Uncovered! by Paul Jennings

Author:Paul Jennings
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781742286853
Publisher: Penguin Group Australia
Published: 2009-10-22T04:00:00+00:00

4

We all stared through the doorway at Knuckles. He was curled up on the box, purring and looking happy. In an evil sort of way.

‘Isn’t he sweet?’ said Aunt Marjory. ‘He thinks he’s their mother. He’s trying to hatch the eggs.’

She was right. And she was wrong. He was trying to hatch the eggs. But he didn’t think he was their mother. I didn’t think so anyway. Not for one minute. Knuckles licked his lips.

‘He’s going to eat them,’ I screamed. ‘Knuckles is going to hatch the eggs and then eat the birds. That’s why Uncle Sam scratched “Keep Away From K …” on the lid. Keep away from Knuckles. Uncle Sam knew I had a pet cat.’

I could just see it in my mind. Two lovely little birds. Helpless. Harmless. Newborn chicks. Knuckles would eat them alive.

‘He’s right,’ said Dad. ‘And we don’t know what sort of birds they are. They could be very rare. We have to save them. That’s what Sam would have wanted.’

‘And me,’ I said. ‘That’s what I want too.’

Uncle Russell nodded. ‘Leave it to me. I’ll fix the ruddy cat. No worries.’

‘Don’t hurt him,’ said Aunt Marjory. ‘He means well.’

‘I’ll do it, Russell,’ said Dad. ‘You can be a bit rash sometimes.’

Dad went out to the backyard and fetched our rubbish bin. You know – the sort with wheels that you get from the council. Dad tipped out the rubbish and cut a small hole in the side. Then he put on a raincoat and slipped a garden glove on one hand.

We took the bin upstairs and Dad hopped inside and closed the lid. He looked out of the hole. ‘Wheel me in,’ he said. ‘Park me next to the box. I’ll stick out my gloved hand and grab Knuckles. He won’t be able to get at me because I’ll be inside the bin. Then you wheel me outside and we dump Knuckles in a cage.’

It was a good plan.

Uncle Russell carefully wheeled the bin into my bedroom. Knuckles hissed and raised his fur but he stayed curled up on the eggs. Uncle Russell quickly walked back to us. He was in a hurry to get out of the way. And I didn’t blame him. Not one bit.

We all held our breath and watched. The fingers of Dad’s glove slowly moved out of the hole. Then the whole glove. Then Dad’s arm, safely enclosed in the raincoat. The glove moved closer and closer to Knuckles. The cat didn’t move. Well, only his eyes. Knuckles’ eyes were glued to that glove. Dad opened his fingers just above Knuckles’ neck. At any second he would have Knuckles firmly by the scruff of the neck.

Peow. Talk about fast. I’ve never seen anything like it. Knuckles moved like a flash. His teeth sank into the glove. Into Dad’s fingers. ‘Ouch,’ came Dad’s muffled voice from inside. He shook his arm around like a crazy windmill. Knuckles hung on for grim death. A ginger streak, whipping back and forth through the air.

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