Voyage of the Mouser - a Night Raid

Sammy and Tabitha crept softly to the door of the cabin and up the stairs to
the quarterdeck. As they passed the doorway leading to the deck they saw
the silhouette of a man sitting at the rail with a cat on each knee. Sammy
and Tabitha both crouched low to slink past the doorway with their bellies
scraping the deck - they must not get caught now before their raid had even
begun! Sammy remembered Mischief's warning about having to ship out if she
didn't shape up and the tension in her belling increased.

"Psssstttt!" Sammy was so startled at this noise that she inadvertently
turned on the anti-gravity device in the pads of her feet and shot three
feet straight up into the air, hovered a fraction of a second, whirled
around and then landed facing Tabitha. "Don't DO that!" Sammy exclaimed, "I
think you just cost me one of my lives, dang it!" "Sorry," Tabitha replied,
"I just wanted to know where we're going." "We're going to find a snack,
and I think the galley might be the best place to look for that, don't you?"
Sammy retorted. "Ummm." Tabitha replied noncommittally.

As the two neared the galley, they heard snatches of conversation from the
foredeck. Again they crouched low to sneak along the wall until they
reached the door of the galley. Sammy pushed at the galley door and snaked
her head around to peer inside. The large room seemed to be deserted so she
continued inside then walked towards the bins at the rear, holding her nose
high and sniffing for anything smelly-good. However, all the bins were
tightly sealed and Sammy could not tell which held sardines and which held
tuna (her favorite). "Hmmm," she said, "we'll have to remove the tops of
these bins to see what's inside." "They look pretty heavy." Tabitha
demurred. "Nonsense," Sammy scoffed, "we're both big and strong." She eyed
Tabitha for a bit then said, "Well, I'M big and strong. I can get these
open." With that she jumped up to the top of the bin second from the end
and started pushing at the lid of the bin on the end. The lid was quite a
bit heavier than she expected, but she didn't want to look foolish in front
of Tabitha so she added her other front paw to the effort, stretched her
back, and really shoved.

Quite unexpectedly the lid of the bin shifted, teetered on the edge of the
bin, then crashed to the floor with a loud bang. Sammy, totally unprepared
for the results of her effort, overbalanced and landed head first inside the
bin. Cream! Gallons and gallons of cream! Sammy came to the surface
sputtering and tried to leap back out of the bin, but the cream was too
deep, she was too short, and the sides of the bin were too tall. "Help!"
she cried when she saw Tabitha's face peering at her from the top of the
next bin. "Get me out of here." she screamed. Tabitha took a moment to
sneer just a bit, but turned about and lowered her tail down so Sammy could
scramble up to safety.

"Well," Tabitha said looking at the drenched kitten, "that was a good move!"
"I just picked the wrong bin," Sammy replied hotly while furiously licking
cream from her fur, "anybody could have made that mistake. Here, help me
get the top off this next bin, I'll bet this is the one filled with tuna!"
"I don't know," Tabitha replied, "maybe we should just go back to our
bunks." "No way," Sammy yelled back, "I'm getting us a snack, now help
push!" Tabitha, a bit miffed at the bossy kit, nevertheless helped Sammy
push at the top of the next bin. With both kittens pushing, the lid of the
bin seemed to leap off and landed with a crash on the floor next to the
first lid.

This time it was Tabitha who overbalanced and started to fall into the bin.
As she was doing so she made a grab for Sammy's tail. However, Sammy was
not braced for this and both kittens tumbled through the air to land with a
soft puff in the bin full of flour. "Stupid kit!" Tabitha shouted.
"Clumsy!" Sammy shouted back. Tabitha scrambled onto Sammy's back then
leaped to the edge of the bin and to safety. "Give me your tail!" Sammy
yelled. "Why should I?" Tabitha replied. "You'll only get us into more
trouble." "Please," Sammy begged, "this stuff is yucky!" Tabitha relented
and lowered her tail down for Sammy to use to climb out. Both kits stood on
top of the third bin panting. Tabitha shook herself and seemed to vanish in
a cloud of white. Sammy, unfortunately, could not do the same. Her
cream-drenched fur was now matted with flour and sticking out in jagged
white spikes all over her body. She tried licking off the paste, but the
taste was too bad to tolerate and she soon ceased her efforts to glare at
Tabitha instead.

