkmate was written by Phil Lawler and Paul McCusker, and directed by Phil Lawler. Our production engineer is Mark Drury, and our executive producer Chuck Bolte. And I'm Chris, hoping you'll join us again next time for more Adventures in Odyssey.