| The old dog, Jack, and the black cat, Blackie, kept quiet. They thought the burglars would leave soon--hopefully before daylight. The two animals were hiding behind the sofa.
The burglars were occupied with their own affairs, and hadn't seen the household pets. Paul whispered, "How muchja get?"
"I emptied de lady's jewelry box," Carlos reported. "Dere's an old engagement ring with a nice diamond. A large ruby, a gold wedding band, and a few old coins. I also found a bracelet, a locket, and a poil necklace. De whole caboodle's not wert more than a grand er two. What'd ja find?"
"Well, dat tin box of hers was a joke. I opened it with a screwdriver. Maybe a kitchen can opener would have done the job. Ha, ha!"
"Whut was in d' box?"
"Some birth certificates and da usual legal papers dat ol people save. Oh, dere was some bonds."
"Bonds? What kind? How many?"
"Well, 'twasn't bad. Dere was 13 negotiable $5,000 municipals. Dat comes to $65,000. Not bad fer a few hours work in an old farm house." They smiled at each other.
Jack and Blackie huddled more closely together. Blackie curled her tail around her feet.
The burglars stood up. They went to several windows, and from behind the slaffed shades scanned the farm yard. The sun--just starting to rise--provided a faint light. Nothing seemed out of order, except that a peculiar-looking black cloud, forming in the west, was headed their way. Jack and Blackie listened intently, and looked at each other. They were terrified!
"Everything looks a-okay," Paul said, "'cept for dat funny looking cloud over dere. Anyway, d' coast is clear. Let's beat it 'fore d' folks shows up. I'd hate to have to shoot dem dear old biddies so they couldn't ID us.
"Why would dat bother yuh now? Yu've done it before," Carlos asked.
"Yeah, maybe Ize getting' soft in me old age. Yeah! Ize a softy."
Jack snarled quietly.
Blackie hissed.
"I'll take annuder look aroun," Paul continued. "It's funny we didn't find any cash 'bout d' place. I looked in de kitchen drawers 'n d' dining room buffet. But, you know how old folks are--they probably took all dair money wid 'em."
"Should we take d' silverware?"
"Naah! Hain't real silver. Silver plate's not wuth carrying out to d' car.?"
"If we had room we might take dat old grandfadder clock. Sho looks like an antique."
"I'd drather have dat John Deere tractor out dere Or maybe even da Chevy pickup. She's a four-wheel drive."
Jack peering out from under the sofa said, "H'mm."
Blackie squinted, and in a quiet voice asked: " I don't know what you and I will do, Jack. That funny-sounding noise outside bothers me. It could be worse than those burglars. Whadda think? Should we bolt?"
"Can't!" answered Jack. "All the outside doors are closed. Funny noise or no funny noise we're stuck here in the house. We gotta stay inside. We can't leave."
Paul grabbed the end table beside him. "D' whole house is shaking."
Carlos leaned against the wall. "What's happnin'?"
One of the outside doors flew open, and the two scared pets saw their opportunity to scoot. Out they went!
The house rocked back and forth on its foundation a few seconds. Then, it slowly rose a few feet above the ground. It revolved, but stayed vertical. Then, in the midst of a terrific roar it rose higher and higher. At about 1,200 feet the whirling house was joined by the dairy barn, tool shed, corn crib, silo, tractor, pickup, and uprooted trees. All whirled in a counter-clockwise circle. The whole group of buildings, equipment, and trees disappeared within the black cloud and headed east.
Hiding under an azalea bush, Jack the dog and Blackie the cat watched their departure.
Jack openly growled, "Well, they'll have each other's company!"
Blackie quietly said, "Meow!"
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