"OK," Sammy said, "let's try this next bin." "Are you crazy?" Tabitha
exclaimed, "I'm going back to my bunk before you get us both strung up form
the yardarm!" "I knew all along you were a big chicken." Sammy sneered.
"Well then chickens have more brains that you do." Tabitha retorted hotly.
"Oh come on," Sammy wheedled, "this next bin MUST be the one with the tuna."
Tabitha eyed Sammy dubiously, but after all the excitement and physical
exertion she was feeling a bit peckish. "OK," she said, "just one more try
and then I'm going back to my bunk." "All RIGHT," Sammy yelled, "help me
push this lid off."

Both kittens pushed, more gently this time, but this lid too crashed to the
floor with a loud clang. However, both kittens were now prepared for this
and managed to keep their balance. They leaned forward to peer over the
edge of the bin and sniff the contents. Sardines floating in cod fish oil!
Not as good as tuna, but at this point Sammy was not going to be picky.
Just as the kittens were leaning further to extend a paw into the bin, the
lights flashed on overhead and a voice yelled, "Who's there?!" Both sets of
anti-gravity devices turned on full blast and both kittens instantly arose
into the air. However, neither kitten had fully mastered the device and
both sorely misjudged their landing and found themselves floundering in the
bin of sardines.

Between their panicked undulations and the force of their landing, the bin
of sardines was overturned and spilled its contents, and two sorry looking
kittens, out onto the galley floor. Eight little paws had barely touched
the floor before taking off at full speed towards the galley door. Mischief
and Lacey watched as two white blurs, reeking of sardines, streaked past
them and out of the galley and down the passageway. "What on earth was
that?!" Lacey exclaimed. "I don't know, but I'm surely going to find out."
Mischief replied, looking grim.

To be continued...

Hugs,

CatNipped

On Sun, 22 Aug 2004 16:10:56 GMT, "CatNipped"
yodeled:

(snip)
Mischief
and Lacey watched as two white blurs, reeking of sardines, streaked past
them and out of the galley and down the passageway. "What on earth was
that?!" Lacey exclaimed. "I don't know, but I'm surely going to find out."
Mischief replied, looking grim.


Now, ya see, if that was my house a few years ago, I would have just
checked my watch to see if the 11:30 was on time.


Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com
alt.tv.frasier FAQ: http://www.im-listening.net/FAQ/

On Sun, 22 Aug 2004 16:10:56 GMT, "CatNipped"
yodeled:

(snip)
Mischief
and Lacey watched as two white blurs, reeking of sardines, streaked past
them and out of the galley and down the passageway. "What on earth was
that?!" Lacey exclaimed. "I don't know, but I'm surely going to find out."
Mischief replied, looking grim.


Now, ya see, if that was my house a few years ago, I would have just
checked my watch to see if the 11:30 was on time.


Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com
alt.tv.frasier FAQ: http://www.im-listening.net/FAQ/

On Sun, 22 Aug 2004 16:10:56 GMT, "CatNipped"
yodeled:

(snip)
Mischief
and Lacey watched as two white blurs, reeking of sardines, streaked past
them and out of the galley and down the passageway. "What on earth was
that?!" Lacey exclaimed. "I don't know, but I'm surely going to find out."
Mischief replied, looking grim.


Now, ya see, if that was my house a few years ago, I would have just
checked my watch to see if the 11:30 was on time.


Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com
alt.tv.frasier FAQ: http://www.im-listening.net/FAQ/

On Sun, 22 Aug, CatNipped wrote:

---------------------snip----------------------
"We're going to find a snack,
and I think the galley might be the best place to look for that, don't you?"
Sammy retorted. "Ummm." Tabitha replied noncommittally.
---------------------snip----------------------

Ooohhhh! Those bad kitties! Will they get away with it? It's hard to
believe that a kitten who's been essentially dipped in batter and
oiled will escape Cap'n Pine Cone's metaphorical frying pan.

