Baby (4)

4: A Dragon, or the Modern Equivalent

The next morning, Henry sat in his office appreciating it as if it was the last time he'd ever be there. Maybe it was. Maybe Mr. Sherman had already called the museum to complain and his uncle was about to fire him on the spot. Maybe Henry'd be told to gather what he could carry and walk out, not bothering to finish the morning much less the whole day.

There was a knock on his door and he felt it like a noose around his neck.

"Come in," he offered timidly.

It wasn't his uncle. An assistant pushed into the room and delivered a box no longer than Henry's forearm. "This just arrived from Wyoming," he said and walked out.

In all the tragedy, Henry had forgotten about the intercostal clavicle! With rising excitement, Henry opened the package and pulled out a plaster-covered fossil. It would take time and delicacy to remove the plaster which has been applied to protect the priceless artifact during shipping, but here it was, in his hands!

The door to his office burst open without warning or ceremony and his uncle strode in.

"Henry!" he said by way of greeting.

"Sir," Henry answered automatically before correcting himself, "Director Tilney."

"Is that it?" Errol Tilney wasted no time in asking. "Jones said you'd got a package."

"It is," Henry confirmed. Then, in a superhuman act of will, he offered the fossil to his uncle. "Would you like to hold it?"

The older man plucked it from his grasp then almost dropped it due to its unexpected weight. "It's heavy," he observed carelessly before passing it back to Henry.

"Yes," Henry agreed, surreptitiously checking it for any damage.

"What did Sherman say about it?"

"Sherman?" Henry repeated. "Mr. Sherman?" he stalled. "Alexander Sherman? Of the Allen Foundation?"

"Yes, Alexander Sherman. You went golfing with him yesterday," his uncle reminded him testily. "Is he going to give us the money?"

"We, we… It didn't come up," said Henry.

"How is that possible?" Errol Tilney exclaimed. "You golfed with him. Did you talk with him?"

"Well, yes and no," Henry stammered.

"Did you talk with him or not?" the director's voice rose in agitation.

"I did," Henry said. "I tried."

The phone rang and Henry grabbed it like a lifeline. His uncle couldn't really yell at him while he was on a call but he could at least glare murderously.

"Museum of Natural Sciences and History, New York, Paleontology Department. This is Henry Tilney speaking."

"Oh, excellent! I found you! This is Catherine Morland from yesterday," came the pleasant voice. As if it would take only one sleepless night for Henry to forget her.

"Now isn't a good time, Miss Morland," Henry said under the weight of his uncle's glower. It wasn't smart to warn her that he probably wouldn't be at this number for long.

"But I must see you right now. It's very urgent. I need your expertise. I've been calling around all morning trying to reach you," she told him while he tried to interrupt to say he was busy and his uncle folded his arms across his chest to glare more effectively.

"My brother sent me a leopard," she said and whatever rebuttal he was about to make fizzled and died.

"A leopard?" he repeated with a nervous hitch.

"Yes, would you like to talk with him? The leopard, of course; not my brother." There was a fumbling noise then a very imposing, "meow," then more fumbling. "That was him, did you hear him?"

"You're with the leopard right now?" he asked, his voice climbing higher. He imagined Catherine in an animal warehouse -- the sort that a carnival might use in the off-season if such a thing existed -- and standing too near a cage.

"Yes, they delivered him to Aunt Bess' house at sunrise," Catherine answered as if this was the most natural, unthreatening thing that has happened to her all week. "He came in a cage but he seemed so tired of being cooped up that I let him out. He's puttering about my bedroom now."

"The leopard is loose in your bedroom?" Henry summarized.

"Really," she scoffed and there was another loud animal noise in the background. "You make him sound beastly. He's been nothing but a pussycat all morning. But I do think I need your advice on how to care for him."

"Catherine," he said in the calmest voice he could manage, and he would apologize for addressing her informally when she was safe, "my advice is don't make any sudden movements but get out of the room as quick as you can."

