The next morning I heard a knock on the door of our apartment.
Molly stood outside.
She was wearing her bathrobe and her walking boot.
It was a good thing she only had to walk across the hall.
She looked worried. "Iggy," she said.
"I have a big problem and you've got to help me!"
"What's wrong?" I asked.
But then I remembered all the sounds I'd heard last night.
First I'd heard a train whistle.
Then I'd heard noises like loud roars and blaring horns.
I was pretty sure I hadn't been dreaming.
"Come to my apartment," said Molly. "And I'll show you!"
"I'll be there as fast as I can," I said.
I gobbled down the rest of my breakfast.
My mom had gone to work.
So I left Tate a note to tell him where I was.
Then I hurried over to Molly's apartment.
She was sitting on the couch with her foot on a pillow.
Tufty was perched beside her with his head tucked under his wing.
Caswell was holding a toy car as he watched the bird closely.
"Tufty is sleeping," he whispered to me.
"Of course he's sleeping!" said Molly.
"He's tired from making loud noises all night!"
"I heard him," I said with a nod.
"He was pretty noisy."
"We found out he doesn't just make roaring subway sounds," Molly went on.
"He also knows how to imitate screeching buses and taxi horns!"
"And racing cars. Vroom!" growled Caswell as he raced his toy car around the floor.
"Everyone in our apartment building heard Tufty!" wailed Molly.
"All the neighbors are complaining to my mom."
"Oh, Iggy." Tears filled her eyes.
"I'm worried that I won't be able to keep Tufty!"
Mrs. O'Donnell appeared from the kitchen.
"It's very serious," she said.
"Dr. Stanley didn't sleep at all.
And Mrs. Curry had to stuff cotton in her ears!"
Tufty still had his head under his wing.
He certainly wasn't losing any sleep!
"Iggy," said Molly.
"You have to think of an invention to keep Tufty quiet.
I don't want to give him away.
I need him to cheer me up so I can get better fast!"
"I'll think really hard," I said.
"Hurry up!" said Molly.
A few minutes later, Josh and Jenny came over.
They had heard Tufty during the night too.
"Bunch howled every time Tufty made the train whistle noise," said Jenny.
"And Sparky hid under the bed," said Josh.
Sparky was Josh's hamster.
"Iggy is going to think of a way to keep Tufty quiet," said Molly.
"I'm sure you'll think of something, Iggy." said Jenny.
"Remember when you figured out I had the wrong glasses on?"
"And when you invented the Fabulous Glasses-Finder?" said Molly.
"And don't forget my bell!" said Caswell.
"It helped everyone find me whenever I got lost!"
I was happy my friends thought I was a good inventor.
But it was hard to think with everyone staring at me.
Plus, Molly was telling me to hurry.
I closed my eyes.
"Vroom!" said Caswell, still racing his little car around the floor.
"Maybe I'd better go into solitary confinement," I said.
"What does that mean?" asked Jenny.
"It means I have to go somewhere by myself and think," I explained.
But before I could go into solitary confinement, something happened.
Actually, two things happened.
First the lights came back on in Molly's apartment.
The workmen must have finally put in the new wires.
The second thing that happened is that I got an idea.
I guess my head got some new wires in it too!