Tiger Trap (12 page)

“Wait!” Anthony yelled, and Grey Suit pivoted back to look at him.

Obviously, Anthony had seen me move and had also noticed Grey Suit was about to turn and spot me.

“Before you do
anything
hasty,” Anthony said, “I need you to
think
about what you’re about to do. Think before you
act
!”

This was great! Anthony was going to keep talking and distract them. I came up right behind the strangers.

“Just think,” Anthony said. “Sometimes it’s best just to
wait
. Anytime there’s a gun involved people can get
hurt
, even
killed
!”

“No one’s going to get hurt as long as you all do as you’re told,” the man with the pistol said.

We’d soon see who was going to tell who what to do. I thrust my hands through the bars and grabbed the arm of the man holding the gun. He shrieked and jumped, pulling me forward and slamming me face first into the bars. I held on tightly as he shook and then spun around, aiming the pistol right at me! There was a thunderous explosion and a brilliant flash of light as I tumbled backwards. The gun was in my hands!

A stampede of bodies followed as Vladimir, Anthony and Mr. McCurdy rushed forward. The six men started fighting, and my mother began screaming.

I leaped to my feet. “Hold it right there!” I screamed, holding the gun in front of me as if I were in a cop movie.

Nobody stopped. Nobody had even heard me. I aimed the pistol at the floor. I’d never fired a gun before. I’d never even
held
a weapon before. I squeezed the trigger, and the gun jumped as the bullet shot into the floorboards. All at once everybody froze.

“That’s better!” I shouted, holding the pistol in front of me but making sure it wasn’t actually aimed at anybody. “Now, you three, get up against the wall — now!” I ordered, and they backed up.

“Here, Sarah, you better give me the gun before somebody gets hurt,” Anthony said.

I went to hand him the pistol, then stopped. “Nobody gets anything until I get out of this cage and out of this costume.”

Anthony smirked, then smiled and finally saluted.

“You’re going to love this headline!” Nick said as he handed me the evening newspaper.

There, in big letters that filled the entire top of the front page, was: GORILLA GETS GANG! Underneath was a picture of me, still in the monkey suit, holding the head under my arm. The reporter had arrived just after Martin and the rest of the police officers. He’d been listening in on the police band radio and had almost beaten the police to the scene of the crime. The story described the arrest of the three men and gave all the details about the others who had been apprehended earlier and the animals the sting operation had saved. The article made it sound as if I was some kind of hero. All I really was, however, was the idiot in the gorilla suit who had forgotten my brother was watching us on the monitors in the control room.

In all of the excitement and with all of the adrenaline coursing through me, I’d forgotten that Nick was there, watching and listening, and as soon as things had gone wrong he had called the police. That was what Anthony had been trying to say to me. He hadn’t just been attempting to distract the criminals but had been warning me to
think
and
wait
. I hadn’t understood him, though.

It was just luck that the bullet that was fired when I snatched the gun hadn’t hit anybody. Thinking back — and now after a good night’s sleep I actually was thinking — that was without a doubt the stupidest thing I’d ever done in my whole life. And now, thanks to Nick and those cameras, the whole world had watched it. The morning news had shown the recording twice — once in slow motion. It was eerie seeing just how close my head had been to the gun when it discharged.

Mr. McCurdy walked into the farmhouse kitchen along with Calvin. The chimp raced over and threw his arms around me, giving me a bone-crunching hug. Then, before he even had a chance to think about kissing me, I leaned over and kissed
him
right on the forehead. Calvin threw back his head and howled with laughter, then released his grip.

“I guess a little time in a gorilla suit made you appreciate Calvin more,” Mr. McCurdy said.

“I think it’s more like a few weeks away from here has made me appreciate everybody more,” I said.

“Even me?” Nick asked.

I smiled. “Even you. But most of all I think I appreciate just how much I enjoy being here with everybody and all the animals.”

“You don’t have to worry about ever being away again,” Mr. McCurdy said. “The new changes will make sure of that.”

“Changes?” I asked anxiously.

“Maybe I should wait for Anthony to announce it officially,” Mr. McCurdy said.

I wasn’t sure I’d like anything Anthony would say. I knew in my head he was one of the good guys, but it was still confusing. First he was a bad guy, then a good guy, then a bad guy, and now he was a good guy again.

“I have a question,” I said to Mr. McCurdy.

“Yes?”

“One of the reasons we came here was because Kanga and Roo weren’t in their pen. Why did you move them into the barn?”

“I wanted to make sure they were safe. I know how much those two little joeys mean to you and, what with all those bad people coming around, I wanted them out of harm’s way.”

That made sense. I heard the front door open, followed by footsteps, then Anthony appeared in the kitchen. But it wasn’t the Anthony I knew. His hair was short again, and he was in clean jeans and a T-shirt. Gone were the cowboy hat and awful caiman boots, the latter replaced by a pair of running shoes. The evil-looking goatee was gone, too.

“You look so different,” I gasped.

“I feel so different. It’s good to be back wearing my own clothes, being myself again, after dressing and acting like a scumbag. You know I was just acting, right?”

“Of course,” I blurted out.

“You even helped me shape the character and the costume,” Anthony said.

“I did?”

“I kept watching how you reacted. When I did, said or wore something you hated, I knew I was on the right track.”

“But I never said anything.”

“I wasn’t listening to your words, but watching your reactions. You really can’t hide anything.”