"Are you saying my brother sent me a dangerous animal?" she said, sounding displeased with him. It was the first sign of haughtiness he'd had from her.

"Miss Morland," he said, treading lightly.

"Henry," his uncle snapped at him. He was not accustomed to being ignored.

Without thinking, Henry shushed him. Yes, his uncle was standing in his office but a leopard was prowling in Catherine's bedroom.

"You think I'm in danger?" she asked with a calculating undertone.

"You have a leopard," he stressed. One didn't need to be a man of science to see the obvious concern.

"And if you thought I was truly in danger, would you come save me?" which was the least clever thing she'd said that day -- and Henry was including, "Oh, just put the leopard in my bedroom," or words to that effect in his assessment -- because who could stand idly by while someone else was mauled by a ferocious beast?

"Of course, but it's not going to come to that," he said. "Now hang up the phone and leave the room as carefully as possible. I'll wait at my desk for you to call back from a phone that isn't in the same room as a leopard."

"Henry!" his uncle yelled at him which would have been enough to get him to drop everything but Henry merely held up a hand to ask for silence. Catherine was in a very perilous predicament even if she refused to treat it with appropriate severity and it wouldn't do for him to get distracted right now.

There was a measured sigh from the headset and Catherine was shouting into his ear, "Oh, Mr. Tilney! Help!" Then there were sounds of a scuffle and the line went dead.

He called her name but there was no reply. The call had been disconnected and there was no reviving it from his end. He needed to rescue her. He needed to save her before it was too late. He knew where she lived after having taken her home last night and morning traffic should have died down by now, he could get there in twenty minutes if he drove quickly.

He started to bolt from the room but his uncle stopped him.

"Henry, you will stay right here and tell me what is going on," the director commanded. "What happened with Mr. Sherman?"

"No time," replied Henry and tried to leave again only to get yanked back by the cord of his phone. He tossed it to his uncle to deal with and ran, the intercostal clavicle gripped tightly in his other hand.

.o8o.

Catherine Morland quite liked her new leopard. It had never occurred to her to want a leopard before but now that she had one she never wanted to give him up. Good work to James for sending such a delightful gift!

And the cat was such a sweetheart! He didn't purr but he had a playful roar and looked ever so graceful as he prowled her room, his spots rippling with each stride.

As she waited for Mr. Tilney to come over, she went into the ensuite and turned on the tub faucet. A steady trickle of water leaked out and the leopard was at her side in an instant to investigate. After Catherine splashed her hand in the stream in demonstration, the boy caught on quickly and was soon lapping up a drink.

"Poor dear, you were thirsty," Catherine observed before remembering the tea still sitting on her breakfast tray and deciding she could use a drink as well. She knew it had been wrong to pretend to be in danger but she really needed to see Mr. Tilney. He was an expert on large animals so he would be able to tell her how to take care of her brother's gift.

When Henry Tilney burst into her room all disheveled and serious, she was sipping her tea like a lady as her mother had taught her.

"Miss Morland!" he sounded a little breathless like he had run up all the stairs in the townhouse and a few others besides. He looked at her, and it was a very intense look, like he was checking her head to toe for injuries. "The leopard?" he said at last, confused by the peaceful lack of blood and dismemberment.

"He's in the bath," she said with a slight nod. "Can I offer you some tea?"

Hearing the commotion, the leopard came out to investigate which nearly had Henry jumping out of his skin.

"The leopard," he whispered and clung to the far wall.

"Please don't worry about him, Mr. Tilney. My brother sent me a tame leopard," she explained. She then handed him a note that had been included in the transport documents.

"Please look after my leopard, Baby," he read aloud. "I've raised him from a kitten and he's remarkably well behaved. He's been my constant companion for the last 12 months and I'd prefer to keep him with me but the next leg of my trip is sadly not leopard-friendly. He is much too spoiled by me to return to the wild and I am much too spoiled by him to let him go so I am sending him to you for safekeeping until I return to the states at Thanksgiving. He should have more than enough space on the farm. If he ever gets bored or difficult, know that he enjoys listening to music, especially love songs. It used to make me rather melancholy listening to those songs so soon after Isabella, but now I listen to them and think of my Baby. Give my love to Mother. Signed, James," he concluded, his voice fading away.

