“Are you waiting for the mailman?” Qwilleran asked. “Waiting for Santa Claus? Waiting for Godot?”
The cat turned and regarded him pityingly—or so it seemed.
Suddenly Qwilleran felt weary, not only from the effort of doing a one-man show and the excitement of partying afterward, but also from the whole Lish-and-Lush experience, climaxed by the suicide in his own backyard. He felt the urge to relax, do nothing, enjoy the early summer evening, give his vocal cords a hiatus. Perhaps he dozed off. Possibly he dreamed. He may have heard Koko clucking and gobbling.
He was sure he heard a rustling in the shrubbery, as two wild turkeys appeared, followed by a veritable horde of poults—all the same size. More large birds with red wattles came from the back road, saw the barn, and put their heads together as if critiquing the architecture.
Had Koko invited them? Was this why he had been waiting and watching?
Even as Qwilleran stared at the scene, the congregation began to drift away into the bushes. The last to leave were the poults, with lingering glances back at Koko, perhaps wishing they could have stayed longer.
A high-decibel yowl directly in his ear catapulted Qwilleran out of his lounge chair. Koko was on the chairside table.
“You devil!” he shouted.
Koko nudged the volume of Uncle Wiggily stories.
Qwilleran obliged—reading the honorable doings of Uncle Wiggily. The cat had lost interest in “The Shooting of Dan McGrew” and The Hunting of the Snark, but—it might be noted—not until Lish and Lush had been identified with the two “woodland murders.”
Simmons, who thought “snark” sounded like something spelled backward, would be amused to know that it spelled KRANS. . . . “Kranson” was the real surname of Alicia and her felonious parent.
Qwilleran had to admit that the connection was preposterous; it was purely coincidental. . . . But what about Koko’s reactions to Lish from the very beginning? He had growled at her when she walked down the beach; he had hissed at her message on the phone! All cats have a sense of right and wrong, but Koko’s clairvoyance was beyond belief! There was one incontrovertible fact, and that was the authenticity of his blood-curdling death howl signifying wrongful death. It could be a mile away or a continent away, but it was always connected with an individual or a situation close to home.
“Yow!” said Koko, on the table at Qwilleran’s elbow and staring with a fathomless gaze, after which he rolled over onto his spine and attended to a sudden catly itch.
“Not on the table!” came the scolding, but Kao K’o Kung went on doing what had to be done.
“N-n-now!” came a delicate cry from Yum Yum. With the silver thimble clamped in her little jaws, she jumped to Qwilleran’s lap and gave him her favorite toy.
RECIPES
“They chatted, stopping long enough to order lunch. . . . Qwilleran said he’d stick to his favorite Reuben sandwich.”
REUBEN SANDWICH
12 slices of rye bread
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
Reuben dressing
1 pound of thinly sliced corned beef
1
1
⁄
2
cups sauerkraut, well-drained
6 slices Swiss cheese
Spread 1 side of each slice of bread with butter or margarine. Turn the slices over and spread the other side with Reuben dressing. Place corned beef on 6 of the slices, followed by 1⁄4 cup of sauerkraut and 1 slice of cheese. Top with the remaining slices of bread, butter side up. Place on a griddle or large non-stick fry pan to cook. Press down on the sandwiches as they cook or weight them to keep them compact. Cook about 6 minutes or until the first side is crisp. Then turn the sandwiches over and cook until the second side is crisp and the cheese is melted. Makes 6 sandwiches.
REUBEN DRESSING
1 cup mayonnaise
1
⁄
4
cup sour cream
1
⁄
3
cup chili sauce
1 teaspoon finely chopped onion
4 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1
⁄
2
teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1
⁄
2
teaspoon horseradish
Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, and chili sauce in a small bowl. Then stir in the onion, sweet pickle relish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and horseradish. Mix thoroughly.
“Then Qwilleran filled a picnic basket with cold drinks in an ice pack, a ham sandwich for himself, crunchies for the Siamese, and twomolasses-ginger cookiesfrom the Scottish bakery. He wondered how these plain, flat, brown cookies could be so humble and yet so delectable. Upon further consideration, he put all four in the basket.”
MOLASSES-GINGER COOKIES
1
1
⁄
2
cups flour
3
⁄
4
teaspoon soda
1
⁄
2
teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
l teaspoon ground cinnamon
1
⁄
2
cup butter or margarine, room temperature
3
⁄
4
cup sugar
1 egg
1
⁄
4
cup molasses
1
⁄
2
cup coconut flakes
1
⁄
2
cup coarsely chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Stir or sift the flour, soda, salt, ginger, and cinnamon together. Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg and molasses. Beat well. Blend in the dry ingredients. Add the coconut and nuts. Mix well. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool cookies slightly before removing them from the cookie sheet. Makes about 3 dozen.