Everything's as quiet as a mouse.'
A wild chorus of mews drowned his words, and with the mews were
mingled the shrieks of the musk-rats. What had happened? Had the
cats tasted them before deciding that they disliked the flavour?
'I'm a-coming in,' said the policeman. 'You've got a cat shut up
there.'
'A cat,' said Cyril. 'Oh, my only aunt! A cat!'
'Come in, then,' said Robert. 'It's your own look out. I advise
you not. Wait a shake, and I'll undo the side gate.'
He undid the side gate, and the policeman, very cautiously, came
in. And there in the kitchen, by the light of one candle, with the
mewing and the screaming going like a dozen steam sirens, twenty
waiting on motor-cars, and half a hundred squeaking pumps, four
agitated voices shouted to the policeman four mixed and wholly
different explanations of the very mixed events of the evening.
Did you ever try to explain the simplest thing to a policeman?
CHAPTER 8
THE CATS, THE COW, AND THE BURGLAR
The nursery was full of Persian cats and musk-rats that had been
brought there by the wishing carpet. The cats were mewing and the
musk-rats were squeaking so that you could hardly hear yourself
speak. In the kitchen were the four children, one candle, a
concealed Phoenix, and a very visible policeman.
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