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Except for the minor, near-inaudible sounds that old homes make and most humans could not hear, the house was silent. Even the glowing embers in the great room fireplace had ceased to make any pops or snaps. But it still gave off warmth.
On either side of the fireplace laid the two non-human occupants of the house; a white Fox Terrier and a Siamese cat. They were as far from each other as possible and yet still close to the dying heat of the fireplace. A truce in their years-long battle for dominance had been called and both had settled down for the night.
Normally, the fox terrier would be snuggled in the warmth of his masters' bed with them but not tonight. He had to contend with the great room and wait for morning. Used to having the rest of the house to herself, the cat tolerated the intrusion of the dog, but come morning, all agreements would be off. She even dreamed of strategies for tomorrow.
Suddenly, the dog raised his head, his eyes and ears alert. He listened carefully, but wasn't sure if he had heard anything or not. Reluctantly, he woke the cat.
"Did you hear something?" Snowy was all spring coiled tense muscle.
"I know what you are doing." The cat opened one eye but moved nothing else.
"What?"
Opening both eyes and lifting her head, the cat gave Snowy an imperious look. "Because of the houseguests, you got little attention all night. Then, because the masters wanted to mate, you were locked out. Now you are inventing a reason to feel important."
"That is not true! I swear I heard a noise from upstairs!"
"You always think you hear something." If the cat could have rolled her eyes, she would have..
"We have a duty to go check it out!" Snowy was now standing, ready to take off for the upper floors. The cat however looked at Snowy in mild surprise.
"I would ask you if you are insane, but seeing as you are a dog, it would be redundant."
Snowy growled under his breath but the cat didn't even flinch.
"Growling at me won't work so I have no idea why you even try after all this time."
"You are so worthless. You never do anything to earn your keep!"
"Excuse me, but who do you think takes care of the mice, rats and other vermin that come in this house? Why, just yesterday I caught that snake that snuck in through your stupid doggie door!"
"You mean that baby garden snake that wouldn't have threatened a cricket let alone a human?"
"Okay, I've had enough of this." The cat stood and stretched. "I am going to go sleep somewhere you aren't!"
"No, wait!" Snowy hated to admitted it, but while he was very good at smelling things, he couldn't actually see in the dark. The cat would be very handy. "You must come with me!"
"Why should I do that?" The cat sat down, giving Snowy an amused look.
Snowy threw down his ace. "It could be a mouse."
"I doubt it highly." She was almost sure that a rodent could not make it this far into the house without her detection, let alone make it upstairs. However, there was always a possibility, and late night mouse would be a tasty snack. "All right." The cat licked her paw, then rubbed her ear. "This time."
Making their way to the foyer, Snowy walked into the center of the space and sniffed. There were guests staying over and their smells mingled with everything else. It was hard to get anything conclusive. The cat was skirting the walls and had reached the bottom of the stairs, all the time scanning the grayish shadows with her lamp-like eyes looking for any movement.
Seeing that the foyer was clear, they made their way up the stairs to the second floor landing.
"Where should we check first?" Snowy was looking to each side of the landing, not sure if they should go East or West.
"Let's rule out the masters' hall first." The cat set off towards the West wing along the walls.
At the mouth of the hallway, both stopped. Snowy sniffed the air but caught nothing more than the scent of his masters and their human pet, Nestor.
"I don't smell anything strange here." Snowy turned to the cat.
Peering intently down the corridor, her pupils opened to their fullest and took in as much light that streamed through the stained glass window at the far end as was possible. She bobbed her head up and down and back and forth.
"Nothing." The cat licked her right shoulder where she had brushed up against the corner of the wall. "I don't see any movement at all."
"Let's go to the other side." Snowy set off for the East Wing Guest rooms.
Heading towards the guest corridor, the cat continued to look around at all the shadows for signs of life, while Snowy sniff the air. Finally, they reached the opening of the hallway.
Bobbing her head again, the cat looked all around.
"Nothing." The cat sat down and began to wash her face in boredom. "Do you smell anything out of the ordinary?"