Regards and Purrs,
O J

On Sun, 22 Aug, CatNipped wrote:

---------------------snip----------------------
"We're going to find a snack,
and I think the galley might be the best place to look for that, don't you?"
Sammy retorted. "Ummm." Tabitha replied noncommittally.
---------------------snip----------------------

Ooohhhh! Those bad kitties! Will they get away with it? It's hard to
believe that a kitten who's been essentially dipped in batter and
oiled will escape Cap'n Pine Cone's metaphorical frying pan.

Regards and Purrs,
O J

On Sun, 22 Aug, CatNipped wrote:

---------------------snip----------------------
"We're going to find a snack,
and I think the galley might be the best place to look for that, don't you?"
Sammy retorted. "Ummm." Tabitha replied noncommittally.
---------------------snip----------------------

Ooohhhh! Those bad kitties! Will they get away with it? It's hard to
believe that a kitten who's been essentially dipped in batter and
oiled will escape Cap'n Pine Cone's metaphorical frying pan.

Regards and Purrs,
O J

Between their panicked undulations and the force of their landing, the
bin
of sardines was overturned and spilled its contents, and two sorry
looking
kittens, out onto the galley floor. Eight little paws had barely
touched
the floor before taking off at full speed towards the galley door.
Mischief
and Lacey watched as two white blurs, reeking of sardines, streaked
past
them and out of the galley and down the passageway. "What on earth
was
that?!" Lacey exclaimed. "I don't know, but I'm surely going to find
out."
Mischief replied, looking grim.

To be continued...



Meanwhile, Imp turned over in his hammock. '"I miss my hoomin. I
miss my bed. I miss my panic mouse. I'm homesick." After tossing
and turning for a few more morments he finally rolled out. Might as
well do some lurking, that's what I'm good at.

Slowly, the black cat tiptoed past the rest of the sleeping crew.
Cats were curled up, or streeeeeetched out on their backs, with some
having their feet twitching as they dreamed of kitty conquest. He
passed Mischief's hammock and noticed it was empty. As he reached the
edge of the sleeping quarters, he cautiously peeked out into the
hallway.
"Hmmmm, looks clear. It may be a trap though. There might be
something to keep cats from sneaking out. Nah, Mischief would have
gotten caught." Step by step he crept out farther. After a ways,
something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

"What is that? It's a crumpled heap of something, but what? Steady,
steady.........." he sniffed carefully. Then he walked closer. Could
it be? It was a blanket. A large, fleece blanket that had been
dropped, probably by some hoomin.

"It looks soft. And according to the Kitty Handbook, it's mine now.
I bet if I drag that back to my bed, I'll be able to sleep." He
grabbed a corner of the blanket in his mouth and began his trek back
to the sleeping quarters.

He had gone through the doorway when he heard another sound. He
froze, the blanket still dangling from his mouth. Something's coming,
he thought. It sounds......fast, and.........BIG.

Before he could decide what to do next, he saw it . A long, thin
white streaked flew around the corner and towards Imp. Cat instinct
took over and Imp lept to the ceiling. Unfortunately he still had the
blanket in his mouth when he jumped and the blanket spread out. The
white thing crashed into the blanket, and ripped it from Imp's mouth.
The thing became tangled in the blanket and began running around the
sleeping quarters. Imp clung to a wooden beam in fear, with a torn
corner of the blanket still in his mouth.

Mischief and Lacey came around the corner in time to see a hideous
sight. A terrifying monster was in the sleeping quarters and
screaming like a banshee. The noise woke up all the sleeping cats,
who upon seeing this hooded, screaming monstrosity all proceeded to
defy gravity. The sight of this horrible thing had an immediate
reaction to their fur. Fur stuck out, ears flew back, eyes bugged
out. Some jumped out of the way, others screamed. Some cats tried
to squeeze themselves into their tiny cubbies. Total pandemonium
ensued as the monster hurled itself around the room, running over cats
and into walls, wailing its horrible wail. Mischief and Lacey stood
open mouthed watching cats and monster running amok. Oddly enough,
thought Lacey, this thing smelled strongly of sardines.

Finally amidst all the flying fur, Mischief yelled. "Somebody catch
that thing!!" A few cats' hunting instinct kicked in, but no on moved
towards the creature. "The sardines!! It stole the sardines!!"
suddenly screamed Lacey.

