Tiger Town (5 page)

As I watched, one of them walked up to another deer and began suckling! The second one quickly joined the first.

“They have new mommy to feed,” Vladimir said.

“That’s great,” I said. “I guess that means they don’t need me. Although I’d hoped they’d at least remember me and —” I stopped as a soft little mouth started to suckle on one of my fingers. Then a second deer grabbed another finger.

“Nobody ever forgets their mama,” Mr. McCurdy said.

“Can we take them out?” I asked. “Can we?”

“They’ll be among the very first animals we take out. But first we have to give ’em all some food and water, and then let them calm down after the trip.”

“Good plan,” Vladimir said. “After the animals have had food and water, they are easier to handle. Then we move them into new pens.”

“Well, we have one more step to do before that,” Mr. McCurdy told him.

Vladimir gave him a questioning look.

“We still have to build the pens.”

I walked slowly up the wooden ramp to the back of the trailer. It slumped slightly under the combined weight of me and the two buckets of water I was carrying. The buckets were full to the brim, and they kept bumping into my legs, spilling water over the edge. The lower part of my pants and my high-top basketball shoes were soaked. With each step my feet squished.

As soon as I entered the trailer, every eye was on me. The animals surged forward, coming closer to the bars of the pens. This was my twenty-third trip, and each time I’d returned with my full buckets, the water I’d brought on the previous trip had already vanished. I was amazed at how much water they could suck down. Then again, it was a hot day inside a metal trailer and there were a whole lot of rather big animals in here. I was hot, and I was just wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Each of them was wearing a fur coat. Thank goodness Vladimir had moved the trucks into the shade so the sun wasn’t beating directly on them anymore.

I put one bucket down, and with both hands emptied the second into the trough in the deer’s pen. They all pushed and jostled and bumped one another to get at the water. My poor little babies scrambled underneath everybody else’s feet. Even their adopted mother didn’t seem to be giving them any special care.

“Be careful!” I yelled. “They’re just babies!”

They ignored me. The little ones seemed to be doing okay, though. The deer, Samantha and Sarah, both managed to get their noses into the water. They were getting bigger and more able to care for themselves. But even when they were fully grown and bigger than I was, I’d still be worried about them. My mother told me that was what parenthood was all about.

I reached for the other bucket. It was gone! How could a bucket just disappear? It must be somewhere or —

“Peanuts!” I yelled. The bucket was beside the elephant’s pen, and he was drinking the water. He must have reached out and pulled the bucket close enough so he could drink. I grabbed for the bucket. It was completely empty. Boy, could elephants drink!

“Obviously you’re all still thirsty,” I said to the animals.

Vladimir had told me I was to keep getting water until the trough was full and they turned their noses up when I offered them more. That looked as if it was going to be a long time — maybe forever.

“Aren’t you finished yet?” Nick asked as I left the trailer and started back down the ramp.

“Not even close.”

Nick smirked. “I guess one of us made a better choice than the other.”

We had decided we’d each take care of the animals in one of the trucks. All the big cats and Boo Boo had made me nervous, so I’d chosen to water and feed the ones that didn’t consider me a source of food. Maybe that had been the safer choice, but it certainly hadn’t been the easier one.

“You could help,” I said, trying to hand him a bucket.

He refused to take it from me. “I could help, but I don’t think I will. You didn’t offer to help me.”

“That’s because there was almost nothing to your job!”

“I had to do things,” he protested. “I gave each cat a chicken, and I had to go all the way down to the barn to get them.”

“Big deal! I had to get water for all my animals!”

“I had to get water for the animals in my trailer, too!”

“Ha! I bet it only took you five or six trips!”

“About that,” he admitted.

“I’ve already made over thirty trips!” I said, exaggerating to make it seem even worse than it was.

“A deal’s a deal.”

“Come on, Nick.”

“I guess one of us just chose smarter,” Nick said, “or maybe one of us was just too big a chicken to be around the animals with sharp teeth.”

He had me there, but I didn’t want him to know it. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. The animals in my trailer are just as dangerous as the ones in yours.”

“Are you joking?” Nick scoffed.

“No, I’m not. I’ll put my animals up against yours any day of the week!”

“Yeah, right, a deer against a tiger. That’d be a great contest!” he snapped.

“Not as good as an elephant against a tiger! No contest there, either! Forget the mangy tigers or lions, because I’ve got the real king of the jungle in my trailer!”

