"Johnny! Johnny, are you crazy?!"" You'll fall! Go back!" I heard them but didn't heed them in the least. An early growth spurt had made me pretty tall for a ten year old, yet another thing which caused me to be in sharp contrast to my brothers, along with my flax-colored hair and dark blue eyes. As far as I could tell by eyeballing it, I was easily tall enough to reach down to the junction if I could just stretch myself outside the window and not lose my balance. With my face turned to meet the sky, I pushed my body out of the window and hung backwards by my knees, using my legs as an anchor as I fumbled for the spot below me where the lines needed to be connected. I heard Tin Tin gasp as, at the same time, Scotty and Virg ran into the house; I heard them, but couldn't see their actions because my shirt had fallen over my face. Soon reemerging into the yard, they carried with them a bed sheet which they stretched out below me. They could have spared the effort, for my too tall, bean-pole frame and limber arms and legs finally came in handy, allowing me to blindly couple the line and the connector rack.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Scotty called up to me. "Good goin', Johnny!" Grabbing the garden rake, he reached up to push the clothespin bag across the line until it was within Tin Tin's reach.

"Climb into the bag and hold on to the line!" he said with an assuring smile. "We'll have you down in a jiffy!"

From her new perch, Tin Tin was able to reach up to the line and use the opposing line to inch her way across the expanse of the lawn to the area nearer the house where Virg and Scotty were waiting with their doubled sheet ready to catch her. In a panic, I noted that the farther she pulled herself across the line, the more fraying occurred to the area of cord she'd passed.

"Hurry, Tin Tin!" I called out, hoping she hadn't noticed just how near to dissolving her lifeline was. We all held our breath as the sun-dried lines continued to break; luckily, Tin Tin had almost reached the house and soon would be safely out of harm's way. And then...the line snapped!

Flopping into the sheet below, Tin Tin gave a squeal as she bounced and then scrambled to the edge to reach the safety of the lawn. Grateful for her rescue, she hugged both Scotty and Virg and then stopped to wave up to me; the warm smile on her face was worth all the effort we'd made. That smile faded quickly, however, as her attention was diverted to Lucky's escapade high above the garden wall. Dropping her head, she stared ruefully at the grass, sighing, "I guess he'll just have to get down on his own. I don't see what else we can do."

"We don't give up that easily, Tin Tin!" Scotty said, patting her shoulder to comfort her. "We'll get him down; you'll see. He'll be back in your arms faster than you can say 'Tom Robinson.'"

Alan, never the statesman of the clan, wasn't as sympathetic to Lucky's plight. "Awwwww, I bet if we pitched a rock at him, he'd come down in a hurry!"

Gordon, looking for all the world like a hybrid duck as he waddled about in his bright orange flippers, sun visor and matching swimming trunks, found he couldn't resist joining in on this one. "I think he'd come DOWN just like a rock, too! Kerrrrrrrrrrr---SPLAT! Right on Mr. Hanson's wall! Road pizza---backyard style!"

We could have all done without the hand gestures which Gordo added for emphasis, and it was pretty easy to envision the terror spreading across Tin Tin's mind after his demonstration. Being of sound mind and little patience when it came to Gordo's goofy side, our Virg stepped up to get things back on track, lightly smacking him on the back of his head for good measure.

"Knock it off, you two," Virgil stated, "or I'll tell Dad of you. Now let's get to work!"

Joining Scotty toward the back of the yard, Virg began to move lawn furniture and look about for other items which could aid in the rescue; meanwhile, Gordo and Alan took advantage of the distance between themselves and the elder two, repeating Virg's scolding in a mimicking fashion. Then in unison they snickered, "Daddy's Favorite---thhhhssspspppspsp!"

Scotty shifted to the area under the telephone pole on which Lucky sat; peering up, he judged the height and looked around for the right substitute equipment for the missing ladder. Suddenly his face lit up and he grabbed Virg's arm and began to point. In like kind, the V-Man made the connection and smacked his head.

"Of course!" he yelled. "Why didn't I think of that---the slide and ladder! But it's pretty heavy. How are we going to move it to the pole?"

"Easy!" Scotty quipped, grabbing Virg's arm to have him follow as he ran across the yard, "We just need wheels!"

Virg got the message immediately, for he had quickly figured out just what to use for transport. A minute later, he emerged from the garage with Gordo's Radio Flyer wagon, his own old green tricycle resting within it. It wasn't long before he and Scotty had hoisted the slide into the wagon bed and the ladder onto the tricycle stand, making it easy to move it into position in the yard.

"I'll come down and help," I called out, waving down at my brothers, but Scott, who was crossing the yard toward the house caught me before I'd left the window.

"No, Johnny! Stay put!" he called out. "We need you to stay near the phone."

"What for? I'd be more help to you down there," I said, a bit surprised by his response.

"Virg and I have it handled right now, so it's better you stay and handle it if Dad calls---and you know he will sooner or later," Scott said. "Besides, if something goes wrong, you'll be able to call Emergency Services fast. Can't count on Gordo or The Baby to do that."

Resigned to monitor the situation from afar, I aimed my terra-view lens to spy on ol' Lucky as he napped peacefully on the telephone post, blissfully unaware of all the fuss he was causing below. I had started to feel a little sleepy myself as I looked out onto the darkening late afternoon sky beyond the yard, when I was so started by the shrill ring of the telephone that I slid right out of my desk chair and onto the floor.

"Uuuuummm....hello?" I answered timidly, for the caller identity unit had already tattle-told on Dad calling from his office at Tracy Aerospace.

"Hi, it's Dad. Just calling to say I'll be stuck at the office for a while. Everyone home?"

