From 'Short Story Collection' by Hubert Crowell
Short Story – Non-Fiction
Day one
I awoke early in the morning about 3:00 A.M. to the
sound of stirring above the drop ceiling in our basement bathroom, the
weather-had turn cold and had driven something into our warm home. We have
lived in the same house for more than thirty years and have had only one mouse
get in during the first few years that we occupied the house, so I was
surprised. As I do most of the work or had in the past, I was sure that there
were no openings that a mouse could get through but apparently I was wrong. Our
parents live upstairs on the main floor and we now occupy the basement.
Over the years we have on two
occasions, a squirrel that came down the chimney and at that time with a cat in
the house it caused quite a scene with the cat guarding the fire place and the
squirrel starring back through the screen. Before it was out the door, the
squirrel ran down the hall and into the bedroom, bounced off the wall and then
returned to the front of the house and out the front door.
The second squirrel came down
the chimney after we had an evening fire or maybe during the fire. The next
morning we could hear him in the chimney and he did not sound too good. Later
in the day it got quiet and I knew that something had to be done. Chimneys'
have a space behind the flue to prevent rain water from entering the fireplace
and I assumed that must be where he was, dead I hoped. I put on a glove and
tried to see if I could get my arm up and through the flue opening. After
twisting and turning my arm, I manage to get my elbow up above the flue, now to
find the squirrel. I was not sure if he was dead, but at least he was not
moving.
Back to the mouse, we found
mice droppings in the upstairs kitchen and a box in the pantry behind the
stairs that had been chewed into. He had found his food supply. After cleaning
up the mess all agreed that something had to done immediately. So I headed off
to the closest store to find a mouse trap. Do you know how hard it is to find a
mouse trap today, after checking four stores I finely located a package of two
old fashion spring loaded mouse traps.
That night setting one in the
kitchen loaded with fresh cheese and another above the drop ceiling in the
basement bathroom, I was sure that Willard would not last through the night.
Day
Two
Waking up again early in the
morning to the same sounds and eager to see if we had trapped the mouse, I
checked the traps, no luck, he ignored the cheese and went for the bag of potato
chips in the pantry. Mouse droppings now left a trail down the steps and toward
the washer and dryer located under the steps. After cleaning up the mess again,
it was decided that a more serious plan had to be developed. Dad mentioned that
they liked bacon better than cheese so that would be the bait for the night.
Stuffing a sheet under the basement door and setting the trap at the top of the
stairs, we retired for the night.
Day
Three
About 1:30 in the morning I
heard a loud noise on the steps and relaxed knowing that I had succeeded and
won the battle. The next morning I was in shock, no mouse just blood about half
way down the steps, soaked into unpainted wood, I had just rebuilt the steps
and they were not painted yet. After about an hour of scrubbing and cleaning
the search was on. I had to find that mouse. Two hours of searching with mirror
and flashlight into every nook cranny and hole I could find would produce no
mouse. The basement got a thorough cleaning that day. The only sign that I could
find was a drain pipe that had the dust wiped clean in one spot at the furnace.
We had the furnace replaced the year before and I could see completely around
it and even with a mirror I was able to check under the tub in the adjacent
bathroom. Now we had a different problem with a possible dead mouse to start
smelling.
Just to be sure that he was
dead, I set the trap again at the top of the stairs and blocked the space under
the door.
Day
Four
All was quiet, I was not sure
if that is a good thing or not, where was that mouse?
Day
Five
The mouse survived! Last night
at the dinner table I prayed that the mouse would not smell, well the prayer
was answered, he apparently recovered after a day of rest and was as active as
ever.
Before we turned in for the
night we decided not to take a chance and go ahead and block the space under
the upstairs door again. I assumed that the mouse, if still alive would not be
able to climb the stairs so I set the trap behind the washer in the basement. A
little after midnight my wife placed her hand on my chest and said, did you
hear that! Yes I hear the mouse above the ceiling stirring around again, he
seemed very much alive. In the morning I found one mouse drop on the sheet that
I used under the door and the trap was empty.