That got everyone's attention. What was fear now turned into
determination. One by one, cats overcame their fears and switched
into stalk mode. Eyes grew wide, and butts started to wiggle. The
monster, let out a shriek as it realized it was now the target. What
was the predator was about to become the prey.

First to pounce was Frank, the mighty hunter. He lept at the monster,
but at the last second the monster turned and evaded his pounce.
Frank, in his determination to kill, turned his head to follow the
creature. But his flying body continued on its way and Frank turned
back in time to see the shocked face of a tabby before he crashed.

Selena and Mischief both pounced, but both did not know the other was
pouncing. They were on opposite sides of the monster when they jumped
and as the monster ducked out of the way, Mischief got a close look at
Selena's face before they collided.

Lacey took off after the creature. "Try and get it cornered!!" Other
cats attempted to pounce and chase after the monster, but everytime a
cat got close, the monster evaded capture. Even Nikki, the vole
killer was unable to get her claws in. Finally after much chasing,
the monster stopped. All the cats froze and prepared to strike.
Mischief shook her head to clear it, and noticed the monster was
slowly backing towards the door.

"Steady!!" She cried. "Don't let it escape!" Time froze as all
feline eyes were centered on the intruder. Butts started to wiggle
and tails started to twitch. Mischief braced herself for the pounce
when suddenly she heard a sound. It was the sound of claws scraping
against wood. The sound got faster and more frantic. when suddenly it
stopped.

Imp, unable to hold his grip on the wooden beam any longer came
crashing down. He landed on top of the monster with a loud
KAWHUMP!!!!!! Both cat and monster fell to the ground in a heap.

For a moment no on moved. Mischief stared in disbelief as Imp looked
around at everyone. The torn corner of the blanket was still hanging
out of his mouth, and all his fur was on end. It was the picture of a
black Halloween cat that had slaughter the beast, only this black cat
had more of a sheepish look on his face. Everyone's fur started to
calm and claws receded. Lacey's face broke out into a grin.

"Three cheers for Imp!!" Cried Lacey. "He did it!" Hip
Hip.....Meow!!" The other cats joined in and Mischief was about to do
the same when a booming voice cut through the air.

"WHAT IN BAST'S NAME IS GOING ON DOWN HERE??!!!!!!"

Fur poofed and claws came out as everyone defied gravity again. When
Mischief had landed and steadied herself, she looked up in time to see
Smokey the bosun enter. Everyone suddenly crouched low when they saw
what was behind him.

Capn Pine Cone looked around the remains of the sleeping quarters.
Hammocks were torn, toys were strewn all over the room, and fur was
still floating in the air.

"Will someone please explain what all the racket was about and why the
sleeping quarters now looks fit enough for a DOG??!! And does this
have to do with the huge mess I found in the galley?" Everyone
cringed. For a moment no one so much as mewed.

Lacey was the first to speak up. "Um, Capn, Mischief and I heard a
noise coming from the galley. We went to investigate when it tore
past us and ended up here."

"Aye, Capn." chimed in Mischief. "It was moving so fast and it got
entangled in this blanket and was tearing around the room. None of us
could catch it. But as you can see, Imp finally caught it."

Imp resisted the urge to curl up into a ball as Cap'n Pine Cone's eye
moved to him. The monster beneath him was more of a soft lump now,
instead of a wailing beast from hell. Without a word, he slunk off to
the side and everyone's attention focused on the lump.

The lump moved towards the edge of the blanket. It split into two
smaller lumps as it reached the edge and stopped. Cap'n Pine Cone
reached down and threw back the blanket.

The smell of sardines filled the air and everyone looked down at two
small, very frightened kittens. Both were covered in sardine juice
and some white goopy stuff that made their hair stick togther and
stand on end.

"Identify yourselves." said Cap'n Pine Cone.

One of the kitten piped up. "I-I-I-I'm Tabitha........she made me do
it......."
Cap'n Pine Cone glared at the other kitten. Sammy gulped and said,
"I'm...S-S-Sammy.....I didn't mean to.........."