I suddenly got an idea. I knew how much Nick had enjoyed riding Peanuts while we were away at camp.

“I’ve got the only animal you can ride!” I said with a smirk. “Every time I bring up more water or some hay for Peanuts, who do you think he’s getting to like more? It certainly won’t be you! There’s an old saying: ‘An elephant never forgets.’ Peanuts will remember that I was the one bringing him stuff —”

“Can I help?” Nick pleaded.

“No way. A deal’s a deal. I’m going to take care of Peanuts. After all, if I have to do all the work with the other animals, there’s no way I’m going to let you take care of the elephant!”

“How about if I help with all the animals?” Nick asked.

“The deer and buffalo, too?” I asked.

He nodded.

I didn’t answer right away. I wanted him to believe I was really thinking it over. What I was thinking was how gullible he was. “Okay. You got yourself a new deal. Here, take the buckets.”

Nick took them from me, and I turned and began to walk away so he wouldn’t see the grin on my face.

“Hey!” Nick called out. I turned around, wiping my face clean. “Where are you going?”

“Me? I’m going to get more hay for the animals. I’ll be back in a while.” I walked up the lane toward the house and barn. The only hay I wanted was a big bale to lie down and go to sleep on. None of the last three nights I’d slept at Mr. McCurdy’s had been a good sleep, but last night was terrible. Combined with all the work we’d done today, both in the kitchen and now with the animals, I thought I could fall asleep standing up.

Just off to the side of the lane, Vladimir and Mr. McCurdy were working. Vladimir had been driving poles into the ground, and Mr. McCurdy was hammering fencing that had been placed against the poles. They were creating a temporary pen for the deer and buffalo. A square about twenty metres on all sides, it was going to be a lot smaller than the pen they’d had back at the animal camp, but would certainly be bigger than the truck. Besides, it was just going to be for a while until they could build something larger.

I was amazed at how fast they were working. They’d already put up three sides and were starting on the fourth. Vladimir was like a machine. I got the feeling he really didn’t need that big sledgehammer — he could have used his hands to drive the poles into the ground.

The place they’d selected was partially shaded by trees. I noticed they’d strung the fence out so that some of the trees formed posts. That was smart in more ways than one. They didn’t have to drive in as many poles, and it also gave the animals some shade. I wiped my brow with the back of my hand. It was awfully hot in the full summer sun. I wondered how Mr. McCurdy was doing. I changed directions and headed toward them.

Mr. McCurdy was crouched down, holding one of the poles while Vladimir hammered it into the ground. There hadn’t been much rain this summer, and I knew the ground must be pretty hard. Each time Vladimir raised the gigantic hammer over his head, ready to swing, I cringed. If he ever missed, he’d drive Mr. McCurdy into the ground. I came up quietly from behind and watched silently as they finished. Mr. McCurdy slowly got to his feet. He looked tired.

“How’s it going, Sarah?”

“Good. One trailer’s completely fed and watered, and Nick and I are more than halfway finished the second one.” I paused. “How’s it going for you two?”

“Much work. Much to do,” Vladimir said. “But we’re nearly finished on this pen. What do you think?”

“It looks good. Do you want something to drink? Or maybe a lunch break?” I asked.

“Water might be good, but there’s no time to eat until the animals are taken care of,” Mr. McCurdy said.

“But wouldn’t it be better if we took a short break?” I asked.

“There’ll be plenty of time for resting tonight,” he said. “You tired, Sarah?”

I was tired, but it wasn’t me who I thought should take a break. “A little. I just thought that it would be best for all of us to eat and then —”

“Couldn’t rest till I know those animals are doing better. The cats and the bear are okay for a while, but the others — the deer and buffalo especially — need to get out. They’re too cramped and crowded. Can you really take a break knowing those little deer of yours aren’t doing well?” he asked.

“No, I guess not,” I admitted. “Is there anything I can do here to make things happen faster?”

“I don’t see you being much use driving poles or stringing fence, but there is one thing that could help.”

“What’s that?”

“Go back to the house and get every last piece of my clothing. Everything.”

“Your clothes?” I asked in confusion.

“Yeah. Every single sock and shirt and pair of underwear. Understand?”

I shrugged. “I guess so.”

“And you know the clothesline out the back of the house?”

“You want me to wash your clothes?” I asked in disbelief.

“Not wash ’em. Bring ’em here. And the clothesline. Cut it down and bring it to me.”