He stared at the letter a little longer then turned to her. "You can't tame a leopard," he told her.

Baby growled in agreement but ruined the effect by rubbing his head against Catherine's knees. "He seems quite tame to me," she observed.

"Everything seems tame on a full stomach," opined Henry, his eyes fixed on the big cat.

Rather than argue, Catherine turned on the record player. A song began to project from the speaker and Baby hopped onto Catherine's bed and curled his tail in time to the music.

"You don't think my brother would have sent me something that would hurt me?" she asked Henry over the first verse.

Henry had to admit that the right answer was not obvious. He couldn't imagine a brother would send such a dangerous gift, but he couldn't imagine a leopard wasn't a dangerous gift.

"Your sister sent you the bone from a long dead creature," Catherine pointed out. "That sounds rather strange and macabre, to an outsider. A leopard is the same thing, really."

"A leopard is not the same thing at all!" he exclaimed. "Go back in time a hundred million years or so and the brontosaurus was still a vegetarian."

“But you'll help me with Baby, won't you?” she pleaded. “I don't know anyone else nearby who knows the first thing about animals.”

“I'm a paleontologist,” he said in exasperation. “I don't know the first thing about animals unless they're already dead.”

"Nonsense, you must know more than you realize,” Catherine told him but Henry was unmoved. “Well then, “she said, changing tack, “can you at least help me take him to the farm in Connecticut?"

"That's what this is about? You want me to drive your leopard to the country?"

"I can't keep him in town, cooped up in my bedroom for weeks. You read the letter, James wants me to take him to the farm. There's plenty of space and he won't get in anyone's way."

"I can't," said Henry, and he began to realize how he had left things with his uncle. He had been dismissive and rude to the older man, not answering his questions and leaving abruptly. At the time, Henry had been too afraid for Catherine's safety to give his behavior a second thought, but now that the threat was neither grave nor pressing, it was hard to justify.

And he had ruined the museum's chances with the Allen Foundation! Oh, this was awful.

"I can't," he said again, utterly forlorn. "I can't help you. I can't even help myself. My uncle is going to go through the roof when I tell him I've messed things up with Mr. Sherman."

Catherine Morland's mouth dipped in a frown before perking up again. "You'll be pleased to know that Sacha is fully recovered from last night," she shared. "I called him earlier and Aunt Lily -- that's Mrs. Sherman, not really my aunt -- told me all about it. Yes, he's fine now but they're going to get out of the city for a few days. They have a place near the farm. If you wanted to help me take Baby to Connecticut, maybe you could run into him there and discuss your business with him. He's always more relaxed out of doors."

She had laid it out so sweetly that Henry wasn't sure how fully he was being manipulated.

"Please say you'll help me, Mr. Tilney. I can't take Baby on the train, my aunt drove her car to Boston, and I can't hire a taxi to bring my leopard back to Connecticut. James is a dear but even I know that Baby isn't a practical gift. Help me, please. And in return let me help you. I know I wrecked your plans yesterday. I'm trying to make amends. If you take Baby and me to Connecticut, then Sacha will see how generous you are, and I'm sure he'll be generous in return."

Henry shook his head but he knew he was going to agree.

It didn't help his resolve that a love song was still playing in the background although a desire to avoid his uncle's wrath until Henry could turn the situation around was what tipped the scales into Catherine's favor.

"How soon can you be ready to go?" he asked. "My car is illegally parked. I can't stick around all morning."

---

Notes: In the original movie, the leopard is from South America, which is an interesting choice for a plot hole. Leopards are spotted cats and live in Africa. Jaguars are spotted cats and live in SA. The animal they used in the movie was a leopard. Why did they decide to write that he was from SA? Did they not know where leopards come from? Was there something going on in Africa or SA during the writing of the script that made them change it?