CATCHING THE SMALL TAPE RECORDER EAST END OF ROPE BRIDGE The ground drops in a sheer cliff. Below is a dark rippling lake, shimmering in the moonlight. Trees with lush green fronds surround the lake. Some of the trees have purple flower buds waiting to bloom. In the center of the lake is a volcano. To the west you see a rope bridge, which leads across the lake to the top of the volcano. A shadowy path back leads eastward through the thick vegetation. You see a purple flower here. >take flower You take the purple flower. >e TROPICAL ISLAND BEACH Palm trees are swaying in the light of the moon and the twinkling stars. You see Clark Kent here. He's sitting on a coconut, looking forlorn. He looks at your Superman costume with longing. The ocean lies to the east, and a shadowy path leads west through lush vegetation. >fly You stretch your arms in front of you and push off the ground. You're flying, just like Superman! You fly over the ocean, headed back the way you came. After a while stars fade and the sun begins to rise in the east. You continue flying until you return to the beach where you left the phone booth. BEACH >e PHONE BOOTH, at the beach You notice that the Superman costume has disappeared. You hear the computerized voice tell you (somewhat faintly since the receiver is hanging down on its cord) ... Press "1" to be enlightened. Press "3" to be cleansed. Press "9" to be returned. If you do not have access to a touch tone phone, please remain on the line and an operator will assist you. >press "9" You pick up the receiver. You press "9". You hear the sound of a motor grinding, the door slams closed, and the phone booth suddenly rises upwards very quickly, flying high into the air. The telephone voice tells you, "Estimated travel time for this 950 mile trip is nineteen minutes, using accelerated travel speed." The phone booth flies east. After about nineteen minutes of flying it drops down through an opening Martin's roof and comes to an abrupt halt in the pantry. The phone booth door opens. PHONE BOOTH, in the pantry You see the kitchen to the east. You see Agador-Spartacus in the kitchen. He's wagging his tail. >e You drop the receiver. KITCHEN You see an envelope, a large stack of catalogs, a phone bill, a gold key, "The Bedtime Story Book", "The Boy Who Had No Words", a yellow feather, a small phone book, a short blue sock, a long black sock, a handwritten note, a bath robe, a pair of brown shoes, a short brown sock, a short black sock, some ballet slippers, a fake can of spam, a mug of black coffee, a plucked daisy, a plucked tulip, and two short white socks here. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably. >drop screwdriver, machine tools, copper key screwdriver: The Phillips screwdriver is now on the floor. brightly colored machine tools: The brightly colored machine tools are now on the floor. copper key: The copper key is now on the floor. Agador-Spartacus walks over to the small lever and pushes it down with his paw. Water pours out of the round spout into the white pet bowl below it and the small lever pops back up. You hear vigorous lapping sounds as Agador-Spartacus drinks the water. He stands before you, wagging his tail affably. >wear hat You put on the top hat. Agador-Spartacus is lying down here. >put tile in sack As you put the ear tile into the sack, the gold thread begins to vibrate. Then, the tiny fuzzy dice on the gold thread emit a short low buzzing sound. Agador-Spartacus is lying down here. >s The blue birds suddenly become alive. They fly off of the china cabinet doors and begin to flit about, making you feel as if you should sing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah". Then the blue birds land back on the china cabinet doors and grow still. DINING ROOM (by the china cabinet) You see Agador-Spartacus in the kitchen. He's lying down. >sw DINING ROOM (by the west end of the table) On the west end of the table you see a plate, a fork, a knife, a spoon, and a glass. >w You go through the strands of beads. LIVING ROOM (front half) You see three empty boxes, three ordinary cans of spam, and a magic carpet (rolled) here. >n LIVING ROOM (back half) On the music stand you see some sheet music. You see three empty boxes, two ordinary cans of spam, and a magic carpet (rolled) here. >take desk chair Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take the desk chair. >w DANCE STUDIO You see a coat rack here. >flap FL-AP! >shuffle SHUF-FLE! >hop HOP! You've done a Shuffle-Off-To-Buffalo: flap, shuffle, hop. Something is happening to the floor. A large parquet square is slowly rising until it is slightly higher that the rest of the floor. Then the square begins to rotate sideways, sliding to reveal a large square hole in the floor. It's a secret trap door! You see stairs leading downwards. >d TUNNEL (south end) >n TUNNEL (north end) >open door The trapdoor is now open. >u GAZEBO The fan snaps open. The trapdoor slams shut. >drop chair The desk chair is now on the yellow brick road. >stand on chair You're now standing on the desk chair. >take strap You