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sighed and turned to the telephone. . . . yeah, two cats.
Siamese. Yeah, I seen their papers, Yeah, only I thought
maybe you would want to see them. No? Okay! Back he
came to us. Cats can go through all right, now we gotta wait
for you. Miss Ku sniggered and whispered to me, WE are,
cleared, Feef, but The Family are stuck!
We waited and waited. Waited, so we thought, almost long
enough to fly back. The Airport was deathly dull, hardly a
sound rippled the silence. I sensed that the Guv was becom-
ing sicker and sicker. Ma wandered around restlessly, and
Buttercup breathed as if she were on the verge of exhaustion
and sleep. Somewhere a door slammed. Ah! said the
Customs man, here he comes. Footsteps sounded along the
corridor, two men walking. They came closer and closer.
These folks claim they are Immigrants, said the Customs
man. I called you because I cannot touch their stuff until
you have cleared them. The cats have been cleared by
Health . The Immigration Officer was a nice old man, but he
did not appear to know the Airport at all, nor did he know
which office to enter; he kept asking the Customs man things.
Eventually he said, Come this way, and walked off to a
little side room. Before we can start we must have Forms
and things, he muttered to himself, tugging aimlessly at
locked drawers. Wait here, he said, I must try to find
some keys. He went out and soon returned with the Customs
man. Together they went round trying drawers and closet
doors, muttering to themselves as they found each one
locked. Both men went out and we settled down to another
long wait.
Got them! Got the keys! said the Immigration man in
great triumph, NOW we shan't be long. For minutes he
tried key after key, becoming more and more gloomy. None
of them fitted. Off he rushed to solicit the aid of the Customs
man. Together they advanced on the offending desk. You
lift up, said the Immigration man, and I will bear down,
if we can get this in between we can force it open. The
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sounds of groans and grunts almost lulled us to sleep, then
came the splintering of wood and the sound of a screw or two
dropping to the floor from the shattered lock. For a moment
no one spoke, then the Immigration man said, in a strangled
voice, The ***** desk is empty! He and the Customs
Officer wandered round, experimentally poking and pulling
at desks and closets. Much MUCH later the Immigration
man exclaimed, Ah! GOT IT! There was the rustling of
papers and muttered imprecations, then a muffled voice said,
Now we have the Forms WHERE ARE THE RUBBER
STAMPS? More searchings, more muttered words, more
waiting. Miss Ku and I settled down into a doze from which
we were awakened by having our baskets lifted. Now you go
back to Customs, that is where you came in, said the Im-
migration man. We clattered back along the Hall. All
clear? asked the Customs Officer, inspecting our papers
now marked Landed Immigrant. Wearily the Guv lifted
cases and put them on the counter, unlocked them and
opened them for inspection. Methodically the Customs
Officer checked our list of cases, and glanced through our
effects. All right, he said, you can go.
Outside the Airport the snow lay thickly, Coldest winter
for a long time, an Airport cleaner told us. Quickly our
cases were stowed in a waiting car, Ma, Buttercup, Miss Ku
and I got in the back. The Guv sat in the front with the driver.
Off we went along the slippery road. The driver did not seem
to be at all sure of the way and kept muttering to himself,
We turn here, no, it is further on, no it must be here. The
ride was uncomfortable and very long. To us it seemed almost
far enough for an air journey. We jolted along a terribly bad
road and swerved uncertainly to a stop. Here it is, said the
car driver, this is the house. We climbed out and carried
our cases in. Miss Ku and I were really too tired to carry out
a thorough inspection, so we tottered round trying to note the
most important points. The Guv lifted me on to his bed, and
I fell sound asleep.
With the coming of the morning Miss Ku came and
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awakened me, saying, Come on, you lazy old wretch! We
got work to do, now you walk behind me and I will tell you all
about everything. I jumped off the bed and had a good
scratch in order to wake myself up. Then I followed Miss Ku.
Here is where we eat, she said, and here is the Comfort
station. Here is a wall against which you would dash your
brains if you had any. Now note its position for I shall not
repeat myself! She went on, Here is a door, it leads to a
small garden with a garage at the end and the road beyond
that. She led me through the house and jumped on to a
window ledge in the Guv's bedroom. Gee! Feef! she ex-
claimed, There is a sun porch outside, and then a big lawn
and beyond that the sea. The sea is frozen. Don't be such
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