A Cat Tale by John Paulits

Author:John Paulits
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: cat, cats, cat ebook, cat fantasy, cat adventures, cats fiction, cats tales
Publisher: Wings ePress, Inc.

Nine

Stanley and Rodney sat outside their tumbledown shack in broken down chairs with ripped cushions newly arrived in the dump. They smoked cigars.

“Best meal we had in a long time. Imagine, eating in a real diner,” Stanley said, drawing in a long puff of smoke and blowing it out in a thin line. He watched the smoke melt away in the night air.

“And not being asked to leave.”

“Yeah,” Stanley said dreamily. “And even leaving a tip.”

“And having rice pudding. I love rice pudding. My mom used to make it so good. Ah, the old days.”

“You had four bowls tonight. You sure you got enough?”

Rodney tried to blow a smoke ring, but produced a wriggling little oval that looked like a worm who’d crawled onto a hot stove.

“Plenty. We spend all our money?”

“Almost. We’re gonna need more cats tomorrow.”

Rodney laughed. “We know where to get them, don’t we.”

“I guess we do,” Stanley laughed back, coughing heartily when his first laugh sucked smoke down his throat. He tossed his cigar away. “You know, I been thinking. We’re doing this the hard way.”

“I don’t feel so good,” Rodney said softly.

“Get rid of the cigar. You look green around the gills.”

Rodney flicked his cigar aside, and Stanley went on.

“We got Priscilla and Talula right where we want them. They don’t know us. They trust us. They have a bazoo-ful of cats.”

“A what?”

“A bazoo-ful of cats.”

“What’s a bazoo?”

“It’s just a word, Rodney. A bazoo is a bazoo.”

“Do I have a bazoo?”

“Rodney, you are a bazoo.”

Rodney stared at his partner and shook his head. “I’ll look it up,” he promised.

“You do that and get back to me,” Stanley said. “Look, it’s dark now. We have flashlights. Let’s take the cages into the barn. It’s gotta be easier to catch the cats in the barn than out in the field. We corner them, blanket them, stuff them in the cages. We can easy get two more cats this very night. I can take them to Wendell tomorrow morning.” Wendell was Wendell Gorpman, director of the Gone-a-Way Shelter. “Forty bucks by breakfast, and then I’ll meet you at the Home for Distressed Felines, and we can get some more. I can make a couple of trips a day for as long as the cats hold out.”

“You mean go right now?”

“Why not?”

“Yeah.” Rodney laughed, bowls of rice pudding dancing in his imagination. “Why not?”

Since the sun had already set, the two men took the longer route to the Home for Distressed Felines rather than go the direct route through the dark little forest.

They hugged the bushes as they walked down Shannondell Road toward the house.

“Lights are on,” Rodney whispered.

“Let’s not get close to the house. They might see us out the window. Follow me.”

Stanley led the way, each man carrying a cat cage and a ratty old blanket, across the lawn well outside the very farthest splash of light thrown by the house.

When they entered the barn, they dropped their loads, and Stanley turned on his flashlight. Cat eyes shone in the dark.

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