Tiger Town by Eric Walters

Author:Eric Walters [Walters, Eric]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781443133012
Publisher: Scholastic Canada
Published: 2013-12-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Nick and I had cut through the fields and come up to Mr. McCurdy’s by the back way.

“I’m going to go check on the cats,” Nick said.

“Be careful.”

“There’s nothing to worry about, Sarah.”

“Except for two tigers, a couple of leopards, a pair of lions, two cubs, a black bear and a pair of jaguars.”

“What could go wrong?” he asked. “I’m just going to give them their breakfast.”

“What could go wrong is that you become their breakfast. Just be careful.”

Nick chuckled. “Yes … Mother.”

He cut off toward the barn and I continued on to the house. I pulled open the door and headed down the hall.

“Hello!” I called out as I hit the kitchen.

“Big girl Sarah, be quiet!” Vladimir hissed. “Angus is still sleeping.”

“He’s still asleep at this time?” I questioned. It was almost nine in the morning. He never slept in that late.

“We worked late last night. Angus needs sleep. Wake him later.”

“Sure, that’s fine.” I was suddenly struck by a terrible thought. I didn’t like even to think it, but I couldn’t stop. Maybe he wasn’t asleep. Maybe he was …

“Angus is not dead,” Vladimir said, “just sleeping. I checked already.”

I was shocked and confused. How did he know what I was thinking?

“I could tell by the look on your face,” Vladimir said, again reading my mind. “Vladimir knows Angus is not dead by looking from the inside.”

“From the inside? What does that mean?” I asked.

“When I was little, maybe six, I had to watch my grandfather while the rest of the family went to work. Grandfather was very old and sick. He was always sleeping. Vladimir always watched for his chest going up and down and the sound of breathing to know he was alive.”

“That would be eerie,” I said.

“I remember once when Grandfather lay in bed and did not move for one hour. I thought for sure he was dead. Finally I went creeping into the room to get a closer look.”

“And he was okay, right?”

“No,” Vladimir said, shaking his head, “that time Grandfather was dead.”

My jaw dropped to the floor. That was probably the least comforting, most upsetting story I’d ever heard!

“That’s awful! Was that story supposed to make me feel better?”

“I did not try to make big girl Sarah feel better or worse … just tell a story.”

“But how do you know Mr. McCurdy is okay?” I demanded.

“I just looked in on him only a minute before you arrived. Angus was making a lot of noise, like a saw cutting wood.”

“You mean he’s snoring?”

“Snoring loud. So loud if my dead grandfather was in same room, he would sit up and no longer be dead!” Vladimir practically yelled and then began laughing.

I smiled, but now I was even more worried. That yelling should have woken up Mr. McCurdy for sure.

“Big girl Sarah, do you want see something good?”

“Sure.”

“Polly!” he called out. The parrot, who was sitting on top of the cupboard, turned to look at him with one big eye. “Polly, come to Vladimir!”

Did he really think Polly was going to come to him? Polly didn’t even listen to Mr.

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