Читать книгу A Threefold Cord - Howard Goldenberg - Страница 19

Chapter Fourteen

Three children slept in their clothes. They had a plan. They woke very early, crept from their beds and sneaked out of their houses while it was still dark. Snoth knew Bruce would bark if he left home by the front door so he climbed out a window at the back of his house. As he climbed down from the window his leg caught on a rose bush. He felt the pricking of a thorn and pulled his leg away. His leg felt warm and wet.

Snoth ran to Nystagmus’ house and arrived just as Jennifer came around the corner from her house. Nystagmus was waiting for them, holding the cat carrier. Tiger was asleep.

“He ate just about a whole fish, then he fell asleep. He likes Yaya’s fried fish.”

The three ran in the dark, taking care not to trip and not to bump each other, Nystagmus leading and carrying Tiger. Down the lane to the bridge, across the bridge – tiptoeing now – then they stopped, crouching next to the fence where Snoth had first heard the sounds of the cat.

Very carefully, very slowly, the three climbed the fence, Snoth first, boosted by the other two; next came Jennifer, pushed from below by Nystagmus and pulled from above by Snoth. Last was Nystagmus, after he hoisted the cat carrier above his head for his friends to take. Nystagmus struggled to the top, pulled by Snoth. As he climbed, Nystagmus felt something warm and wet drop onto his nose.

The Threefold Cord had a plan: they would lower the cat carrier by a cord – not a threefold cord, just ordinary household twine, a prickly sort of thin rope. Nystagmus kept watch on the back door of the house. Carefully, quietly, holding their breath, Snoth and Jennifer lowered Tiger in his carrier. There was a very soft bump, a startled miaow, then silence. Three children breathed out. Then Nystagmus noticed light shining from below the bottom edge of the back door. He pulled urgently on the arms of his friends, pointed at the door which was starting to open, and all three jumped quickly to the ground on the far side.

They lay there, afraid whoever it was would hear them if they ran.

Lying on the dewy wet grass in the dark they heard a voice. The voice was not loud but creepy. The voice spoke slowly, greedily: “I can tell you are there. You won’t get away this time.”

Nystagmus and Jennifer and Snoth listened to the voice. Poor Tiger – was he in danger again?

The voice went on: “I’ve got you, I’ve got you! Now I’m going to eat you!”

Horrified, all three leaped to their feet.

Snoth whispered: “Not all of us, just me. I’ll climb and look. Then I’ll tell you if we all need to go over. It’s got to be me; I can run away fastest.”

Faster than a possum, Snoth was up that fence. He looked down. There in the light from the house he saw a tall adult, all dressed in black. The adult stood facing the house, with one forefinger inside one nostril. Above the nose was a pair of mirror sunglasses.

Behind the adult Tiger slept in his little cage.

The adult pulled the finger from the nose. At the tip of the finger Snoth could clearly see a fat booger shining in the light from the house. And that soft creepy voice said again: I’ve got you, I’ve got you! Now I’m going to eat you!

Quicker than a hiccup, Snoth leaped back down the wall, landing on the grass as quiet as a breath. He grabbed his friends by the arms. “Let’s go!”

And they ran, quietly, quietly, until they were around the corner and out of sight. Nystagmus and Jennifer cried: “What did you see?”

Snoth couldn’t speak. His chest shook and his mouth was flung open widely. His friends believed he was crying.

Jennifer saw blood on Nystagmus’ nose. “Why is your nose bleeding, Nystagmus? Does it hurt?”

Nystagmus shook his head, puzzled. His nose felt fine.

Then Jennifer saw Snoth’s leg, all red with blood. Snoth looked down: “Cut leg on rose thorn. Bled onto Nystagmus. Sorry.”

Snoth’s body started to shake again. Jennifer leaned down and looked closely at the small cut on Snoth’s leg: “You must be in terrible pain, Snoth.”

Snoth gasped and cackled and gurgled and laughed. He stopped laughing long enough to say: “Doesn’t hurt. Not crying. Can’t stop … laughing.”

More cackles and giggles and roars of laughter: “That person, that famous vet, that scary dark glasses person – picks his nose and eats his boogers! Must be a him – girls don’t eat boogers!”

“That’s what you think,” said Jennifer.