Tiger by the Tail by Eric Walters Page A

distance.
    “Calvin, come here!” Mr. McCurdy ordered.
    Calvin rose to his feet and strode over to Mr. McCurdy. As he passed by he reached out one of his arms and gave Buddha a slap on the end of his nose. Buddha jumped back a few metres, squealing, and Nick and I were almost pulled off our feet.
    “CALVIN! Leave the tiger alone! Here, hold onto the chain.”
    Calvin took the chain. Mr. McCurdy dropped down on his knees and threw his arms around Buddha. He put his mouth directly beside one of Buddha’s large ears. Once again he was talking. I couldn’t make out the words. I could just tell the tone was soft and soothing. He released Buddha from the “hug” and rose to his feet.
    “All right, we better get moving. Nicholas, hand methe gun. I’ll walk behind the tiger so it looks like I’m the guard.”
    We started walking. Calvin held the chain on one side, Nicholas and I held the rope on the other, Buddha between us, Mr. McCurdy behind us, with the now empty gun pointed at the tiger. Buddha moved slowly and calmly across the floor of the barn. As we came to the door we were pulled to a stop. Buddha had planted his feet and the rope was now taut. He didn’t seem to want to leave the confines of the barn. I guess I really couldn’t blame him, I wasn’t so crazy about going out there either. There were police officers, lots of police officers, waiting just outside the door, armed and anxious.
    “Get moving, old fella,” Mr. McCurdy instructed Buddha as he gave him a slap on the rump. Buddha turned around and snarled, but started moving.
    “Everybody just keep calm. Move slowly, but keep moving. Don’t worry about a thing.”
    Coming out of the barn I released one hand from the rope to shield my eyes from the sunlight. I scanned the scene and was relieved to find the nearest officer was quite a distance away. We strolled across the grass. I felt a trickle of sweat run down the side of my face and my hands felt slick and wet on the rope. Although Buddha wasn’t pulling the line, I’d tensed every muscle in my whole body, ready in case he decided to bolt. Thankgoodness for the medication. If Buddha hadn’t been drugged he could have dragged us around like rag dolls.
    We rounded the house. I glanced over and saw a woman, an arm around two children, standing in the front window, watching. All three had their eyes wide open, following us as we walked across the front lawn. On both sides we were flanked by police officers. They seemed to be hidden behind every bush, tree and hedge along the route. There was even one, lying on his belly, hiding behind the laundry basket. Buddha didn’t seem to see any of them, or maybe just didn’t care. He glided along effortlessly. The only thing that was out of place was the needle, still stuck in his side, bobbing and bouncing along with each step he took.
    We came up to the cluster of patrol cars, sitting empty, all of their flashing lights now turned off. We moved between the last two cars. Both had their front doors open and we had to squeeze in close to Buddha to get by.
    I had to smile as I saw Mr. McCurdy’s car just up ahead. Just a few more steps and we’d be safe, or at least safer.
    “Is Buddha going to sit up in the front seat?” I asked Mr. McCurdy.
    “Nope.”
    “In the back seat with me?” I asked anxiously.
    “Nope.”
    “But, what does that leave?” I asked.
    “Why did you think I had them open up the trunk?”
    “The trunk!” Nick and I exclaimed together.
    “He’s too big for the glove compartment,” Mr. McCurdy chuckled.
    “But we can’t just put him into the trunk,” I protested.
    “It’s specially made, that’s where he always travels.”
    “Buddha would get all hot and —”
    “SMILE EVERYBODY!” yelled a man with a camera as he jumped out from behind the Lincoln. A flash exploded. My eyes went starry and out of focus and I felt myself being pulled off my feet. Instinctively I grabbed the rope tighter and felt myself being dragged