Chapter 2 – The Troubled Tutor
At breakfast, the children were all quiet. They didn’t want the cook to hear them talking about Nightcat. But they knew they needed to talk. Finally, during their morning free time, they got their chance. They went up the winding stairs to their playroom in the high tower.
“I think we should tell Mr. Raymond,” said Celesta.
“He won’t believe you,” said Keziah. “You’ll just get in trouble.”
“I’m not sure,” said Richard. “Dad said he was supposed to be taking care of us. Maybe we should tell him.”
“Well,” said Priscilla, “we have Nightcat to take care of us now.”
“Good point,” said Keziah.
“I still think we should tell Mr. Raymond,” Celesta insisted.
David said, “Remember what Nightcat said! We shouldn’t tell about him.”
“We should have a vote,” Richard decided.
“I vote that we shouldn’t tell about him,” said Keziah. “What Nightcat said is probably true. He might frighten Mr. Raymond.”
“Everyone who wants to tell Mr. Raymond, raise your hand,” Richard told them.
Celesta raised her hand high in the air. She was the only one.
“Well, I still think we should tell,” she exclaimed.
“We’ll keep it a secret for now,” said Richard. “We can always tell Mr. Raymond about Nightcat later.”
“Oh!” said Keziah, “I hear Mr. Raymond calling us. We’d better hurry! He sounds worried.”
They ran down the stairs.
“Maybe he saw Nightcat,” whispered Keziah, as they hurried along.
When they got to the bottom of the stairs, they came out in the kitchen. Mr. Raymond looked very worried indeed.
“There’s a bear in the castle!” Mr. Raymond exclaimed.
“See,” said Celesta, “I told you we should tell him!”
“Tell me what?” asked their tutor, sternly.
“Nightcat has changed into a magical creature!” explained Priscilla.
“What!?” said Mr. Raymond. “This is serious.”
“Nightcat is good, not bad!” said Keziah.
“Children, this isn’t one of your games. Seriously! There is a bear in the castle!”
“It’s not a bear!” cried Celesta. “It’s Nightcat.”
“If you children can’t be serious, you should go straight back up to your playroom!”
“Okay,” said David. The children turned around and headed back up the stairs.
“Make sure you close the door to your playroom!” called Mr. Raymond. “I don’t want the bear to get you!”
“Okay,” called Celesta.
On the way up, they stopped in the library, where their huge Nightcat was still sleeping.
“Nightcat,” Keziah whispered.
Nightcat woke up.
“What?” he asked.
“I think Mr. Raymond saw you! He thinks you’re a bear!” said Keziah.
“Oh, dear!” he exclaimed. “I’d better get out of sight!”
“You can sleep in our playroom,” said Richard. “Mr. Raymond never goes up there. He says it’s too messy. But I think he just doesn’t like climbing all these stairs!”
Nightcat bounded up the stairs. The children followed behind him. They talked for a while but soon fell asleep. It was so cozy up there, with huge Nightcat purring as he slept.
Keziah woke up and looked out the window. It was already nighttime!
“Wake up! This is strange! We’ve missed our studies,” said Keziah.
“Why didn’t Mr. Raymond wake us up?” Priscilla asked.
“We need to go and find him!” said Richard.
“But what about Nightcat?” asked David, “Should we bring him?”
“I’m coming with you,” said Nightcat. “I’ll just make sure he doesn’t see me.”
They walked down the dark staircase. The children started their search in the library. Mr. Raymond was usually there.
“Maybe he just lost track of time,” suggested Priscilla.
“I don’t think so,” said Keziah.
“Our tutor would never be so irresponsible,” said Celesta.
Suddenly, Nightcat noticed a secret passageway. The door was partially open.
“Uh oh,” said Nightcat.
“What?” asked the children.
“I see a secret passageway and the door is open. Maybe Mr. Raymond went in,” said Nightcat.
“Why is that ‘Oh, oh’?” asked Richard.
“He’s probably lost. That passage leads to the labyrinth beneath the castle,” explained Nightcat. “I’ve been down there many times. There are lots of long and winding tunnels. It would be easy to get lost, but we won’t get lost because I’ll lead the way.”
“I wonder why he went down there,” Celesta said.
“I think he was probably looking for the bear,” suggested David.
“So, let’s go in, then,” said Keziah.
They started down the dark tunnel, with Nightcat in the lead.
“Don’t we need a flashlight or something?” whispered David.
“Why are you whispering?” asked Celesta.
“I’m not,” David said, overly loudly.
Celesta giggled.
“I like to keep one with me at all times, just in case,” Keziah said, flicking on a flashlight.
The beam shone weakly down the long tunnel.
“I still can’t see very much,” whined David.
“It’s okay,” said Nightcat, “I can see in the dark. I’ll take care of you.”
David patted his now lion-sized cat. They were all glad that Nightcat was there to take care of them.
“It’s possible he was following my paw prints,” explained Nightcat.
“Look,” said Keziah, “I see Mr. Raymond’s footprints in the dust!”
They followed the footprints for a long time, up one passageway and down another. After a while, they saw a faint light up ahead.
“That must be Mr. Raymond,” said Nightcat softly. “You will need to take the lead now. I don’t want to frighten him.”
Richard took the flashlight from Keziah and took the lead. Soon they came to a very lonely-looking Mr. Raymond, sitting on the hard stone floor.
He said, “You shouldn’t have come here! Now we’re all lost!”
Richard began to laugh but then he quickly tried to stop. “It’s pretty easy to find the way out,” he told Mr. Raymond. “All we have to do is follow our footprints back.”
Their tutor looked very embarrassed. “What smart thinking of you,” he said to Richard.
“We’re only so clever because we have a very good tutor,” said Keziah.
Mr. Raymond smiled and Richard helped him up.
“It’s good you brought a lantern,” Keziah said to their tutor, still trying to help him feel better. “Our flashlight is almost out of batteries.”
“Well,” said Mr. Raymond, “I suggest we go immediately, before the bear finds us. I saw his terribly large footprints in these tunnels.”
“We’ve missed our studies. Maybe we could do them now?” Keziah suggested.
Celesta glared at her in the dim light.
“I don’t think so,” said Mr. Raymond. “It has been a terrifying day. I’m exhausted. I’m sure you are as well. We shall all go straight to bed.”
Keziah moaned.
Nightcat - Kitty Castle Series Page 2