Cap'n Pine Cone started at both kittens for a moment. "Smokey, get
these kittens cleaned up and bring them to my quarters. Frank, help
him out. The rest of you clean up this mess." He turned and left.
Sammy let out a small mew as Smokey scruffed her and carried her out
of the room. Frank did the same to Tabitha and soon the sleeping
quarters were quiet again.

Selena let out a loud sigh. "Well, lets get this cleaned up. Ozzy,
get your brother out of the cubby hole. Lacey, you and Mischief will
head back to the galley to clean up there. Take Kitty Schottland with
you." She paused a moment and sniffed.

"Does anyone need to use the litterbox now?" she asked dryly.

No one replied to her inquiry.



To be continued......





Kristi

Between their panicked undulations and the force of their landing, the
bin
of sardines was overturned and spilled its contents, and two sorry
looking
kittens, out onto the galley floor. Eight little paws had barely
touched
the floor before taking off at full speed towards the galley door.
Mischief
and Lacey watched as two white blurs, reeking of sardines, streaked
past
them and out of the galley and down the passageway. "What on earth
was
that?!" Lacey exclaimed. "I don't know, but I'm surely going to find
out."
Mischief replied, looking grim.

To be continued...



Meanwhile, Imp turned over in his hammock. '"I miss my hoomin. I
miss my bed. I miss my panic mouse. I'm homesick." After tossing
and turning for a few more morments he finally rolled out. Might as
well do some lurking, that's what I'm good at.

Slowly, the black cat tiptoed past the rest of the sleeping crew.
Cats were curled up, or streeeeeetched out on their backs, with some
having their feet twitching as they dreamed of kitty conquest. He
passed Mischief's hammock and noticed it was empty. As he reached the
edge of the sleeping quarters, he cautiously peeked out into the
hallway.
"Hmmmm, looks clear. It may be a trap though. There might be
something to keep cats from sneaking out. Nah, Mischief would have
gotten caught." Step by step he crept out farther. After a ways,
something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

"What is that? It's a crumpled heap of something, but what? Steady,
steady.........." he sniffed carefully. Then he walked closer. Could
it be? It was a blanket. A large, fleece blanket that had been
dropped, probably by some hoomin.

"It looks soft. And according to the Kitty Handbook, it's mine now.
I bet if I drag that back to my bed, I'll be able to sleep." He
grabbed a corner of the blanket in his mouth and began his trek back
to the sleeping quarters.

He had gone through the doorway when he heard another sound. He
froze, the blanket still dangling from his mouth. Something's coming,
he thought. It sounds......fast, and.........BIG.

Before he could decide what to do next, he saw it . A long, thin
white streaked flew around the corner and towards Imp. Cat instinct
took over and Imp lept to the ceiling. Unfortunately he still had the
blanket in his mouth when he jumped and the blanket spread out. The
white thing crashed into the blanket, and ripped it from Imp's mouth.
The thing became tangled in the blanket and began running around the
sleeping quarters. Imp clung to a wooden beam in fear, with a torn
corner of the blanket still in his mouth.

Mischief and Lacey came around the corner in time to see a hideous
sight. A terrifying monster was in the sleeping quarters and
screaming like a banshee. The noise woke up all the sleeping cats,
who upon seeing this hooded, screaming monstrosity all proceeded to
defy gravity. The sight of this horrible thing had an immediate
reaction to their fur. Fur stuck out, ears flew back, eyes bugged
out. Some jumped out of the way, others screamed. Some cats tried
to squeeze themselves into their tiny cubbies. Total pandemonium
ensued as the monster hurled itself around the room, running over cats
and into walls, wailing its horrible wail. Mischief and Lacey stood
open mouthed watching cats and monster running amok. Oddly enough,
thought Lacey, this thing smelled strongly of sardines.

Finally amidst all the flying fur, Mischief yelled. "Somebody catch
that thing!!" A few cats' hunting instinct kicked in, but no on moved
towards the creature. "The sardines!! It stole the sardines!!"
suddenly screamed Lacey.

That got everyone's attention. What was fear now turned into
determination. One by one, cats overcame their fears and switched
into stalk mode. Eyes grew wide, and butts started to wiggle. The
monster, let out a shriek as it realized it was now the target. What
was the predator was about to become the prey.

