*** Skip this if you remember the episode ***

Someone has stolen a boy's toy train, and the Rangers are investigating. Unfortunately Dale has been up all night watching the late, late, late shows and as a result is three quarters asleep and therefore a major hazard. They've just searched the boy's room, except for Dale, who decided to take a nap in a full laundry basket. Not a good idea when Davy's mother is about to do the laundry...

*** End of recap ***

"Blimey! She’s gonna launder the lad!" exclaimed Monterey Jack as they watched the snoozing Dale carried away on top of a basket of laundry by Davy’s mother.

"Ohhh! Dale!" Chip sounded peeved, "C’mon we have to rescue him!"

The Rangers scampered on all fours (or in Zipper’s case flew) after the retreating mother, bounding down the stairs and into the kitchen where they came to a halt, near the swing top bin at the door. The kitchen spread out before them vast and mysterious. Down each long wall were fitted units and work surfaces, and at the far end the window let in shafts of light over the half filled sink and beside it the front loading washing machine. Along the centre were many wooden pillars, the legs of the shaker style kitchen table and chairs, casting shadows on the chess board tile floor.

They were just in time to see Davy’s mother shove in the topmost white sheet, and Dale with it into the machine. The basket was off to one side, near the table. "Davy, next time remember to separate the whites first!" she called over her shoulder. There was a muffled "okay, mom!"

Zipper buzzed his alarm. Monty agreed. "Yer roight pally! He’ll smother or drown!"

"Or worse, the optimum temperature for an all white wash is hot enough to poach him as well! And once it’s switched on it’ll lock, then there’ll be no way to get him out." Gadget added. The others looked at her. "Golly, just covering all the possibilities." She said looking slightly abashed.

Chip was already planning. "You three, get onto the work surfaces and get to the washing machine plug. Make sure it stays off." He pointed to the work surface corner next to the washing machine where a number of sockets were, each with a plug leading up from a cut-out in the back of the surface. "I’ll go along the floor and get him out. Rescue Rangers away!"

Even as Chip set out, Zipper was flying up to tie off a line on a portable radio sitting on the surface, and the two mice were ready to climb. He brushed the volume control and the radio turned up. "…and now back to our tribute to great movie themes." The Raiders of the Lost Ark title music started to play.

Chip headed out across the floor only to roll to one side to avoid Davy’s foot as he came in carrying a tray, one handed, with a number of plates and cutlery stacked precariously, and a pigskin under his other arm. "I found my ball but no train." Davy said.

Chip was back up and running as Davy’s mother placed a load of washing on the other end of the table and started to sort out the whites. She jolted it slightly and a couple of forks fell spinning off the edge of the tray, nearly spearing Chip as he made the cover of the table. "Forks, why is it always forks, never spoons!" he grumbled. Once again he dodged as someone moved one of the chairs and the array of pillars shifted. Davy had put his ball down on a chair. He zigzagged through the maze. He could see the other end, the basket and the open door of the washing machine. "Made it!"

Then there was a thump behind him. Glancing over his shoulder he saw the ball had somehow rolled off the chair and bounced so it was now rolling rapidly and inexorably after him. "You gotta be kidding!" he yelled as he raced out into the shaft of light. He pulled his paperclip grapnel line out and hurled it up at the washing machine facia, hoping to get a grip. It slid then held and he scrambled up it as it swung towards the still open glass door.

Chipmunks are champion climbers. In Chip’s case it was just as well, because he hit the lower lip of the washing machine entrance, just as the pigskin thumped into the base underneath. Davy’s mother noticed it and picked it up, rather than the scrambling chipmunk.

Chip waded through and over the loosely packed whites, searching for a spot of colour in the gloom. There! An edge of red and yellow. He dug down and found Dale still sleeping the sleep of the innocent. Chip bopped him on the head and yelled, "This is no time for naps, we gotta get outta here!"

"Muh? Wara grilled cheeze!" was Dale’s response. Chip sighed, got himself under one of Dales arms and started dragging his slumbering comrade towards the lit door. A folded up shirt flew in, caught them and sent them both back, but Chip managed to crawl up over it and reach the glass door, just in time to see it close with a clunk. He sagged, waiting for the second clunk that meant the lock had engaged, and that both of them were in for an involuntary and lethal jacuzzi.

It never came. Instead he heard Davy’s mother saying, "What’s wrong with the thing!" He saw her through the glass, turning away and then an inverted, blonde haired and purple jump-suited angel dropped into view. Literally. She fell below the line of the glass then was pulled back up by the elastic cord tied to her feet, coming to rest by the door latch.

As she shoved on it and the door opened with a thunk and a squeak of gaskets, she called out, "We only have a few seconds, hold on to me." Her head was at about mid chest height for Chip and he carefully wrapped his free arm around her just below her shoulders. She grabbed onto both him and Dale with both arms and called "Now step off the edge." The eight inch drop from the lip of the door to the floor would usually be something easily jumped for Chip. With Dale’s added dead weight it appeared Gadget had come up with the only feasible alternative.

He jumped and their combined weight stretched the improvised bungee cord, dropping them to the floor, quite gently. Normally holding onto Gadget like that would be something to be treasured, especially with the way her head was nuzzling into his cheat fur like that, but he was too busy keeping hold of both Dale and Gadget to properly appreciate it. He was still standing there when Zipper dropped down and called "Zold tight!" then pulled a loose end by Gadget’s feet. The cord untied and flicked off back up taking Zipper with it the first part of the way. Chip sagged backwards to allow Gadget to land safely and ended up the bottom layer of a sandwich of Gadget, Dale and Chip. The two of them untangled themselves and jointly carried their somnolent comrade away to the dubious safety of the underside of the table seconds before Davy’s mother turned back from where she’d plugged the washing machine in, closed the door and switched it on.

The music had moved onto the romantic theme in the middle,

Gadget winced. "Jeepers, I think I’ve damaged myself. My calculations as to tension and rebound were right, but I still feel half dead."

Chip sighed. "Well there’d have been some dead people in there if you hadn’t done it. Thank you Gadget that was really great work." This might have been the time for a thank you hug as well, if Dale hadn’t been between them. "By the way, do you always carry a length of elastic cord around?"

"Well of course Chip. You never know when you might need to power a main battle tank or something."

This gave Chip pause, then he decided if anyone could power a tank with a piece of elasticated cord it would be Gadget. Then he heard a thump and rumble. "Oh no… run!" The pigskin had fallen down again and with the perversity of the inanimate was tracking them like a cruise missile. The music had also picked up. They raced through the slide open door, where Monty and Zipper were already waiting and Chip’s hat got knocked off. Monty already had Dale so he knelt down, yanked his hat from over the threshold and dived out of the way as the ball rolled past and the Raiders theme hit it’s triumphant conclusion.

As Chip stood there brushing himself off, Dale came out of his doze. "Hey guys… yawn… did I miss anything?"

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