Precious and the Mystery of Meercat Hill

by Alexander McCall Smith

  Pontsho had now spotted Kosi and had invited him to travel on his shoulder. The meerkat liked that, and sat importantly on his vantage point, as if it was he who was the detective and not Precious Ramotswe. Well, as we will shortly find out, there was some truth in that, but for now here they are, all following the tracks, the heart of each of them filled with hope that they would soon find the missing cow.

  HE COW had wandered a long way. At times, when she had crossed stony ground, the tracks became faint, and Precious had to get down on her hands and knees to see them. At other times, though, the cow had made her way over bare sandy soil, and the hoof-prints were very easily visible.

  They had been walking for well over an hour and were beginning to wonder whether they would ever catch up with the cow when Pontsho suddenly called out.

  “Over there!” he shouted. “Look!”

  They stopped and stared in the direction in which he was pointing. For a moment or two Precious could not make out what it was that had attracted the boy’s attention, but then she saw it. A large herd of cattle was gathered beside a rough dirt road that ran through the scrub bush.

  Pontsho whistled. “Look how many there are,” he said. “I wonder what’s going on.”

  Precious knew the answer to that. Her father knew a lot about cattle, and had once taken her to see a herd being prepared for market. This was what was happening here: a farmer had gathered in all his cattle to be collected for market. Unfortunately the cow must have heard or smelled them and had decided to join them. After all, if you are a cow and you see lots of other cows getting together, you must think: why shouldn’t I be there too?

  The three children ran towards the herd. They had seen a couple of men standing nearby and they imagined that these were the people in charge. All they would have to do was to identify their cow and then lead her back to her home.

  It was Teb who spoke first.

  “Excuse me,” she said very politely. “Our cow has run away. We’ve tracked her and we think she’s joined this herd. Could we have her back please?”

  The two men, who had been talking to one another, stopped their conversation and looked at Teb.

  “These are our cows,” one said. “Sorry. Your cow must have gone somewhere else.”

  “No,” said Precious. “She’s here. We followed her hoof-prints.”

  One of the men laughed. “Followed her hoof-prints? What nonsense! These cows all belong to us.”

  Precious bit her lip. It was hard not to be believed when you know that you’re telling the truth. But there is no point in getting cross about it, because that can only make it worse. So instead of insisting that she was right, she simply said to the men, “But if we could prove it? Would you let us take our cow?”

  Both men nodded. “Of course,” one said. Then he added, “But I really don’t see how you’re going to do that. All these cattle look the same, you know.”

  With a sinking heart, Precious saw that this was so – all the cows were more or less the same colour – reddish-brown. But then, without having to think about it, she had an idea. It was the second good idea that had come to her that day, and she lost no time in explaining it to Teb and Pontsho.

  “Listen,” she said, dropping her voice so that the men could not hear her. “Do you think that Kosi would know your cow, even in a big herd?”

  It was Pontsho who answered. “Of course,” he said. “He loves to ride on her back, as I told you. They’re very good friends.”

  This was the answer Precious had been hoping for. “Right,” she said. “Let’s ask him to find her.”

  Kosi frowned. “How will we do that?”

  Precious looked at the meerkat, who was sitting on Pontsho’s shoulder watching the restless herd of cows with interest. “Ask him,” she said. “Meerkats are good at understanding things. He might be able to do it.”

  Then she turned to the men. “Excuse me,” she said. “This meerkat knows my friends’ cow very well. If he can find her, will you let us take her home?”

  The men laughed. “Of course,” said one of them. “Of course we’ll let you take her home. But how is a tiny little meerkat going to find one cow in a large herd like this? It won’t happen, will it?”

  Precious did not answer that question, but turned to Pontsho. “Ask him, Pontsho,” she said.

  Pontsho took Kosi off his shoulder and put him down on the ground. “Find your friend,” he whispered. “Find her!”

  The meerkat got up on its hind legs and looked at Pontsho enquiringly. Then he turned his nose towards the herd of cows and sniffed at the air. Precious held her breath. Was it possible that the meerkat understood what was expected of him?

  And then, with a sudden little jump – a hop of the sort that meerkats perform when they have some task to do – Kosi scurried off into the herd, weaving and dodging to keep out of the way of the cows’ hooves. From where Precious was standing, it looked very dangerous – and it was. At one point she thought that Kosi would be crushed, but he proved too nimble for that, and managed to avoid being stamped upon.

  When the meerkat reached the centre of the herd he seemed to disappear for a moment. But then he suddenly popped up again, and now he was riding on the back of one of the cows. “That’s her!” shouted Teb. “See! That’s her.”

  Precious turned to the men. “Do you see that?” she asked. “You wanted proof – well there it is. The meerkat has found her friend.”

  The men may have been a bit gruff, but they were not ones to break their promise. They had said that if the meerkat found the cow, then the children could take her home. And so they set about rounding up Teb’s cow, who still had a meerkat perched on her back.

  “You can take her home, I suppose,” said one of the men. And then, even if a bit reluctantly, he added, “And well done, whoever it was who came up with that idea!”

  Precious said nothing. She did not like to boast, and the fact that the family had recovered their cow was more than enough reward for her.

  HEY LED THE COW home, guiding her gently along the path they had followed to find her. When they reached the bottom of Meerkat Hill, Precious could see the two grandparents waving their hands excitedly. They were soon joined by Teb’s mother and the aunt, both of whom joined in the energetic waving.