First to pounce was Frank, the mighty hunter. He lept at the monster,
but at the last second the monster turned and evaded his pounce.
Frank, in his determination to kill, turned his head to follow the
creature. But his flying body continued on its way and Frank turned
back in time to see the shocked face of a tabby before he crashed.

Selena and Mischief both pounced, but both did not know the other was
pouncing. They were on opposite sides of the monster when they jumped
and as the monster ducked out of the way, Mischief got a close look at
Selena's face before they collided.

Lacey took off after the creature. "Try and get it cornered!!" Other
cats attempted to pounce and chase after the monster, but everytime a
cat got close, the monster evaded capture. Even Nikki, the vole
killer was unable to get her claws in. Finally after much chasing,
the monster stopped. All the cats froze and prepared to strike.
Mischief shook her head to clear it, and noticed the monster was
slowly backing towards the door.

"Steady!!" She cried. "Don't let it escape!" Time froze as all
feline eyes were centered on the intruder. Butts started to wiggle
and tails started to twitch. Mischief braced herself for the pounce
when suddenly she heard a sound. It was the sound of claws scraping
against wood. The sound got faster and more frantic. when suddenly it
stopped.

Imp, unable to hold his grip on the wooden beam any longer came
crashing down. He landed on top of the monster with a loud
KAWHUMP!!!!!! Both cat and monster fell to the ground in a heap.

For a moment no on moved. Mischief stared in disbelief as Imp looked
around at everyone. The torn corner of the blanket was still hanging
out of his mouth, and all his fur was on end. It was the picture of a
black Halloween cat that had slaughter the beast, only this black cat
had more of a sheepish look on his face. Everyone's fur started to
calm and claws receded. Lacey's face broke out into a grin.

"Three cheers for Imp!!" Cried Lacey. "He did it!" Hip
Hip.....Meow!!" The other cats joined in and Mischief was about to do
the same when a booming voice cut through the air.

"WHAT IN BAST'S NAME IS GOING ON DOWN HERE??!!!!!!"

Fur poofed and claws came out as everyone defied gravity again. When
Mischief had landed and steadied herself, she looked up in time to see
Smokey the bosun enter. Everyone suddenly crouched low when they saw
what was behind him.

Capn Pine Cone looked around the remains of the sleeping quarters.
Hammocks were torn, toys were strewn all over the room, and fur was
still floating in the air.

"Will someone please explain what all the racket was about and why the
sleeping quarters now looks fit enough for a DOG??!! And does this
have to do with the huge mess I found in the galley?" Everyone
cringed. For a moment no one so much as mewed.

Lacey was the first to speak up. "Um, Capn, Mischief and I heard a
noise coming from the galley. We went to investigate when it tore
past us and ended up here."

"Aye, Capn." chimed in Mischief. "It was moving so fast and it got
entangled in this blanket and was tearing around the room. None of us
could catch it. But as you can see, Imp finally caught it."

Imp resisted the urge to curl up into a ball as Cap'n Pine Cone's eye
moved to him. The monster beneath him was more of a soft lump now,
instead of a wailing beast from hell. Without a word, he slunk off to
the side and everyone's attention focused on the lump.

The lump moved towards the edge of the blanket. It split into two
smaller lumps as it reached the edge and stopped. Cap'n Pine Cone
reached down and threw back the blanket.

The smell of sardines filled the air and everyone looked down at two
small, very frightened kittens. Both were covered in sardine juice
and some white goopy stuff that made their hair stick togther and
stand on end.

"Identify yourselves." said Cap'n Pine Cone.

One of the kitten piped up. "I-I-I-I'm Tabitha........she made me do
it......."
Cap'n Pine Cone glared at the other kitten. Sammy gulped and said,
"I'm...S-S-Sammy.....I didn't mean to.........."

Cap'n Pine Cone started at both kittens for a moment. "Smokey, get
these kittens cleaned up and bring them to my quarters. Frank, help
him out. The rest of you clean up this mess." He turned and left.
Sammy let out a small mew as Smokey scruffed her and carried her out
of the room. Frank did the same to Tabitha and soon the sleeping
quarters were quiet again.