take the macrame strap off of the gazebo hook. >get off chair You're no longer on the desk chair. >take pot You take the pot of gardenias out of the basket. >drop pot The pot of gardenias is now on the yellow brick road. >open trapdoor The trapdoor is now open. >d TUNNEL (north end) The trapdoor slams shut. >s TUNNEL (south end) >u DANCE STUDIO You see a coat rack here. >e LIVING ROOM (back half) On the music stand you see some sheet music. You see three empty boxes, two ordinary cans of spam, and a magic carpet (rolled) here. You see Agador-Spartacus in the west part of the courtyard. He's wagging his tail. >s LIVING ROOM (front half) You see three empty boxes, three ordinary cans of spam, and a magic carpet (rolled) here. >e You go through the strands of beads. DINING ROOM (by the west end of the table) On the west end of the table you see a plate, a fork, a knife, a spoon, and a glass. >ne The blue birds suddenly become alive. They fly off of the china cabinet doors and begin to flit about, making you feel as if you should sing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah". Then the blue birds land back on the china cabinet doors and grow still. DINING ROOM (by the china cabinet) >n KITCHEN You see an envelope, a large stack of catalogs, a phone bill, a gold key, "The Bedtime Story Book", "The Boy Who Had No Words", a yellow feather, a small phone book, a short blue sock, a long black sock, a handwritten note, a bath robe, a pair of brown shoes, a short brown sock, a short black sock, some ballet slippers, a fake can of spam, a mug of black coffee, a plucked daisy, a plucked tulip, two short white socks, a brass token, a copper key, a large towel, and a small Phillips screwdriver here. >say "mellon" to stone door You say "mellon" to the stone door. You hear a click as the stone door unlocks itself. The stone door swings open. >e OUTSIDE THE BACK DOOR >n BY THE RASPBERRY BUSH >nw BY THE FLAT ROCK There is a large flat rock here. To the south you see the back wall of the house, containing a window that is currently closed. Narrow pathways lead northeast and northwest through thorny bushes. You could also go southeast, slipping around to the side of the house. The bushes block travel in all other directions. >ne STRAIGHT PATHWAY This straight pathway leads northeast towards the sound of rushing water, and southwest towards a large flat rock. >nw Thorny bushes are in the way. >ne RAVINE (across from the sycamore grove) You are on the edge of a deep ravine with a swiftly flowing creek at the bottom. The ravine and the creek run from the northwest to the southeast. The drop down into the ravine is breathtakingly steep and you find the view magnificent. Looking across the ravine you see a grove of sycamore trees. The other side of the ravine is closer here than it is elsewhere, but the gap is still much too wide to leap across. A rocky path leads northwest and upwards along the edge of the ravine. Thorny bushes block travel in all other directions except for a narrow pathway leading southwest. >nw RAVINE PATH This rocky path runs along the edge of a deep ravine with a swiftly flowing creek at the bottom. The ravine is quite wide here and you can't see much on the other side. The path climbs upwards to the northwest and downwards to the southeast. Difficult terrain blocks travel in all other directions. You see a loose stone here. >take stone You take the loose stone. >nw MESA (by the waterfall) You are on a flat mesa plateau, partway up the side of a mountain. Here you see a magnificent waterfall that pours down from the mountain into a deep ravine. Looking down into the ravine, you see a branch growing from side of the ravine. You think you see something caught in the branch. A rocky path leads southeast and downwards along the edge of the ravine. The mesa continues to the southwest. Difficult terrain blocks travel in all other directions. >x branch Looking down into the ravine, you see a branch growing from side of the ravine. The branch is about two arm's lengths beyond your reach. Something is caught in the branch. It looks like a small tape recorder, hanging unsteadily. You can't imagine why anyone would throw a tape recorder into the ravine or be so careless as to let it fall in, but this must be what has happened here. For a moment you ponder the odd stroke of chance that caused the tape recorder to be caught by the branch. The tape recorder is only a stone's throw away from losing its unsteady perch and falling. But in the absence of anything to catch it, the tape recorder would almost certainly fall to the bottom of the ravine and be carried away by the swiftly flowing creek. >untie rope You untie the macrame strap from the basket. The other end of the macrame strap is still tied to the basket. >lower basket The basket is now lowered. It hangs down about two arm's lengths. >throw stone The loose stone knocks the small tape recorder off the branch. The tape recorder falls into the basket! The loose stone falls to the bottom of the ravine and is carried away by the swiftly flowing creek.