  “This is a miracle,” said the grandfather as he ran forwards to welcome the returning cow. He could not run very fast, as his legs were a bit bent and spindly, but he did his best, and was soon stroking the cow on the side of her neck, whispering into her ear the sort of things people say to cows who have been away but who have come back.

  “This is wonderful,” said Teb’s mother. “I think you all deserve a reward for finding our cow.”

  Teb glanced at Precious, and smiled. Then she turned to her mother and asked, “Fat cakes?”

  Her mother nodded. “I shall make them immediately, even if it’s almost time for our evening meal.”

  The mention of evening made Precious look at the sun, which was now beginning to drop down in the sky. “I’ll have to get home soon,” she said. “My father will be beginning to get worried.”

  Teb looked imploringly at her mother. “Can’t Precious stay?” she asked.

  “I could go and ask her father,” said the aunt. “I have to go to the store, and I could call at their house and ask him if Precious can stay overnight.”

  Both Teb and Pontsho thought this was a very good idea, as did Precious herself of course, and the aunt lost no time in setting off on her mission. By the time the fat cakes were ready and sprinkled with sugar, the aunt had come back to announce that Obed had said that it was perfectly all right for his daughter to stay overnight at Teb’s house.

  They sat and ate the fat cakes. There were two each for everybody, which was more than enough, as the grandparents could not finish theirs and passed them on. The children kindly finished them for them, and then everybody licked their fingers to get the last of the sugar and stickiness off. The last bits of everything
taste particularly good, don’t you find?

  By now it was beginning to get dark. The sun in Africa sinks rather quickly. The sky turns a coppery gold colour and then down beyond the horizon goes the great red ball of the sun. As soon as it is gone, the sky becomes light blue again and then dark blue, and the stars appear – great silver fields of them.

  Since it was a special occasion, the grandfather made a fire outside for Teb, Pontsho and Precious to sit around. Then he moved his chair to the fire too, and told them a story of how things were a long time ago, when he was a boy. They listened, and then, after he had finished and had moved his chair back to its usual place, they talked among themselves.

  There was much to talk about. They remembered all about following the cow’s hoof-prints and Pontsho thought that he would try his skill at tracking other animals in future, now that Precious had shown him how to do it. Teb thought this was a good idea, and said that she would practise looking for clues, just as Precious had done. “You never know what you might find,” she remarked. “There are all sorts of mysteries once you start to look for them.”

  Precious agreed. She had only been a detective for a short time, but she had already solved two important mysteries – one in which monkeys played a part, and this one involving a meerkat and a cow. There were bound to be others, she thought.

  “You’re very lucky to be such a good detective,” said Pontsho.

  Precious smiled modestly. She never boasted, but she was glad that she had discovered the thing that she seemed to be really good at. Most people can do at least one thing rather well, but sometimes it takes a bit of time to find out what that thing is. She had found it, and now that she had done so, she would be able to use that talent well. Many years later, she would become a famous detective – the first lady detective in Botswana – but that, of course, is a story that we shall hear about much later on.

  Although they had very much enjoyed the fat cakes, there was still enough room for their normal dinner, although nobody needed very large helpings that night. Then, after the meal, it was time for them to go to bed. Pontsho went off to his shelter at the back of the house, and Precious and Teb each laid out a sleeping mat in the corner of the kitchen where Teb normally slept. Teb’s mother lent Precious a spare blanket so that she could wrap herself up and keep warm for the night. Although Botswana is a hot country, the nights themselves can be cold, as they often are in deserts and other warm places.

  As she lay there in the darkness, thinking of the events of the day, Precious felt happy that everything had worked out so well. The cow was safely back and in due course she would have her calf. In fact, although nobody knew it at the time, the cow was due to have twins. That was very welcome news for the family, as it meant that they would have two calves to sell rather than one. And it meant, too, that they would be able to buy shoes for Teb and Pontsho, which was a very good thing.

  Teb must have been very tired, as she dropped off to sleep almost straightaway. Precious, though, remained awake a bit longer, and she was still awake when a small furry creature crept through the door and made his way to where she was lying. The first thing she knew of him was the feel of his tiny moist nose sniffing at her cheek.

  She did not say anything to Kosi, as she did not want to wake Teb. So she simply stroked the tiny meerkat gently and allowed him to cuddle up to her. He was tired too, and after a few minutes she felt his breathing change and she knew he was asleep. In nature, meerkats sleep together in a burrow they make underground. They lie with their tiny arms about one another – a whole family of meerkats – safe and sound in their underground house. Above them, in the moonlight, there are all sorts of dangers – owls and snakes and other enemies – but they are safe down below, huddled together for warmth.

  Precious drifted off to sleep eventually. She dreamed that night of cows and meerkats and tracks in the sand. She dreamed, too, of fat cakes and happy people and of her friends and of how good it felt to have been able to help them. Because helping other people is a good thing, whether or not you are a detective.

  And in the morning, do you know, Kosi was still there, his paws under his chin, his bright black eyes closed. But the sun came up, floating slowly up into the sky, and all three of them awoke at much the same time when the kitchen filled with light.

  “Another day,” said Teb, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

  “Yes,” said Precious, sitting up on her sleeping mat. “Another day.”

  And Kosi, of course, said nothing, but as Precious looked at the tiny meerkat, she was sure that he was smiling.