Things That Go Bump In The Night

By
Linda Mizen Wickline

“What’s that?  Did you hear it?”  “No, what do you hear?”  “Listen - there it is again! “ “What is it?” “Can’t you hear the scratching?”  “Grace can hear it! Look at her!”  We questioned each other for over an hour one night last summer as we were camping on the banks of the Salmon River in Idaho. Grace, our Tuxedo American Wirehair cat, was on full alert.  She heard something moving around inside the cabinets of the RV.

Earlier in the day we were sitting by the river in our lawn chairs, sipping beers, watching the world float by.  Off to our left we noticed some campers at the water’s edge, looking down, and then one of the men quickly jumped down into the water and as he stood up, I gasped in surprise.  A snake!  And a very large one.  Golden, fat, squirming, not pretty.  He had the snake grasped behind its head and walked it much farther down the banks away from our camping area. Then he threw the snake back out into the water.  We were too far away to watch it slither away. We anxiously hoped that it swam to the other side and out of our lives … forever. Later in the evening Dave walked over to speak to the snake handling man and asked him about what kind of snake was it? Where did it go? What was the snake story?

The man said it was a gopher snake. We knew gopher snakes were ‘good snakes’ - they kill rattlesnakes, scorpions and other rodents.  Okay, I am good with that, but still. That sneaky snake was waaaaay too close to our campsite. I told Dave I probably would be having nightmares that night.

Soon enough, bedtime came. The two of us readied for bed. And a little after midnight, we both suddenly awoke with Grace staring intensely at the floor level cabinets at floor level … ears erect… pointed in stalking concentration. She was still as a ghost.  Then … she moved knowingly to her right … following some silent sound … watching for a hidden intruder … a seemingly invisible thing that must have crawled inside our RV. And perhaps now was trying to find a way to slither into our home through some small hole by the cabinets.  Of course, I thought it was the snake!  Who wouldn’t? Seeing the large reptile was still very fresh in our mind’s eye. But wait! Snakes do not make noises  … and whatever was inside our cabinets, was making un-snake like noises.  Small, tiny scratching noises.  What could this creature be?

Then suddenly … silence.  Grace relaxed, came back to her bed and fell back asleep.  I was scared thinking it was the snake. But if our cat was not alarmed, I guess I should not be either.  Grace had been a stray, outdoor cat before I rescued her. And now she had became our beautiful little girl, never having to worry about where her next meal might come from.  She kept her hunting instincts, always watching through the windows for birds, other cats, and any movement outside. We learned not to get too close to her while she was in that mode. Grace would hiss at you if you did and possibly scratch if provoked further.

Two thirty AM came. And while Dave and I were sound asleep, Grace was stalking around the living area of our 5th wheel. She quickly ran behind the chair and came out with something in her mouth!  Oh my goodness!  It was a mouse!  Dave grabbed a couple of paper towels and chased Grace around trying to get her to drop the mouse so he could pick it up and throw it outside.  He finally cornered her. Startled, she dropped the mouse and off it scurried.  Grace gave Dave the meanest look, but her hunting skills kicked in and off she went, corned the mouse and grabbed it between her teeth.  Dave again cornered Grace, got a hold of the mouse this time and he ran to the door and threw it out the door.  Slam! He closed the door and breathed a sign of relief.  And I did too, it was only a mouse, not the snake!  Grace did not forgive Dave for days afterward and sat and stared at those cabinets, hoping the mouse was still there.

The next day Dave scoured the RV looking for small holes where rodents could make their way into the RV.  He did find a small tear in the bottom of the belly of the RV where a stone must have gashed open an area.  He closed up that hole and sealed any others he found and to this day we have not had any unwelcome visitors .small mice …or remembered sneaky snakes.