The best I could tell he must
have been on top of the trap when it tripped two days earlier and it threw him
up against the upright corner of the hand rail on the stairs. This would
explain the blood splatters on the first step down with none on the trap or on
the top step. That must have been quite a ride. I believed that he was wise to
the trap and I would have to find a different type or maybe some poison.
Day
Six
This morning was quite, and
there were no signs that the mouse had been stirring around during the night.
The night before, I placed four of those sticky traps, two spring loaded traps
and crammed the sheet under the upstairs door again. I doubted that he had left
and I thought that he might still be very much alive. Now this had become a
test between man and mouse, the score is man = 1, Willard = 0. He apparently
decided that the stairs were blocked and his food supply had been cut off. He
had learned about those spring loaded traps. He could have been just laying low
and waiting for me to give up. Of course there was always the possibly he had
left, though I didn’t know how. We lived in a brick home that was quite tight
and I knew of all the outside openings that have been made over the years and
had checked them to be sure that they were still plugged. I would give him a
few more days before giving up.
Our parents were ninety and
ninety three, they both got around fine but Dad seldom went out. They attend
church on Sunday morning by watching TV. We had gone to church and just before
it was time to start, I received a frantic call from Mom. They had just
finished breakfast and she was straightening up the pillows on the built-in
bench at the end of the small eating area at the end of the kitchen. She told
me in a strong voice to come home as soon as church was over and take care of
this rat! She was in her chair and would not be moving until I got there.
It was hiding in the pillows,
apparently during the movie the wife and I were watching, the mouse or rat went
up the steps and into the kitchen and hid. After the movie I blocked off the
door at the top of the stairs and went to bed.
I got the whole story when I
arrived, Mom said it was the size of a squirrel and it jumped off the bench
when she moved the pillows and ran into the living room, around the corner
toward the TV console. I checked everywhere, and could not find a thing, not
even droppings. I didn't think he had eaten anything in at least three days. By
now we had placed all food into plastic containers, microwave, oven and the
refrigerator. I had shuffled all the traps around, placing two upstairs and
four down stairs and baited them with peanut butter. Phil, my son-in-law, said
that was the best bait. Now we just waited again and the score is man = 1,
Willard = 1.
Three
in the afternoon
I managed to locate the rest
of my family and joined them for lunch. Phil and I were not allowed to discuss
the mouse subject. My wife, Kathy and I returned home around three and checked
with Mom. She said that she had not been out of her room and had heard some
noises from the living room. I started my search again, checking under all the
furniture and any place I though a mouse could hide. One place I had not been
able to check was under the TV console, this is an old oak free standing armoire
that I had converted into a book shelf and TV console and it was very heavy. We
had installed it in front of the seldom used carport door and I had sealed the
door. This sat next to the kitchen door and between the TV and the kitchen we
had an empty bird cage that stands about 3 feet high for decoration, it was
about 4 inches from the wall at a slight angle. The TV console was about 3
inches from the wall and locked door.
I could just get my hand flat
and with my fingers I could feel only the edge of the back opening under the
console. I would not be able to get a mirror in a position so I thought about a
small digital camera. With some difficulty I was able to take several pictures
of the space and though they were slightly burry I could not make out any
varmints.
Six
o'clock that afternoon
I was down stairs on the
computer and Kathy and Mom were discussing the "Rat," when I was told
that I would have to get a bigger trap. With some disgust I headed off for Home
Depot before they closed and purchased a large spring loaded rat trap. Loaded
it with up with peanut butter and set it along the kitchen wall. We all settled
in for the evening, Kathy was watching TV and I was back on the computer
writing an article on Super bubbles in space.
Ten
o'clock that night
I heard the upstairs door open
and Kathy whisper to come upstairs, where we sat watching TV and facing the
kitchen door, Kathy sets on the right at an angle to the door with the birdcage
just blocking her view of the edge of the doorway. She saw the mouse trying to
come out of the kitchen, but when it saw her it ran back. I was relieved as
Kathy was calm and referred to it as a mouse and not a rat. I searched the
kitchen and assumed that he must be under the refrigerator. Now that we had him
trapped in the kitchen, I moved all the traps to the door way hoping to block
his escape. Two small spring loaded traps, which he has learned to avoid, and
four sticky traps about 5 inches long. The rest of the space in the doorway I
blocked with a box.
