The two men faced each other across the desk, Milton smiling and slouched back in his seat. He seemed to have forgotten why Fender was there.
"Interesting place you have here," the Ratkill man said, breaking the silence.
"Yes, it is," the Warden agreed enthusiastically.
"Have you been here long as Warden?"
Milton thought for a moment, his smile still beaming. "Just over two years, I think. The Centre itself the Epping Forest Conservation Centre, to give it its full title was only opened nine years ago, so it's still in its youth." He gave a small almost embarrassed laugh.
"In fact, most of my staff are rather youthful apart from myself and my wife, of course."
Fender nodded politely, smiling at the man's self-deprecating humour.
He hoped the Warden would soon get to the business in hand. Tell me about your rodent problem," he prompted.
"Oh yes. Mustn't waste your time." The Warden leaned forward, elbows on the desk, his face serious and his tones hushed. "It started a couple of days ago, actually. Nothing much, just signs, you understand."
"What kind of signs?"
Well..." A light tap at the door interrupted the Warden's next words.
"Yes, come in," he called out.
The door opened and a small, thin girl, clad in jeans and sweater, entered the room. She carried a tray bearing two coffees, milk and sugar, which she placed on the Warden's desk.
This is Jan," said Milton and the girl pushed her gold-framed glasses back towards the bridge of her nose, giving Fender a nervous smile.
"Jan saves our lives every day by cooking our meals and providing us with gallons of coffee," the Warden said as Fender smiled back at the young girl. "She's only filling in a year between school and agricultural college, actually, but I must say, she'd make an excellent chef. Perhaps we can persuade you to remain one, eh, Jan?"
The girl shook her head and said in a quiet voice, "I don't think so, Mr. Milton." She left the room, keeping her face low to hide a blush.
Fender hadn't seen a girl blush for quite some time.
"You were saying?" he said as Milton handed him a coffee from the tray.
"Saying?"
"About the rodent signs."
"Oh, yes, forgive me. Yes, the signs. Well, we keep examples of forest wildlife in pens outside the classrooms the children love to see the animals, you know. Rabbits, hares, squirrels even had a fox until recently. A couple of nights ago, the pens were broken into."
Fender poured milk into his coffee, then looked steadily at the Warden.
Were the animals killed?"
"Good gracious, no! Nothing like that'
Fender relaxed in his seat.
"No, it was just their food that was stolen. But the animals, when we found them next day, were in a state of shock, do you see? Absolutely terrified. Hadn't even attempted to escape through the holes in the wire left by whatever broke in."
"It could have been anything. Maybe the fox you had before returned it would if it knew it could find food here."
"Oh, no, the fox died."
Then another."
"Yes, it could be possible. There are about fifty foxes that we know of still living in the forest. But we found droppings, you see. And they certainly weren't those of foxes."
"Did you keep them? Can I see them?"
"Of course you can. That's why you're here. I'll take you along to the laboratory in a moment."
What shape are they?"
"Roundish, spindle-shaped, I'd say."
Were they in groups?"
"Yes, yes. Small groups."
Milton could read nothing in Fender's expression.
"Anything else?" the rat catcher asked.
We have an outhouse round at the back of the buildings where we keep the refuse. All the kitchen waste is put there. Yesterday morning we found the bottom of the door had been gnawed through."
Fender sighed. "Yes, rats would do that."
"Of course. But you must understand we are in the middle of the forest and are used to night-time marauders. The Centre was built to keep out our more persistent friends. The bottom of the outhouse door is reinforced with a metal strip. A corner of the strip had been completely pulled away."
Fender sipped his coffee.
The metal was securely attached to the door, Mr. Fender. It would have taken a crowbar for a man to tear it loose."
"I'll have a look at it. Have you laid any poisons?"
"No, we thought that best left to you. The rule is to inform the Ministry immediately rodent signs are found. We're still not sure it's rats, of course, but we thought the two unusual events warranted investigation, don't you agree?"
Fender nodded. He placed his coffee cup back on the Warden's desk and began to rise. "I'll look at those droppings ..."
The loud rap at the door startled both men. It burst open without waiting for a reply from the Warden, and a young girl dressed in denims and a loose-fitting cardigan entered the room, closely followed by the man called Will. The girl looked breathless and she leaned with two hands on the Warden's desk, her long dark hair falling across her face.
Milton was too surprised to speak.
"I've seen them, Mr. Milton," the girl said, trying to keep her voice calm. They're down by one of the ponds."
"What are, Jenny? What are you talking about?"
"Jenny's seen the rats, Mr. Milton," Will said anxiously.
Milton glanced at him, then back at the girl. "You have?"
Yes, yes. I'm sure they were rats. But they were so big," the girl said, her face earnest.
"Sit down, Jenny, and just tell us exactly what you saw." The Warden indicated a chair opposite Fender's and as she sat, the girl noticed the rat catcher for the first time.
"It's rather opportune, really," Milton said. This is Mr. Fender, Jenny. He's been sent from Ratkill. I'm sure he'd very much like to hear what you have to say. Jenny Hanmer is one of our tutors."
Fender looked at the girl and, now that he could see her face fully, realized she was very attractive, not at all 'tutorish'. She brushed her shoulder-length hair back and gave Fender a faint smile, her mind too busy with what she had just witnessed to pay him much attention.
"Now, Jenny, tell all." Milton smiled benignly at the tutor.
"I took my class down to the small pond the one before you get to the Wake Valley Pond. We'd only been there a few minutes when one of the boys saw something swimming across the water. I couldn't make out what they were at first, but there were three of them."
"Not necessarily rats, then?" said the Warden.
"We got a better look at them when they were climbing out. The boy threw something at them and they changed direction and made for the bank. We saw their whole bodies then."
"But it is rather, er, gloomy down there, isn't it? I mean, are you sure they weren't some other animal? A water-vole would be the obvious choice."
That was my first thought. They were too big, though."