"Uuhhh...yes, Father; we're all here. Papa-K...errr...Mr. Kyrano hasn't gotten back from the market yet, though; I reckon he won't be long, though, 'cause he doesn't like being out once it gets dark."

"Right," came Dad's muffled reply, sounding a bit as though his attention was being diverted as we spoke, a distinct rustling of paper and clicking of keys in the background. "You boys behave, and make sure Gordon and Alan get their studies done. And if I'm not home in time for dinner, make sure John eats. I don't want to find out he's skipping dinner to stargaze again. He's too skinny as it is. See you later, Virgil---and make sure you practice for your piano recital. 'Bye."

Click. It mightn't have hurt him to make sure of which son he was speaking with, but that was pretty much par with Father. Shrugging my shoulders, I returned to the window to report to my brothers. "All clear, guys! Dad's going to be late getting home. Better get a move on!"

"Right!" cried Scotty and Virg in unison as they placed the slide down at the junction of the garden walls. Scotty held the ladder steady as Virg climbed the ladder and pulled himself up on the border of the brick wall, walking foot over foot to the pole on which the cat sat.

"Careful, Virg! Stay steady!" called out Scotty, worried as there was nothing Virg would be able to grab to keep his balance should he lose his footing. Up the pole he began to climb, using the posts left in place by the telephone lineman, being careful to look to each one before putting a foot in place. The closer he came to the top of the pole, the more nervous he became; soon his climb became slower and slower, his natural sense of caution kicking in. Meanwhile, far below him, Scotty and Gordon were preparing a soft cushion for a landing, should the need arise.

Reaching above him, Virg realized that he was still too far away to affect a rescue by merely pulling Lucky to him. He resorted to calling out to the cat, pleading for its better common sense to come into play. Lucky, true to his more mischievous nature, continued to ignore him. Frustration began to set in as fatigue plagued Virg, his feet aching for standing on his toes on the thin silver posts of the poll.

"Come down, you silly cat!" he roared, pounding the poll in anger with his fists. Finally, the ever-patient Virg had had enough, which was a good thing as Mr. Hanson next door had spied the unusual operation out of his kitchen window and dropped everything to come outside to yell at Virg to get down.

"Get down from there, you brat!" screamed our neighbor. "Just wait 'til I tell your father, you young scalawag!"

"Great---that's all I need," moaned Virg as he stepped down to the wall and stood atop the slide, taking a moment to look back up to Lucky in disgust. "Fine. Stay up there. See if I care, you fugitive from a violin factory!"

Down below, the exasperated Gordo whistled loudly and derisively as he sat in the big rubber wading pool, snorkel on his head and still wearing his bright orange flippers. "Awwww, you're doing it all wrong! Step aside!" he bellowed at Virg. "Ok, fur ball---you're over!"

Standing in the water, he reached down, picked up his slingshot and cuffed a shiny cat's-eye into the leather sling. Off the marble flew, straight toward Lucky at the top of the poll. With pinpoint accuracy, it whacked Lucky's hind quarters just behind the leg, sending the cat into a panic. Off it leapt into the air and down into the unsuspecting arms of Virgil. The force of the cat's fall caused Virg to lose his balance, and we all screamed in unified horror as he fell backward down the slide, following its path toward the wading pool. A moment later, a very wet Virgil, a hissing, angry Lucky and a giddy, laughing Gordon emerged from the water, none the worse for their daring adventure.

I, in my landing high above the yard, and Scotty, Tin Tin and Alan down in the garden, all jumped and hooted and cheered for the gallant Virgil and the resourceful Gordon. Tin Tin, relieved to have her cat back in her arms in one piece, kissed and thanked Virg for his bravery, something she also visited on a magnanimous Scotty and a furious Gordo.

"Yuck! Girl slobber!" he yelled, choosing to dive under the pool water than to risk another "slobber fest."

Alan brought over the sheet which had been earlier used to rescue Tin Tin and generously assisted her in drying Lucky off, an act she noted as being rather kindly for the usually bratty baby brother. She smiled sweetly at him but used better judgment than to kiss him, lest he be as offended by the show of affection as Gordon had been.

A loud closing of the front door brought the knowledge that our fathers had come home, for they both called out to us to come in to wash for dinner.

"What have you kids been up to?" asked Father as he helped to unload groceries onto the kitchen counter. "Mr. Hanson yelled over to me...something about the garden wall?"

"Why, we just came from...we were just...errr...nothing, Dad!" replied a startled Virg, abruptly silenced by Scotty's light jab to his ribs. Virg had always shared a special closeness to Father due to his resemblance to Mother, and because of that had never hidden anything from Father before. There's a time for everything, though, and this occasion---and Virg's major role in the more dangerous parts of it---seemed the perfect time to forge an alliance of secrecy with the rest of his brethren. We kids winked a silent bond of ignorance to any strange goings-on while Father had been gone, thus guaranteeing ourselves an evening free of lectures and the usual round of groundings for bad behavior.

We were feeling pretty happy with ourselves for having saved both Tin Tin and Lucky with nary a bump or bruise to show for it. The five Tracy brothers and our surrogate sister shook hands once each behind our backs, unseen by our fathers, cementing our bonds of mutual protection and valor in the face of all odds, big or small. That bond between us has been renewed continuously throughout the years and became increasingly more important as we undertook our chosen mission to protect and serve people faced with impending peril by pulling off seemingly impossible rescues. That spirit of selflessness is nurtured by our founder---Jeff Tracy---and remains the cornerstone of the International Rescue Organization. The news media has dubbed our assist in the safe landing of the Fireflash as the first effort on the part of our crew, as has our dad. Father, however, still remains in the dark about his sons' real first heroic rescue.

----DB