Selena let out a loud sigh. "Well, lets get this cleaned up. Ozzy,
get your brother out of the cubby hole. Lacey, you and Mischief will
head back to the galley to clean up there. Take Kitty Schottland with
you." She paused a moment and sniffed.

"Does anyone need to use the litterbox now?" she asked dryly.

No one replied to her inquiry.



To be continued......





Kristi

Between their panicked undulations and the force of their landing, the
bin
of sardines was overturned and spilled its contents, and two sorry
looking
kittens, out onto the galley floor. Eight little paws had barely
touched
the floor before taking off at full speed towards the galley door.
Mischief
and Lacey watched as two white blurs, reeking of sardines, streaked
past
them and out of the galley and down the passageway. "What on earth
was
that?!" Lacey exclaimed. "I don't know, but I'm surely going to find
out."
Mischief replied, looking grim.

To be continued...



Meanwhile, Imp turned over in his hammock. '"I miss my hoomin. I
miss my bed. I miss my panic mouse. I'm homesick." After tossing
and turning for a few more morments he finally rolled out. Might as
well do some lurking, that's what I'm good at.

Slowly, the black cat tiptoed past the rest of the sleeping crew.
Cats were curled up, or streeeeeetched out on their backs, with some
having their feet twitching as they dreamed of kitty conquest. He
passed Mischief's hammock and noticed it was empty. As he reached the
edge of the sleeping quarters, he cautiously peeked out into the
hallway.
"Hmmmm, looks clear. It may be a trap though. There might be
something to keep cats from sneaking out. Nah, Mischief would have
gotten caught." Step by step he crept out farther. After a ways,
something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

"What is that? It's a crumpled heap of something, but what? Steady,
steady.........." he sniffed carefully. Then he walked closer. Could
it be? It was a blanket. A large, fleece blanket that had been
dropped, probably by some hoomin.

"It looks soft. And according to the Kitty Handbook, it's mine now.
I bet if I drag that back to my bed, I'll be able to sleep." He
grabbed a corner of the blanket in his mouth and began his trek back
to the sleeping quarters.

He had gone through the doorway when he heard another sound. He
froze, the blanket still dangling from his mouth. Something's coming,
he thought. It sounds......fast, and.........BIG.

Before he could decide what to do next, he saw it . A long, thin
white streaked flew around the corner and towards Imp. Cat instinct
took over and Imp lept to the ceiling. Unfortunately he still had the
blanket in his mouth when he jumped and the blanket spread out. The
white thing crashed into the blanket, and ripped it from Imp's mouth.
The thing became tangled in the blanket and began running around the
sleeping quarters. Imp clung to a wooden beam in fear, with a torn
corner of the blanket still in his mouth.

Mischief and Lacey came around the corner in time to see a hideous
sight. A terrifying monster was in the sleeping quarters and
screaming like a banshee. The noise woke up all the sleeping cats,
who upon seeing this hooded, screaming monstrosity all proceeded to
defy gravity. The sight of this horrible thing had an immediate
reaction to their fur. Fur stuck out, ears flew back, eyes bugged
out. Some jumped out of the way, others screamed. Some cats tried
to squeeze themselves into their tiny cubbies. Total pandemonium
ensued as the monster hurled itself around the room, running over cats
and into walls, wailing its horrible wail. Mischief and Lacey stood
open mouthed watching cats and monster running amok. Oddly enough,
thought Lacey, this thing smelled strongly of sardines.

Finally amidst all the flying fur, Mischief yelled. "Somebody catch
that thing!!" A few cats' hunting instinct kicked in, but no on moved
towards the creature. "The sardines!! It stole the sardines!!"
suddenly screamed Lacey.

That got everyone's attention. What was fear now turned into
determination. One by one, cats overcame their fears and switched
into stalk mode. Eyes grew wide, and butts started to wiggle. The
monster, let out a shriek as it realized it was now the target. What
was the predator was about to become the prey.

First to pounce was Frank, the mighty hunter. He lept at the monster,
but at the last second the monster turned and evaded his pounce.
Frank, in his determination to kill, turned his head to follow the
creature. But his flying body continued on its way and Frank turned
back in time to see the shocked face of a tabby before he crashed.