“Glad I could help.” I wanted to change the subject. “Mr. McCurdy said you were going to tell us about something, some sort of announcement.”

“A big announcement. I was going to wait for a press conference to make the formal statement, but there’s no harm in you and your brother knowing now. We don’t need to keep secrets anymore.” Anthony paused. Maybe he’d changed costumes, but he still retained that sense of drama. “Angus has signed papers giving Tiger Town to the Wildlife Conservation Foundation.”

“He did what?” I cried. I turned to Mr. McCurdy. “But where will you live?”

“I’ll live right here on the farm. Both me and Vladimir.”

“They better live here,” Anthony said. “As part of the agreement, they’ll be employed as the director and executive director of the park — jobs they’re free to hold as long as they wish.”

“And we’re not just getting paid to do the same things we were doing for free,” Mr. McCurdy said. “The foundation’s going to pay for the continued expansion and operation of Tiger Town.”

“More than that,” Anthony said, “we’re going to try something here that’s never been done before. We’re going to have a tiger-breeding program, and that program’s going to attempt to release those tigers back into the wild.”

“That’s amazing!” Nick said.

“And Vladimir and me can’t wait to get started,” Mr. McCurdy said. “Isn’t that wonderful, Sarah?”

“Yeah, wonderful … it’s just that … just that …”

“That it’s never been done before,” Anthony said, completing the sentence I didn’t want to finish.

I nodded.

“You’re right,” he agreed. “It’s never been done before, but if anybody can do it, I think Angus and Vladimir can.”

“We’re sure enough going to try,” Mr. McCurdy said, “but we’re going to need a lot of help.”

“You have the full support of the foundation,” Anthony said. “We’ll provide anything and everything you’ll need.”

“I might still need a little more help,” Mr. McCurdy said. He looked directly at my brother and me. “Nick? Sarah?”

“You know you can count on me!” Nick said enthusiastically. “You couldn’t keep me away even when you tried!”

“That’s my boy!” Mr. McCurdy said. “And you, Sarah?”

I shrugged. “I’ll do whatever I can, but I really don’t know if I can be much help.”

Mr. McCurdy grinned. “Sarah, without you, practically none of the wonderful things that have happened around here would have ever happened. We need you, girl.”

“Then I’m in for whatever comes next.”

Tiger by the Tail

eBook ISBN 978-1-4431-2899-5

When tornado-force winds cause Sarah and Nicholas Fraser to seek shelter in the neighbour’s barn, they are more than a little surprised by who they encounter there. The property belongs to Old McCurdy, a retired circus trainer who plays ringmaster to its wild residents: a cheetah, a chimpanzee, a python and a tiger named Buddha.

When mischievous teens break in and cut the chains to Buddha’s cage, Mr. McCurdy needs Sarah and Nicholas’s help to track down the tiger on the loose. What’s more, the kids have to think fast before their mother launches a lawsuit that will remove the animals from Mr. McCurdy’s care. Can Sarah and Nicholas save the day, or will the zoo next door be no more?

Tiger in Trouble

eBook ISBN 978-1-4431-2900-8

Nicholas and Sarah Fraser are going to spend a week at an exotic animal camp. They should be excited but the truth is they’d rather not leave their friends and life at home. Besides, they feel like they already know about exotic animals. After all, they spend time every day with their neighbour, Mr. McCurdy, helping out at his farm with his tiger, cheetah, chimpanzee and python.

When they arrive at camp, the siblings quickly find out there are many things they don’t know about exotic animals — things like the value of a dead tiger. Now that they know, can they do what it takes to save a big cat’s life?

Tiger Town

eBook ISBN 978-1-4431-3301-2

Sarah and Nicholas Fraser are helping to install a whole new batch of rescued animals on Mr. McCurdy’s farm. It’s a lot of work and very expensive to care for them, but the animals are now in good hands.

But when a young boy runs into the big cats’ barn, mayhem breaks loose. The mayor questions the security of the exotic animal farm, and soon they’re threatened by an overzealous inspector and plagued by a pushy reporter. To make matters worse, Sarah and Nick’s mother is dating the acting police chief! Whose side will she take in the fight for Tiger Town?

Eric Walters began writing in 1993, when he was teaching a grade five class. His students were reluctant readers and writers, and Eric wrote his first novel,
Stand Your Ground
, to encourage them to become more involved in literature. Since then, Eric has published more than eighty bestselling novels that have been enthusiastically received by children and young adults, and critically acclaimed by teachers, reviewers and parents. His stories incorporate themes that reflect Eric’s background in education and social work, and his commitment to humanitarian and social-justice issues. Eric’s novels have won more than one hundred awards, many of them children’s choice awards, and have been published in thirteen languages. Eric is always busy on the presentation circuit as well. He has spoken to over 1,400,000 children in schools across the country and around the world.

Scholastic Canada Ltd.

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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Walters, Eric, 1957-, author

Tiger trap / Eric Walters.

Originally published: Toronto : Dundurn Group, 2007.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-1-4431-2415-7 (pbk.).--ISBN 978-1-4431-3302-9 (html)

I. Title.

PS8595.A598T588 2014 jC813’.54 C2013-904639-9

C2013-904640-2

First edition published by Dundurn Press in 2007.

This edition published by Scholastic Canada in 2013.

Cover photograph copyright © eROMAZe/iStock.

Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Eric Walters.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read this e-book on-screen. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher, Scholastic Canada Ltd., 604 King Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5V 1E1, Canada.

First eBook edition: August 2014