The Mouse and the Motorcycle

In the night, Ralph can’t bear to go home, so he sits on the windowsill and looks out into the darkness. In the morning, he sees Keith looking at him. Keith asks him not to leave yet so they can talk. The boy says he’s lucky to talk to a mouse, and he’s not very mad because he “get[s] into messes” (108) too. He tells Ralph about the time he got on a new bike but didn’t know what he was doing. He promptly crashed into a tree. Keith imparts that it is better to be patient and learn how to do something properly rather than too quickly. Keith and Ralph commiserate and wish they were “grown up.” Keith longs to do “real things,” and Ralph dreams about exploring the ground floor.

Keith agrees to bring more food for the mice. Ralph returns home to find his family frightened and upset. Uncle Lester reports that the hotel discovered the chewed-up laundry and will set out traps and poisons. The family fears that there is a “war on mice” (114). They discuss abandoning the hotel, but Ralph’s mother insists that the owls will get them if they venture outdoors. Ralph interjects that they’re still going to get room service today, including bacon, toast, and jelly. They decide at least to stay for breakfast.

Ralph won’t leave until he learns what happened to the motorcycle. He loudly insists that the hotel won’t catch them and will lose interest in them. Uncle Lester tries to dismiss Ralph as too young to know what to do, but the other mice come to his defense. Ralph is the only mouse to secure “room service” for them, so they listen to his suggestions: All the mice need to do is quietly hide in the walls, sparingly eat the food brought by Keith, and store the leftovers. Uncle Lester interjects that Keith won’t be staying at the hotel forever, and Ralph reasons that they have a few more days. The mice agree to Ralph’s plan, but his mom wants to know how they will “tip” their room service. Ralph says he will look into it.

The Gridleys return from an outing. Keith doesn’t want to go to dinner because he already ate most of a bag of peanuts, but his folks insist. Ralph informs Keith about the “war on mice” that prevents them from hunting for food. Keith offers Ralph and his family the rest of the peanuts, and Ralph happily accepts. Keith also promises to bring more food from the cafeteria.

Keith returns, but he doesn’t feel well. All he could sneak the mice was a pair of soda crackers. He goes to bed early. Ralph and his family worry about how they will eat if Keith stops going to the cafeteria. Aunt Sissy remarks that they shouldn’t have trusted a human. Uncle Lester gripes that the boy was “stuffing himself with nuts he should have saved for us” (125). Ralph’s mother defends Keith and insists that they should be grateful.

Late in the night, Keith is moaning with fever. His mom finds that his forehead is hot. His dad goes downstairs for some aspirin while his mom puts a cool washcloth on his forehead. Mr. Gridley returns without aspirin: The night clerk could find none, the gift shop is locked tight, and the nearest drugstore is 25 miles away and closed anyway. What’s more, the local doctor is stuck at an accident scene. Keith must wait till morning for aspirin.

From the knothole, Ralph watches Mr. and Mrs. Gridley attend to Keith: “[T]his time he was not selfishly concerned about room service. He was concerned about Keith” (130). He decides to venture out into the hotel and search for some aspirin. Even though Keith’s parents are still in the room, Ralph heads for his helmet as soon as they turn off the lights.