Kitty And The Tiger Treasure

Chapter

5

The cat with the golden eyes stared back at Kitty. Then it vanished, without a word, through a doorway into a back room.

“Did you see that?” whispered Kitty. “We should ask that cat what it knows about the statue.” She turned to Cleo, but the gray cat was gone.

Kitty hesitated. Had Cleo been scared away by the other cat? Or did she have a plan?

A light came on in the back room. Kitty hurried along the rows of cages. She passed hutches full of sleeping bunnies, and wide-awake hamsters running in their wheels. Two parrots with beautiful green and red feathers were perched in a tall cage with their heads under their wings.

Kitty stopped in the office doorway. Piles of shiny objects covered the desk, the chair, and the filing cabinets inside. Every corner of the room was filled with glittering treasures—silver plates, strings of pearls, and jewels in every color of the rainbow.

Kitty gaped. All these treasures must be stolen! Was the robber dog really doing all this?

“Purr-fect greetings!” trilled a high voice.

Kitty jumped. The cat with the golden eyes lay on a pile of shiny coins. She had orange fur, and the name PRECIOUS was spelled out on her collar in diamonds. Her pointed ears pricked up as Kitty approached. There was an odd look in her eyes, as if she was trying to puzzle Kitty out.

“My name is Kitty!” said Kitty. “I’m looking for a tiger statue. The springer spaniel who stole it came through your door just a few minutes ago.”

The cat’s tail flicked to and fro. “My name is Precious. You must be the girl with superpowers who I’ve heard so much about. I bet your talents are very useful indeed!”

Kitty frowned. There was something strange about this cat. “I try to use my powers to help others. That’s why I’m looking for the Golden Tiger statue. It was taken from the museum tonight, and it’s very special! Did you see the robber dog that came in here?”

Precious began grooming herself. “No, I didn’t see a thing.”

“But he came right inside!” Kitty watched Precious lick her paws and clean behind her ears. Suddenly she had a thought. What if the dog wasn’t in charge of the robbery at all? Precious seemed like a sly sort of cat. She was definitely the type to organize a secret mission to steal the museum’s treasure.

Kitty gave Precious a stern look. “I think you know a lot more about the statue than you’ve said. Tell me where it is!”

Precious laughed. “Why should I? The Golden Tiger is mine now. It makes an excellent addition to my collection. I do like shiny things!” She stretched out on top of the gold coins and gave an exaggerated yawn.

“But everyone’s coming to see the new exhibit tomorrow!” said Kitty. “They’ll be so disappointed not to see the Golden Tiger—it’s a very important statue.” She stopped herself from telling Precious that the statue could grant wishes. A cat like Precious might wish for something very selfish—something that hurt others!

“They’ll just have to be happy with the other things in the museum,” snapped Precious. “Humans are such whiny creatures! All I’ve taken is one tiny statue. Can’t they manage without it?”

Kitty glared at the cat. There was no point trying to reason with her! Kitty edged forward, looking for the statue behind the pile of coins.

“Oh, don’t bother trying to find it.” Precious waved her paw airily at a metal box on the wall. “I locked it away in the safe. I shall take it out later and admire the diamonds before I take a nap.”

Kitty sprang over to the safe. It was shut tight, and it had a lock. Precious laughed again. Kitty swung around, asking, “Why does that dog steal things for you, anyway? Don’t you both know it’s wrong?”

“He does anything I say.” Precious beamed. “Everyone does, once they look into my eyes . . . including you!” She met Kitty’s gaze. Kitty felt the cat’s golden eyes drawing her in like a magnet. Precious spoke in a growly tone. “Listen very carefully! You will forget that you ever met me. You will not remember this pet shop. You will leave now and never come here again.”

Kitty’s head swam. For a moment she could hardly remember why she was there. Then she thought about how much she wanted to help Cleo, and her eyes focused again. “You may have hypnotized the springer spaniel, but I don’t think it works on me! Maybe it’s because of my superpowers.”

“Huh!” Precious flounced down from the coin pile and turned her back on Kitty, settling herself on a velvet blanket.

Kitty thought quickly. It was obvious that Precious was much more dangerous than she’d first thought. If no one stopped the golden-eyed cat, she could make the dog steal more and more treasure. She might even hypnotize other animals and force them to join in.

An idea popped into Kitty’s head. Maybe there was a way to use the stories about the statue! Perhaps she could scare Precious into giving back the treasure.

“There’s something you don’t know about the Golden Tiger,” she began. “Many say that the statue has a terrible curse.”

Precious stopped grooming and pricked up her ears. “Why would I care about that?”

“Because the curse says that if someone upsets the statue, it will send scary spirits to take revenge,” said Kitty.

Precious was silent for a moment. “Do you think it’s true?”

“I don’t know.” Kitty noticed the cat’s tail swaying uneasily. She tried to think how to make the story more believable. “But if it is true, I expect the spirits come in the dead of night and creep in through tiny cracks around the doorframe.” She shivered. That would be spooky if it were true!

Precious sat up straight, her tail flicking faster and faster. “Spirits? Door frames?”

There was a bang followed by a loud clatter from the front of the shop.

Kitty jumped. Maybe the curse was real!

“What was that?” Precious leaped across the room, grabbing Kitty’s hand with both paws. “Save me, Kitty. I’m not a bad cat, really!”

“Stay close to me.” Kitty’s heart pounded like a drum as she crept toward the doorway. She could hear the pets squeaking and fluttering, disturbed by the strange noises. Kitty dodged as a box of treats toppled from a shelf. Then she leaped bravely though the door.