The Case of the Missing Cat. John R. Erickson
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Название: The Case of the Missing Cat
Автор: John R. Erickson
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Учебная литература
Серия: Hank the Cowdog
isbn: 9781591887157
isbn:
He studied his claws for a moment, I mean, the cat was obviously scared and stalling for time. “All right, Hankie, if that’s the way you want it.”
“That’s the way I want it.”
His eyes came up. “I’ll bet you your job as Head of Ranch Security.”
“HUH? My job as . . . now wait just a minute.”
“You wanted big stakes, right? You wanted to go for broke, right?”
“Yeah, but . . .”
“There’s the bet,” he grinned, “if you’re dog enough to take it.”
My eyes narrowed and a growl began to rumble deep in my throat. “Watch what you say, cat. Your words could come back to honk you. And if your words don’t honk you loud enough, I might consider doing a little honking of my own. Repeat the bet.”
“I’m betting your job as Head of Ranch Security that you can’t catch that rabbit.”
My data banks whirred. “Let me get this straight. If I lose, you get my job as Head of Ranch Security. But what are you putting up? What happens if you lose?”
“Well, if I lose, you win the job as Head of Ranch Security. We’ll both be playing for the same prize, and if the prize is the same for both of us, it has to be a fair bet.”
I didn’t like the way he was grinning, so I took the time to study the deal from every possible angle. It checked out. For the first time in years, this cat had offered a deal that was equal, fair, square, level, and plumb.
“All right, cat, you’ve got yourself a bet. It’s a done deal and there will be no backing out.”
“You only get three tries.”
“Sure, fine, don’t bore me with details.”
“But what if you lose, Hankie? Will you pay off?”
I laughed. “That’s not likely to happen, Kitty, but if it does, I’ll pay off. You’ve got my Solemn Cowdog Oath on it.”
“Mmmm. And a cowdog never goes against his oath, right?”
“Exactly. And now that you’ve committed yourself to the deal, I can reveal that you’ve made a very foolish blunder. Pete, old buddy, old pal, you’re fixing to lose it all on one roll of the dice.”
He gasped! Yes, he tried to hide it but I saw him gasp. Hey, that cat was beginning to feel the jaws of my trap closing around him.
All that remained was for me to lumber down and catch the rabbit, which would be a piece of cake for this old dog. I mean, catching rabbits was no big deal for me—just by George run ’em down and snatch ’em up in the old iron jaws.
Yes sir, and when that happened, fellers, Pete the Barncat would be out of luck and out of business.
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