The Mustela Secret Service
“Monster In The Dark”
By Jo Grant and Jonathan O’Brien
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2011 Jo Grant and Jonathan O’Brien
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To my mother, who taught me to read
and write--and to love doing both--
and to her beloved bulldog, Scarlett O’Terror,
who helps to make her life complete.
1
“Are we all here? Good. Then let tonight’s meeting of the Mustela Secret Service begin.”
Old Nova calmly groomed her long whiskers while four small furry bodies emerged from the darkness, and formed a half-circle around her sleeping mat. Bright little eyes stared at her in the dim red light cast by a nearby heating lamp.
The farmhouse seemed strangely quiet as the five agile ferrets happily chirped out their nightly ritual. “We are Mustela, we are ferrets. We are small and we are fast. We were given life to play and have fun. Our sacred duty is to cause mischief whenever we can. When we cross the Rainbow Bridge at life’s end, we will pass over happily, knowing we have lived full and playful lives.”
Above them, Quincy the Iguana groaned. Every night, it was the same old routine. Those annoying little dust-mops woke him from a sound sleep, and chanted the same stupid thing. Why couldn’t they ever think of something new to say? He wished that the Humans had put his tree on the other side of the house, so he didn’t have to listen to them.
Now they’d boast about all the trouble they caused that day, as if it was something to be proud of. He couldn’t see why the Humans let them get away with stealing toys and crunchy treats, or making nests in their clothes drawers. He couldn’t see why the ferrets wanted to do it, either. An Iguana spent his time sleeping in the sun, and eating, and sleeping some more. That was the proper way to spend a day.
Before cinnamon-furred Taz could start talking about his day’s activities, Nova cleared her throat. “I know some of you are wondering where the Humans have gone,” she said, and looked straight at Goliath. The black-coated giant was their youngest member, and had never seen a Christmas before. “Every year, the Humans take Smudge Dog with them, and go to visit their Cousins who live up north. This year, they also took Spot Dog, his mate Missy Dog, and their new puppies with them.”
“Why?” Maggie, their clever white thief, was older than Goliath, but she was just as curious.
“What are Cousins?” Zephyr chimed in. Her silvery coat gleamed in the dim light. She was very proud of her ability to see further, and run faster, than any of the other ferrets. When the Mustela Secret Service had a Mission, she was their Scout.
Taz was the only ferret who could talk to any animal, even young Boy Human. He’d spent all that morning talking with Boy, so he knew the answer to Zephyr’s question. “Cousins are Humans, too. They’re friends of Mom Human and Dad Human. Boy Human has Cousin friends, too. When Spot Dog’s puppies are old enough, some of them will go live with the Cousins.”
“Oh!” Goliath’s black eyes were huge with dismay. “I thought they could all stay here with us!”
Nova shook her head. “The farm is very large, but not large enough for ten big dogs. Spot Dog’s puppies would not have room to run and play. They’ll be happier with their own Human pets.”
“When will they be back?” Maggie wanted to know. She couldn’t wait to sneak into the Human pantry, and steal lots of yummy treats. All the ferrets loved to steal and hide things in their cozy nests. That was the best part of being a ferret. But no other ferret could sneak through tiny holes, or hide whole boxes of treats, the way Maggie could. That’s why her Secret Service code-name was Bandit.
“The Humans always leave for three days.” As Leader of the Mustela Secret Service, Nova had lived the longest, and knew more about the Humans than anyone else. “When they come back, they’ll have lots more boxes to put under the Christmas tree. And they always bring back lots of special yummy treats for us.”
Taz licked his lips. He loved popcorn. The day before Christmas, Dad Human always made a big bowl of it, and let the ferrets have some. Then he poured butter on the rest, and Mom Human and Boy Human helped him eat it.
Christmas was only five days away. He could almost taste that fresh, crunchy popcorn already!
Goliath had never tasted popcorn before. But he was hungry, too. He was always hungry. While the other ferrets talked, he snatched a brown chicken pellet from the nearest food bowl, and munched on it.
Suddenly he reared up on his back legs. “Who will feed us while the Humans are gone?” he squealed.
“Get down, Goliath!” Maggie grumbled. “Weren’t you listening to Leader? Dad Human’s friend, Harvey Man, will be coming by every day to feed all of the animals who live here on the farm.”
“That’s right.” Nova knew that Goliath got scared easily, but he was still very young. In time, he would settle down, and learn about courage and bravery. “Boy Human filled all our bowls before he left, so we have plenty of food. Harvey Man will give us more tomorrow. And our Human pets will come home on the day after that. No one will go hungry.”
Old Nova was very thin, because she had nearly starved when she’d been a baby. Her Human pets had been mean, and had moved away and left her behind. No one had come by every day to give her food.