Kathy called me up three times
during the next hour. The light over the kitchen sink was on and she could see
him come to the door behind the birdcage and then dart back. She was not sure
now which direction he was coming from, the TV or the kitchen and she had only
seen his head.
Eleven
o'clock
The last time she called me up she told me to set
down and wait he would show up. From where I sat I could see into the kitchen,
so we waited. I guess he could see me and would not come out. About eleven
thirty we turned out the lights, except for a night light that is close to the
kitchen door and decided to wait a while longer. We did not want to spend
another night with a mouse in the house!
We sat there for almost an
hour, I dosed off slightly once and Kathy was praying that it would come out.
As I sat there, I was trying to figure out what I would do when it did appear.
Would it take the bait? Or would I have a chase on my hands.
Midnight
I could just make out a dark
form at the edge of the birdcage, he was coming from the TV and he looked
larger than I expected, the birdcage bottom is about two inches high and I
could see part of his body over the top. I did not move and Kathy could not see
him due to the dim light. I watched as he slowly moved out to inspect the
spring loaded traps, and then along the doorway blocked by the sticky traps. He
was not taking the bait and I still could not make out his size, but I was now
convinced that it was not a small mouse!
I moved my arm slightly and he
darted back behind the birdcage. I froze again and waited, he again returned to
inspect the door way. Kathy had not seen him and we both were thankful. He was
hungry, bold and ready for food. We heard a crash and sliding noise as he slid
across the kitchen floor and under a shelf that I had built. We jumped up and
turned on the lights. I ran into the kitchen to try and catch him when I
realized that he was as big as my fist with his body at least five inches long
and a much longer tail. He had one foot stuck in the sticky trap and it
prevented him from getting through the opening behind the side of the homemade
shelf. I could clearly see his head and body on one side of the board and his
tail, foot and trap on the other.
There are those times in life
when God sends us help, even when we don't ask for it, and I sure was thankful
for the help now. I ran back into the living room trying to find some way to
get hold of him without getting bit. I spotted the tongs on the fireplace and
grabbed them, heading back to the kitchen. With one quick motion I reached for
his tail with the tongs, which have only a very narrow grip on the end, and to
my amazement I had him by the tail! He was squealing all the way to the front
door.
I left him to figure out how
to get that sticky trap off of his foot and hoped that I had seen the last of
him. Now I am asking God to show me how he got in and where to look for holes,
or could we have left a door open for a short time? Man = 2, Willard =2 and
free.
Day
Seven, The Rat is back!
Kathy called me at work, and
said that the rat is trying to get in. He was climbing on the front window sill
and looking in! Is this Halloween? The date was October 30, 2006, this was
beginning to sound like one of those horror movies. I should be careful what I
pray for, I was about to be shown how he got in.
While we were talking on the
phone she heard a crying noise in the chimney and we feared that he may be in
there behind the damper. I guess we upset him when we threw him out. He had
lost the sticky trap and was now bolder than ever.
I headed for Home Depot again,
this time for the strongest rat poison I could find. I checked the damper in
the fireplace and found that I had left it open all summer. That is most likely
how he got in the first time, and now we were not sure if he had already
returned. I found a mirror and tried to look behind the damper, but it was
impossible. All was quiet in there so I closed it and placed the poison packets
all around the house. I now had a deep appreciation for this rodent and his determination,
He was deserving of the name I gave him. I guess the score was now man = 2,
Willard = 3.
Around ten that night Kathy
called me back upstairs to check out a noise she heard in the kitchen, one of
the sticky traps was turned over and in the middle of the floor. We started the
watch routine again and we sat quietly in the dark for over hour. I remembered
an old wire trap that I had in the building out back, that was about ten inches
wide by eighteen inches long and had a door on each end with the bait on a trip
platform in the middle, and I set it up and baited it with the peanut butter,
blocking the remaining door opening and waited again. Kathy retired around
eleven and I camped out on the love seat in front of the fireplace where I
could watch the kitchen door way by the night light.
