Nick Thorsby finished his
breakfast, a piece of toast and coffee. Movement by the easy chair
caught his
eye. A mouse poked its nose into the air, sniffing, hoping for some
crumbs.
ÒGet
lost!Ó Nick tramped his foot on the wooden floor, and the mouse
disappeared.
The little critters were getting awfully bold. But, the truth be told,
Nick
didnÕt mind them that much, except for the mess. He had lived alone for
most of
his seventy years and the mice were company. Nick figured you couldn't
be fussy
about some things.
ÒGuess
I better feed that hog,Ó he said aloud, though there was nobody but the
mouse
to hear him in the little cabin. He sat down on the front porch and
pulled on a
pair of rubber boots.
Nick
raised pigs and sometimes bred them with wild boars. In the fall he had
sold or
slaughtered the rest of the pigs. Once he had the money, he would start
to
rebuild the stock. Now he had only one animal left, a boar he had
bought a few
weeks before. A huge creature. The big one was special and he was
worried about
it. The past few days it had been behaving oddly. He hoped it wasnÕt
sick.
Nick
swatted at a mosquito. If the pesky bugs got inside, they made sleeping
miserable. He pulled the cabin door shut and heard the lock click. Uh
oh. It
wouldnÕt be the first time he'd locked himself out.
He
reached in his pocket and pulled out a key ring. Satisfied, he twirled
the keys
on his finger as he crossed the yard to the corral beside the rundown
barn.
Usually the boar heard him coming and squealed, knowing it was time to
eat.
This time, there was no sound. The farmer unlatched the gate and
stepped inside
the pen. At first, he didnÕt see the boar.
ÒNot
again.Ó Nick shook his head. ÒNow where did you get out this time?Ó
He
began to walk around the pen, looking for a telltale broken board. Then
he
heard a sound by the water trough. He turned to see the boar struggle
to its
feet. The animal was caked with mud and the long tusks at the sides of
its
mouth were filthy.
Nick
took two steps toward the boar then stopped. He saw the long strings of
saliva
hanging from the mouth, the wild eyes, and knew.
ÒAw
no,Ó Nick said and whirled to flee.
He
almost made it to the gate before the boar caught him.