Suddenly there was a sort of commotion on the other side of the door, and he placed his ear to the panel. “Did you hear that?”
“What?”
“Sounded like… a gurgle or something?”
“What gurgle? I didn’t hear anything.”
The sound had died away, but he had definitely heard it. He wore pretty high prescription glasses, and he’d once read that if you lose one of your senses, the others are all augmented, so his hearing was excellent and a lot better than Mindy’s, who never seemed to hear anything.
“There’s definitely somebody in there,” he said.
“Of course there’s somebody in there,” said Mindy. “Only he doesn’t want to see us, does he? Must have had a change of heart, just like you said. Come on. Let’s go. I’m starting to feel like a fool, and I hate it when that happens.”
And she started to walk away, with that same brisk pace that was so typical for her. But the gurgle had given Carlos pause. Was it possible that the prince was in some kind of trouble?
And so he decided to give it one final shot. He put his fist to the door and gave it a vigorous rap. And much to his surprise, he thought he could detect another gurgle. And so without thinking, he set down the mock-up of Virgil and put his shoulder to the door.
“What do you think you’re doing?” asked Mindy, who had retraced her steps.
“There’s someone in trouble in there!” he said, and took a step back, then assaulted the door once again, this time throwing all of his not inconsiderable weight into it. The door buckled under the pressure, and he flew inside, landing on the carpeted floor, right next to a person.
As he stared at the man, he found himself looking straight into the eyes of Prince Abdullah himself. And in spite of the earlier gurgling, it was undeniable that life was now extinct!
CHAPTER 2
Ihad been watching a little bird tweeting up a storm in a nearby tree when a voice rang out inside the house.
“Max! Dooley!”
I exchanged a look of understanding with my friend Dooley, who was studying an ant crawling over a blade of grass and trying its darndest to carry a large crumb to safety.
“Looks like it’s time for us to get off our butts and do some real work for a change, buddy,” I told him.
“Pity. I was just about to help this little fella here feed his family.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, little ant. Looks like you’ll have to carry that crumb over the hill to your nest all by yourself.”
“Who are you talking to?” asked Brutus, who had been sunning himself and lying on his back, all four paws dangling this way and that.
“A little ant,” Dooley explained. “He’s carrying a big load, and I wanted to help him out.”
“What’s going on?” asked Harriet, emerging from a nearby bush. “What’s with all the yelling and screaming?”
“The yelling and the screaming was Odelia,” I said. “Who probably has some new case she wants us to assist her on.”
“Dooley can’t assist her today,” said Brutus. “On account of the fact that he needs to help a little old ant cross the road.” He grinned and gave me a wink.
I rolled my eyes. Brutus has a habit of teasing Dooley from time to time, even though Dooley is probably the sweetest cat in the world. But then again, maybe that’s why he attracts Brutus’s mockery. It’s always the best ones who get scorn piled on top of their heads, isn’t it?
“I think Dooley is doing a great job,” I said. “Keep up the good work, buddy.”
“Thanks, Max,” said Dooley, pleased by this endorsement.
“Oh, please,” said Brutus. “If every ant needed the assistance of a cat they’d get lazy and would stop building their nests for themselves. It’s exactly this kind of struggle and strife that builds character, Max.” He balled a fist and shook it. “It builds backbone. So taking that away from your little old ant is doing it a disservice. It’s crippling him and making sure he won’t be able to get through life and challenge its hurdles and vicissitudes.”
“Gee,” said Dooley. “I didn’t think about it that way, Brutus. But I guess you’re right. I shouldn’t help this little ant but encourage it to carry its load all by itself.” He lowered his face to the ant. “I’m sorry, Mr. Ant. Looks like you’re on your own. But not to worry. Brutus says it will build character and give you backbone.” He gave me a questioning look. “Do ants even have a backbone, Max? Do they have a spine?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. My knowledge of ants is very sketchy, I have to admit.
“Okay, I’m not telling you again,” said Odelia, suddenly busting through the kitchen door and walking out into the backyard. She stood there, her fists planted on her hips. “Lazy bunch,” she said, but she smiled as she said it, which softened the blow her words caused.
“I’ll have you know I’m not lazy!” said Harriet. “I’ve been thinking very hard about my next project, which is going to bring us all a lot of money, so that’s time well spent, wouldn’t you say?”
“And what project would that be?” asked Odelia.
“Too soon to tell,” said Harriet. “That’s why I was thinking so hard.”
“And what about you, Brutus?” asked our human. “What were you doing?”
“I was, um… also thinking hard,” said the big black cat. “In sync with Harriet, you know.”
“Thinking about the same project, huh? What about you, Max?”
“I was looking at a bird,” I said truthfully. I didn’t see a reason to lie about being lazy. After all, some of the greatest minds claim that being lazy causes fresh thoughts to pop into one’s head, and the best ideas come from their inventors being lazy and doing nothing.
“And you, Dooley?” asked Odelia.
“I was thinking about helping this ant,” said Dooley. “But Brutus said I shouldn’t, since it has to carry its burden all by itself, so it can build a backbone and deal with vivid tunes.”