This was making less and less sense to me by the second. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut and continued to give the animals water.

“So, you going to do it, or just stand there staring at me?” Mr. McCurdy asked.

“Um … sure.”

I stumbled toward the house. I had no idea whatsoever what he had in mind, but I knew whatever it was, it would work.

•

Mr. McCurdy and Vladimir were finishing up the last side of the temporary pen. I’d been instructed to cut the clothesline into two pieces. I’d strung them both up, one line attached to the side of the trailer door and leading all the way — about twenty-five metres — to the small opening they’d left in the pen. The second line was hung from the other side of the trailer door to the other side of the fence opening so that the two lines created a corridor from the trailer to the pen. I finished pinning up the last of Mr. McCurdy’s clothes to one of the lines. The two lines contained every piece of clothing he owned. There were socks, shirts, pants, underwear, sweaters and long johns all fluttering in the wind.

As I’d been working, Mr. McCurdy had told me what was going to happen. The lines were supposed to guide the animals toward the pen, and the clothes waving in the wind were to scare them and keep them away from the lines and moving forward. It certainly sounded like an interesting theory. We’d soon see if it worked.

“Well, Sarah, you all done?” Mr. McCurdy asked.

“That’s everything you own,” I said. “Do you think this is going to work?”

“Sure. Positive. No problem,” he said.

“You’ve done this before … right?” I asked.

“Not technically.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I’ve never actually done it before, but I’ve thought about it. Let’s find out if I’m right.”

“And if you’re not?” I asked.

“Then we’re going to have to figure out how to round up a bunch of deer and buffalo,” Mr. McCurdy said.

“How do we do that?” I questioned.

“I’m not really sure, but I’m not worried.”

“You’re not?”

He shook his head. “I’m sure you’ll come up with something.”

“Me? You expect me to —”

He cackled with laughter. “Sarah, you worry way too much for somebody so young. It’ll work. You’ll see.”

I walked beside Mr. McCurdy toward the trailer. Nick and Vladimir were already waiting for us.

“So how do we do this, boss?” Vladimir asked.

“You and me go into the trailer. We open up the enclosures and let the animals out one at a time.”

“What do we do?” Nick asked.

“You and Sarah stay out of the trailer,” Mr. McCurdy said.

That was good. It could be pretty dangerous to be inside a trailer with an angry buffalo or three.

“I need you to each take a different side of the line and try to keep ’em moving,” Mr. McCurdy told us.

“How do we do that?” Nick asked.

“Yell at ’em, wave your arms in the air.”

I figured I could do that.

“One more thing,” Mr. McCurdy said. “If any of the animals tries to break through the line, you just stop ’em.”

“Stop them?” I gasped.

He nodded.

“You want me to try to stop a runaway buffalo?”

“Just remember, they’re more afraid of you than you are of them.”

If he was right, they must be downright terrified.

•

Nick and I stood on opposite sides of the two lines filled with flapping clothes. Between us was a corridor about five metres wide. We were no more than a dozen metres from the ramp leading down from the trailer. Mr. McCurdy and Vladimir were both inside the trailer. Vladimir was going to work the gate to the pens while Mr. McCurdy would shoo the animals through the door and down the ramp. Once they left the ramp, Nick and I would chase them until they were inside the pen. That was how it was supposed to work. We’d soon find out

“Yeehaa!” Mr. McCurdy screamed, his voice echoing from inside the trailer.

I turned in time to see a deer — a big buck with antlers — appear at the top of the ramp. His eyes were wide, and he looked scared and confused. I knew exactly how he must be feeling.

“Get moving!” Mr. McCurdy yelled as he reached out and smacked the deer on the rump with his hat. The deer jumped down the length of the ramp, landed on the grass and galloped at a full run. Before I could even think to react, he was past me. Charging down the corridor formed by the two lines, he covered the twenty-five metres in seconds and entered the pen. The buck raced around the perimeter of the pen and started to slow down. Coming to a stop in the very centre, he glanced around, put his head down and began to graze!

“That didn’t seem too hard,” Nick said.

“Maybe they’ll all be that easy,” I said.

“I hope not.”

“You hope not?” I asked in amazement.

“Don’t you want a little more challenge in your life?”

“No! I just want things to go according to plan!”

“That’s boring … but then again … so are you,” Nick said.

“I may be boring, but at least I’m not a —”