Oh, Rats! by Tor Seidler

Oh, Rats! by Tor Seidler

Author:Tor Seidler [Seidler, Tor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781534426863
Publisher: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00


12

VERMONT CHEDDAR

WHILE PHOENIX WAS IN THE upper chamber, Lucy had grown so agitated she’d unconsciously started chewing the tip of her tail. Beckett finally nudged her, and she immediately dropped her tail in embarrassment, but the tail chewing hadn’t escaped Junior’s notice. It made him wonder if his father, who didn’t approve of Lucy, might not be right about her. Chewing your tail wasn’t very ladylike. At the same time it aggravated him to think it had to do with her being so wrapped up in that mutant squirrel.

When the squirrel had been gone a long time, Junior predicted that they would never see hide nor hair of him again.

“What makes you say that?” Lucy asked.

“I have a feeling he’s been scamming us from the start,” Junior said.

Beckett snorted. “Scamming us for what purpose?”

“Huh?” said Junior, putting a paw to an ear.

Whenever Beckett said something that annoyed him, Junior pretended he couldn’t hear. It drove Lucy crazy.

“Why would Phoenix climb all that way if he wasn’t trying to help us?” she asked.

“He likes to show off,” Junior said.

“You saw him on the dock,” Emily chimed in.

“Doing something well isn’t necessarily showing off,” Lucy pointed out.

Soon after this Phoenix reappeared on the flagpole high above them, and the rats let out a great cheer. Even Junior cheered. After all, the squirrel might have good news, and Junior loved the pier as much as anyone. He waited for Lucy’s I told you so as Phoenix made his way to the end of the cornice, but she was too relieved to gloat.

It was a good thing she didn’t, for after hesitating a while, Phoenix pattered back to the flagpole and pulled another vanishing act. Junior certainly wasn’t above gloating, but he restrained himself in case Phoenix had just forgotten something. When Phoenix hadn’t returned by midnight, however, Junior yawned extravagantly and said, “That squirrel’s history. Time for some shut-eye.”

“What do you mean, ‘history’?” said Lucy, who’d been on the verge of chewing her tail again.

“He’s ditched us.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Why would he care about the pier? He’s not one of us.”

“But what if he went back for something and got hurt?” Lucy cried. “Or captured?”

Several rats nodded gravely, and Junior shut his snout. Lucy got more and more anxious. Finally, she blurted out that someone should go up and check. The rats liked the idea in principle, but no one felt like reenacting Junior’s fall. When Lucy decided to attempt the climb herself, Beckett protested that she mustn’t press her luck.



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