Author: Edward Guenther
Uploaded: November 11th, 1011

Bobby was really getting irritated with the scratching, chewing noises in the wall of his upstairs bedroom. Tomorrow he would get the 12 gauge shotgun out and go hunting for that old rat. Ronny assured him that it was perfectly safe to hunt in the attic because it was totally enclosed. That being the case, there was no point talking to Pa about it.

Next afternoon he told Ma he was going hunting in the attic, but he didn’t actually get around to it until about six o’clock. Now Pa often worked the 3:00 a.m. shift when trucks were coming in at Red’s meat house, so it happened that Pa was already snoozing in bed.

Bobby was loaded for bear when he stepped through the small opening into the attic compartment. It was musty and dusty in there. He saw old rat skeletons here and there in the dim light. Carefully he walked on the two-by-four rafters, for Ronny had told him that the ceiling was paper thin and a body might just fall through.

Bobby always took Ronny as gospel. Like that time at school when the teacher asked if anybody knew what made the wind blow. Bobby proudly answered that it was the trees waving back and forth that made the wind blow. When the teacher asked Bobby how he knew that, Bobby smugly said, “My big brother Ronny told me so!” Bobby felt mighty big to know stuff like that.

Anyway, Bobby quietly moved about the attic until he heard a scurrying sound. Knowing he was close, he stood waiting. Suddenly, a giant rat waddled across the attic floor. Bobby was a crack shot with any kind of a gun, but a shotgun was too easy! He squeezed off the trigger. Unbelievably, the rat screamed … wait …rats don’t scream, that was Pa! Oh, oh…

Pa was down in his bed screaming at the top of his lungs, “I been shot! I been shot!” It was too late though, for Bobby had filled Pa with buckshot!

Bobby was mighty slow getting downstairs, and mostly by that time Ma had Pa cooled down considerably. It was Pa’s way not to carry a grudge, but Bobby always felt shamed every time he walked through the bedroom and saw the buckshot holes in the wall by Pa’s bed. Pa always claimed afterwards that he carried shrapnel and Bobby was quite sure he did.

A couple days later the phone man was out fixing the family phone. He traced the problem, fixed it, and then in bewilderment said, “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that line was cut in two by buckshot.” Pa didn’t even answer him. What was the use.