A little after one in the
morning I dosed off and woke suddenly when something touched my right arm! I
got a glimpse of something flashing toward the kitchen, it looked small but I
was not sure if I was dreaming or not. I waited awhile to see if anything
moved, then got up and turned on the lights, there on the carpet just before
you enter the kitchen was a fresh rat drop!
Tired, I gave up for the
night, moved the large cage out to the carport, cleared the doorway and went
down stairs. Kathy informed me that she heard a scratching sound over the
ceiling in our bedroom while I was upstairs. I went back up and re-baited the
traps with fresh peanut butter, moved one spring loaded trap and one sticky
trap down stairs, then retired for the night.
Day
nine four in the morning
I awoke at four and all was
quiet, but I knew that I had better check the traps, so I got dressed and went
upstairs, turned the lights on and one of the three traps in the door way was
missing, I search the living room and then the kitchen no sign of a rat or
sticky trap, I could not believe it! Back in the kitchen and under a free
standing cabinet, behind a potato jar was the trap up on its edge. It was a
mess with hair and much more stuck all over it, but no rat. All of a sudden the
paper around the edge a flower pot moved and I started looking closer. He was
behind the cabinet with two feet on the wall chair rail and two feet on the
back of the cabinet top. I ran for the fireplace tongs but I could not get to
him, without him being able to get away.
I went and got the wire cage
trap from the carport and set it next to the cabinet and blocked off an area so
he would go into the trap. I then went to the other side and flushed him out.
He ran down and into the trap and back out again before I could get the trap
door closed. He headed to the back of the kitchen and under the pillows on the
bench.
I proceeded to build another
barricade across the middle of the kitchen with the wire cage trap in the
middle open on both ends so he could see through and take the easy route. He
ran right through the trap jumping over the plate that trips the trap and into
his hiding place in the living room under the TV console. Willard had won
again! Now that I knew where he was it was time for the poison.
It was five in the morning, so
I made a cup of coffee, ate some breakfast, set the poison on each side of the
console, turned out the lights and waited. A little after six I heard him
munching on the pellets, I continued to let him eat for about 15 minutes before
getting up. Now I had to keep him upstairs until Rid-A-Critter arrived. I found
another hardware store that had a large plastic mouse trap that I could leave
the front open and place water with more rat bait. It had a hidden spring that
may hold his head in the trap. I set that up next to the opening along the wall
with the other bait hoping he would get thirsty and go for it.
Two in
the afternoon and help has arrived!
Jeff
and Brandon with Rid-A-Critter were eager to take over. I gave them a brief
history and showed them where Willard was hiding. They got their net, gloves, a
three foot grabber and started to work. After about ten minutes of checking
under the TV console with flashlight and mirror, they spotted him. The TV
console had a brace in the middle that blocked my view so that I could see only
less than one side at a time, when I would move to the other side the rat would
move also, so I was never sure if he was under there. After we moved it away
from the wall, they could get a good view of him. Now it started to get
interesting as they tried to position the net and flush him out. After several
attempts he escaped, ran over my foot and headed down the hall toward the back
of the house.
Mom was in the bedroom with
the door shut and Dad was in his chair writing a letter. He was under the desk,
then under Dad's chair, up a lamp, across the book shelves and then back under
the desk again. My grandson and I had the door way blocked and they're sure was
a lot of excitement in that small room.
He got into the lower drawer
of the desk and as they were taking the items out, he moved out the back and up
to the next drawer.
When they removed the middle
drawer, he moved up into the top drawer until there were no more drawers to
hide in.
With the glove hand they
finely caught him. Out of the house at last. In the bed of their truck, he
looked harmless enough still and dead, or so we thought, thinking they had left
I glanced out the window to see them scrambling around the back of the truck.
He had come back to life!