Mom Human and Dad Human had rescued her, and made her healthy again. But she was the smallest ferret in the Mustela Secret Service. Taz and Goliath were more than twice her size. And Goliath was still growing.
If Nova wasn’t scared of being left to starve, Goliath wasn’t going to be scared, either. He was an Agent in the Mustela Secret Service. Agents never admitted if they were scared.
But he still snatched another chicken pellet from the bowl, and hid it under his sleeping rug. Just in case.
The other ferrets pretended not to notice.
“Now,” Nova said, brushing her whiskers against Taz’s, “what do you have to report?”
“The new cat finally talked to me today,” Taz grinned. “She says her name is Cupcake! Her old Human pets got tired of brushing her long hair, so they drove her out of the City to find her a new home. When they saw our farm, they left her here.”
“No wonder she’s been afraid to come out of her hiding place behind the bookcase,” Zephyr said with a sigh. “She must think no one likes her at all!”
“She doesn’t like us,” Maggie scowled. “I tried to play with her, and she hissed at me.”
Old Nova knew what it was like to be lost and afraid. “We need to give her more time. She may never like us, but when she gets used to us, at least she won’t be scared any more.”
“Missy Dog let me sniff at her puppies this morning, before they left,” Goliath said with a smile. “One of them licked my face!” He shivered all over with delight at the memory.
“Maggie and I war-danced in the living room, and got in the Humans’ way while they were packing to leave,” Zephyr said proudly. “They had to step around us very carefully.”
“Leader,” Maggie asked, leaning forward, “will we have to stay in our cage the whole time Mom Human and Dad Human are gone?”
The farm ferrets were lucky, and they knew it. Their cage was huge, so big that it took up one entire wall of the Human living room. It was big enough to hold three dozen active ferrets. Carpeted ramps rose from one floor to the next. They loved to run up and down, from the top all the way to the bottom, and play with the toys on each level.
Bright colored hammocks hung from the ceilings, and there were plenty of warm fuzzy blankets for the ferrets to snuggle inside. Two different food bowls and water bottles hung on the white wire bars of every single level, so that no one ever had to wait to eat or drink.
But the ferrets normally ran all through the house. Even though they liked their cage, and often slept there by choice, they didn’t want to be stuck in it all weekend.
Nova thought about it for several minutes. Finally she said, “None of the Humans know that Taz and Goliath can open the cage doors. We don’t ever want them to find out, or they might put locks on the doors. That would be very bad for the Mustela Secret Service.
“Scout, if you’ll keep watch from the window, and warn us when Harvey Man drives up in his big truck, I think it will be safe for us to sneak out into the house, and play.”
Zephyr nodded. That was a job she could do very well.
“Dad Human told Mom Human that Harvey Man won’t be coming by until the afternoon,” Taz piped up. “He has lots of chores to do at his own farm. So we can play safely all morning.”
“We can all take turns watching for Harvey Man,” Nova agreed. “That way, Scout can have some fun, too. Now, does anyone else have a report?”
Before Maggie could answer, a strange, creepy howling suddenly filled the air. Goliath yelped in terror, and hid under his blanket. Taz puffed up to nearly twice his normal size, while the three females huddled together, shaking.
“What was that?” Maggie gasped.
Goliath peeked out, and gave another scared yelp. “Look in the window! It’s a monster!”
2
It was a monster! A gigantic ugly face was staring into the room. It had little black eyes, and a big black nose, and strange little ears that flopped down on either side of its head. Its whole face was a mass of floppy brown and white wrinkles. Sharp white teeth pointed in all directions as it pushed its nose against the clear window glass.
Suddenly it threw its head back, and howled again. It was a sad, lonely sound that sent the ferrets into a panic. Taz threw himself on top of Nova, to protect her. Maggie and Zephyr dashed to the other end of their cage so fast that they fell down the ramp, and tumbled over each other. Goliath let out a single shrill scream, but he was too scared to move.
Down at the bottom of the cage, the older ferrets shivered, and hid under their blankets. Zephyr finally stopped tumbling when she landed right on top of old Gonzo. Maggie fell against her, and poor Gonzo yelled at both of them to get off!
"Let me see." Nova was buried under Taz, who was shaking so hard that the entire cage was swaying. "Taz, get off me!"
Taz didn't move. "It's gone now! Where did it go?"
"Taz!" Nova tried to wiggle free, then reached over and bit his foot. "Off!"
"Ouch!" Taz jumped, and Nova crawled out from under him. "Nova, that hurt!"
"I couldn't breathe." Nova rubbed her whiskers against his sore foot in apology. "You're heavy."