Butch was upset. Terribly upset. So much in fact that my wife, Pat, called me at work and told me to hurry home. Something had been bothering Butch for several weeks now. I was determined to finally get to the bottom of this mystery.
For the benefit of any new readers, Butch is officially my wife's pet. Unofficially, he belongs to me. Butch is our pig-tailed monkey and much more than a mere pet.
In March of 1972, I purchased him as a birthday present for my wife. For these many years now, Butch has been like an adopted child to us. He has brought sunshine into our lives and laughter to our lips. But now Pat was worried about her baby and so, I didn't dilly dally around.
As I pulled into the driveway, I could see Butch swinging from one end of his cage to the other, going back and forth and back and forth. A large group of neighbors were congregated around his cage, trying their best to calm the monkey down, but being completely unsuccessful in their attempts. Pat was standing to one side wring her hands and shaking her head.
"What's everyone doing over here," I asked as I walked over to Butch's cage where Pat was standing.
"Butch went crazy awhile ago," Pat said, "And our neighbors came over and tried to calm him down. He just wouldn't calm don and then he started screeching and screaming. I didn't know what to do, so I called you."
I thanked everybody for coming over and trying to help. Then I walked over to the cage and unlocked the door and stepped inside.
"Calm down, son," I whispered as I closed the door behind me and walked to the further end of the cage where he was staring intently into the woods.
Butch turned and looked at me, his eyes glazed with a wildness I had never seen before. "Calm down, son," I said again, "Everything will be alright. Nothing is going to hurt you, Daddy's here now."
It was probably the soft tone of my voice more than anything else, but finally Butch did calm down enough for me to hug him close to my chest. I felt his heart thumping against my chest, beating much faster than normal.
It was another hour before I could leave him alone in the shed. His cage here wasn't as big as the other one, but still he had ample room to move around in ... if only he couldn't see the woods.
Our neighbors had left some time ago and Pat had calmed down and returned to the house. Now I had a job to do. I had to find out why Butch had acted so scared. I had never seen him act like that before and I never saw him act like that again.
It was with a feeling of quiet confidence as I stepped into the woods behind our house, armed with a double-barrel shotgun. I wasn't going to take any chances. Any animal that can scare Butch half to death was not going to catch me off guard.
I guess I was just about ready for anything now. Only ... I hoped it wasn't a bear or a cougar or a wolf, Oh, My!
I honestly didn't think there were any animals like that in the area,but I couldn't be sure of anything. Something was definitely out there in the woods, and I was determined to find it before it found me.
Cautiously, I made my way deeper into the woods, my shotgun ready in my arms, and as I walked, I could have sworn I was being watched.
Next Issue - The creature Revealed.
Duce is the penname of Carman J.W. Vance at the Crest Yard in Fort Worth.
10-97