playing in a sandbox?”
I shook my head. That was a scary thought.
“It was only because of a municipal bylaw that they couldn’t keep it,” Martin said.
“The same sort of bylaw that almost cost Mr. McCurdy his farm,” Nick said.
“Similar,” Martin agreed. “But that was the only law that got that lion away from that unsafe, poorly supervised situation. I’m not against well-supervised places where the animals are cared for by professionals —”
“Like Mr. McCurdy’s place,” I said.
“Like his place. I just think there has to be more done to protect the public and to regulate this massive illegal trade. There are magazines, websites and public auctions where exotics are being bought and sold on a daily basis.”
“I didn’t know that,” Nick said.
“Me, neither,” my mother said.
“I didn’t, either,” I admitted. “But I was wondering, Martin. How do you know about all this stuff?”
The police chief’s eyes widened ever so slightly, and he got that sort of look a kid gets when he’s been caught in a lie — but, of course, I knew Martin wasn’t lying.
“That’s a good question,” my mother said.
“I’m … I’m the chief of police. I have to know about everything. It’s part of my job.”
“Knowing about exotic animals and the illegal trade is part of your job?” I asked.
“Of course it is, especially since we have Mr. McCurdy’s place here,” he said.
“I guess that makes sense,” my mother said.
It did make sense, but there was something about the way Martin had looked that made me wonder if it made
complete
sense. Was there something he wasn’t telling us?
“Just think,” Martin said, “Angus is having money problems, but he has animals that are worth literally over a million dollars.”
“That much?” Nick asked.
“Figure it out,” Martin said. “The tigers alone are worth a couple of hundred thousand dollars. Throw in the jaguars, lions, leopards, the elephant, the black bear and all the other animals and a million dollars is maybe a low estimate.”
“But they’re only worth that to the exotic animal traders, the people who want to slaughter the animals,” I said.
“Of course,” Martin said, “but for lots of people it would be tempting to make just one sale. The sale of one tiger would be enough to pay for all the other animals to live and to expand the farm to allow many other animals to be saved.”
“You’re not saying Angus should do that, are you?” my mother asked.
“Of course not,” Martin said.
“Good, because there’s no way he ever would,” I said. “No way. He’d rather sacrifice himself than even one of those animals.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Martin said.
“I
know
I’m right.”
Martin got up from the table and picked up his plate. “That was, as always, a wonderful meal. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” both my mother and I said. I didn’t know why she said
you’re welcome
, since I was the one who had fixed most of the meal.
“I hate to eat and run, but I better get going,” Martin said. “I was thinking I should take a little spin over to see Angus and Vladimir. Just to make sure everything’s okay.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” my mother said.
I wasn’t certain it
was
such a good idea. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut and not mentioned the stranger to anybody. But good or bad, it was done.
Chapter 7
Quickly, I walked down the laneway to Tiger Town. My body had been in school all day, but my head had been here at the animal farm. In part I was thinking about Kanga and Roo. Another part was wondering what had happened to the stranger, though I was pretty sure I knew the answer to that. I just hoped Vladimir hadn’t done anything that might get him into trouble. And while I was worried about that, something else was preoccupying me. I was thinking about a conversation I wanted to have with Mr. McCurdy and Vladimir. I wanted to sit them both down and have a
I shook my head. That was a scary thought.
“It was only because of a municipal bylaw that they couldn’t keep it,” Martin said.
“The same sort of bylaw that almost cost Mr. McCurdy his farm,” Nick said.
“Similar,” Martin agreed. “But that was the only law that got that lion away from that unsafe, poorly supervised situation. I’m not against well-supervised places where the animals are cared for by professionals —”
“Like Mr. McCurdy’s place,” I said.
“Like his place. I just think there has to be more done to protect the public and to regulate this massive illegal trade. There are magazines, websites and public auctions where exotics are being bought and sold on a daily basis.”
“I didn’t know that,” Nick said.
“Me, neither,” my mother said.
“I didn’t, either,” I admitted. “But I was wondering, Martin. How do you know about all this stuff?”
The police chief’s eyes widened ever so slightly, and he got that sort of look a kid gets when he’s been caught in a lie — but, of course, I knew Martin wasn’t lying.
“That’s a good question,” my mother said.
“I’m … I’m the chief of police. I have to know about everything. It’s part of my job.”
“Knowing about exotic animals and the illegal trade is part of your job?” I asked.
“Of course it is, especially since we have Mr. McCurdy’s place here,” he said.
“I guess that makes sense,” my mother said.
It did make sense, but there was something about the way Martin had looked that made me wonder if it made
complete
sense. Was there something he wasn’t telling us?
“Just think,” Martin said, “Angus is having money problems, but he has animals that are worth literally over a million dollars.”
“That much?” Nick asked.
“Figure it out,” Martin said. “The tigers alone are worth a couple of hundred thousand dollars. Throw in the jaguars, lions, leopards, the elephant, the black bear and all the other animals and a million dollars is maybe a low estimate.”
“But they’re only worth that to the exotic animal traders, the people who want to slaughter the animals,” I said.
“Of course,” Martin said, “but for lots of people it would be tempting to make just one sale. The sale of one tiger would be enough to pay for all the other animals to live and to expand the farm to allow many other animals to be saved.”
“You’re not saying Angus should do that, are you?” my mother asked.
“Of course not,” Martin said.
“Good, because there’s no way he ever would,” I said. “No way. He’d rather sacrifice himself than even one of those animals.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Martin said.
“I
know
I’m right.”
Martin got up from the table and picked up his plate. “That was, as always, a wonderful meal. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” both my mother and I said. I didn’t know why she said
you’re welcome
, since I was the one who had fixed most of the meal.
“I hate to eat and run, but I better get going,” Martin said. “I was thinking I should take a little spin over to see Angus and Vladimir. Just to make sure everything’s okay.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” my mother said.
I wasn’t certain it
was
such a good idea. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut and not mentioned the stranger to anybody. But good or bad, it was done.
Chapter 7
Quickly, I walked down the laneway to Tiger Town. My body had been in school all day, but my head had been here at the animal farm. In part I was thinking about Kanga and Roo. Another part was wondering what had happened to the stranger, though I was pretty sure I knew the answer to that. I just hoped Vladimir hadn’t done anything that might get him into trouble. And while I was worried about that, something else was preoccupying me. I was thinking about a conversation I wanted to have with Mr. McCurdy and Vladimir. I wanted to sit them both down and have a
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