Selena and Mischief both pounced, but both did not know the other was
pouncing. They were on opposite sides of the monster when they jumped
and as the monster ducked out of the way, Mischief got a close look at
Selena's face before they collided.

Lacey took off after the creature. "Try and get it cornered!!" Other
cats attempted to pounce and chase after the monster, but everytime a
cat got close, the monster evaded capture. Even Nikki, the vole
killer was unable to get her claws in. Finally after much chasing,
the monster stopped. All the cats froze and prepared to strike.
Mischief shook her head to clear it, and noticed the monster was
slowly backing towards the door.

"Steady!!" She cried. "Don't let it escape!" Time froze as all
feline eyes were centered on the intruder. Butts started to wiggle
and tails started to twitch. Mischief braced herself for the pounce
when suddenly she heard a sound. It was the sound of claws scraping
against wood. The sound got faster and more frantic. when suddenly it
stopped.

Imp, unable to hold his grip on the wooden beam any longer came
crashing down. He landed on top of the monster with a loud
KAWHUMP!!!!!! Both cat and monster fell to the ground in a heap.

For a moment no on moved. Mischief stared in disbelief as Imp looked
around at everyone. The torn corner of the blanket was still hanging
out of his mouth, and all his fur was on end. It was the picture of a
black Halloween cat that had slaughter the beast, only this black cat
had more of a sheepish look on his face. Everyone's fur started to
calm and claws receded. Lacey's face broke out into a grin.

"Three cheers for Imp!!" Cried Lacey. "He did it!" Hip
Hip.....Meow!!" The other cats joined in and Mischief was about to do
the same when a booming voice cut through the air.

"WHAT IN BAST'S NAME IS GOING ON DOWN HERE??!!!!!!"

Fur poofed and claws came out as everyone defied gravity again. When
Mischief had landed and steadied herself, she looked up in time to see
Smokey the bosun enter. Everyone suddenly crouched low when they saw
what was behind him.

Capn Pine Cone looked around the remains of the sleeping quarters.
Hammocks were torn, toys were strewn all over the room, and fur was
still floating in the air.

"Will someone please explain what all the racket was about and why the
sleeping quarters now looks fit enough for a DOG??!! And does this
have to do with the huge mess I found in the galley?" Everyone
cringed. For a moment no one so much as mewed.

Lacey was the first to speak up. "Um, Capn, Mischief and I heard a
noise coming from the galley. We went to investigate when it tore
past us and ended up here."

"Aye, Capn." chimed in Mischief. "It was moving so fast and it got
entangled in this blanket and was tearing around the room. None of us
could catch it. But as you can see, Imp finally caught it."

Imp resisted the urge to curl up into a ball as Cap'n Pine Cone's eye
moved to him. The monster beneath him was more of a soft lump now,
instead of a wailing beast from hell. Without a word, he slunk off to
the side and everyone's attention focused on the lump.

The lump moved towards the edge of the blanket. It split into two
smaller lumps as it reached the edge and stopped. Cap'n Pine Cone
reached down and threw back the blanket.

The smell of sardines filled the air and everyone looked down at two
small, very frightened kittens. Both were covered in sardine juice
and some white goopy stuff that made their hair stick togther and
stand on end.

"Identify yourselves." said Cap'n Pine Cone.

One of the kitten piped up. "I-I-I-I'm Tabitha........she made me do
it......."
Cap'n Pine Cone glared at the other kitten. Sammy gulped and said,
"I'm...S-S-Sammy.....I didn't mean to.........."

Cap'n Pine Cone started at both kittens for a moment. "Smokey, get
these kittens cleaned up and bring them to my quarters. Frank, help
him out. The rest of you clean up this mess." He turned and left.
Sammy let out a small mew as Smokey scruffed her and carried her out
of the room. Frank did the same to Tabitha and soon the sleeping
quarters were quiet again.

Selena let out a loud sigh. "Well, lets get this cleaned up. Ozzy,
get your brother out of the cubby hole. Lacey, you and Mischief will
head back to the galley to clean up there. Take Kitty Schottland with
you." She paused a moment and sniffed.

"Does anyone need to use the litterbox now?" she asked dryly.

No one replied to her inquiry.



To be continued......





Kristi