Snowy wasn't sure. With so many different people in the house, he couldn't tell what was different for just them and what could be odd for anyone.
"I can't tell from here. We need to go down the hallway and check each door."
"Forget it." The cat lay down and crossed her front paws. "I have done my part. The me part of we is staying right here."
Snowy was not happy but he knew, at this point, getting the cat to follow would be fruitless. He set off down the hallway, sniffing and listening at each door. He wasn't sure about anything since there was nothing but odd smells. But at least he didn't hear anything odd, except the breathing and snoring of the guests. He was starting to feel that the cat might be right and there was nothing here.
Suddenly, there was a small noise at the last door on the left. Snowy walked down and sniffed the air when the door opened and a man stepped out all dressed in black. Snowy knew he wasn't a guest.
Snowy let off a loud series of barks and growls and the man panicked and jumped over Snowy's head. Snowy was not about to let him get away! As lights starting showing under the doors and human shouts filled the air, Snowy was just about to reach the man's ankles when all of a sudden –
The cat let out a scream and a hiss as the man tripped over her. The black-dressed man went tumbling down the stairs and landed in a heap at the bottom. Snowy continued to bark and growl as every light in the place came alive and there were his masters, running down the hall towards him!
Maybe now he could finally get into the room and snuggle in bed with them!
The Next Morning
The bright morning sun filled the sitting room. The cat was thrilled to be on the rug in front of the fireplace, as she was warmed by both the sunlight and the fire. However, neither sun nor fire brightened Snowy's mood.
"I can't believe after all that happened there are no treats!" Snowy huffed in depression.
"It was an inept thief." The cat didn't even open her eyes. "What do you think you deserve? A seven-course meal?"
"Well, more than a pat on the head, I would think."
"So," the cat raised its head and looked pointedly at Snowy, "you only did what you did to get treats? And you dare to accuse me of not earning my keep."
"That is not true! I would have done if for nothing!"
"Well then, don't complain when nothing is what you get."
Snowy hated it when the cat used logic to justify a cruel turn of events.
Archibald and Tintin loved having their breakfast in their private sitting room. After the excitement of the previous evening, their house guests all requested breakfast in bed; still recovering from the "trauma." Personally, Archie thought it was a laugh.
"None of those landlubbers have a clue about real danger," Archie said, stuffing a whole hard-boiled egg in his mouth.
"They just aren't used to it." Tintin was more sympathetic but like Archie, thought it was a lark.
"Well, at least we can have breakfast in peace!" Archie stated.
There was a discreet knock on the door and Nestor walked in carrying a small silver tray with a matching dome cover.
"Here are the items you requested, sir," Nestor said, lowering the tray to Archie's level and removing the dome.
"Ah! Thank you Nestor," Tintin said as Archie reached for the items; a blue and white china bowl and large bone.
"Here you are, my beauty." Archie bent down and placed the bowl, filled with smoked salmon, in front of the cat who was wide-eyed with excitement. "And we didn't forget you, Snowy." Archie held out a huge ham bone that was still filled with the marrow, which Snowy took eagerly and happily.
"That was sweet of you to have the kitchen prepare those." Tintin was always touched by Archie's kindness, especially when it came to the animals.
"Nonsense," Archie said, "they deserve their rewards."
"You know, you really should consider picking a name for that poor cat."
"Why?! Do you believe she will come if I call her?"
"No, but it might be nice to call her something other than, "my beauty" or "cat" or "damnable beast!"
Archie just shrugged and Tintin laughed. It was an old argument that frankly, was more fun to perform than actually resolve.
Snowy gnawed at the bone contentedly while the cat delicately ate her salmon.
"Ha, ha. I got a tasty bone and you just got a bowl of stinky fish!" Snowy swirled his tongue over the bone and marrow in a blissful daze.
The cat didn't even look up at Snowy. "Oh yes, because an old bone is so much better than a smoked salmon. I hope I will be able to cope with the heartache."
"Flea-bitten Feline"
"Mangy Mutt."