At that moment, I heard another long noise from the big hole in the ground, and then two shorter sounds. Right away, the garden filled with many answering calls. I stood up quickly and looked over the top of the house. In the bright light from the moon, I could see the plants moving in a strange way. They shook back and forth as if a strong wind was blowing, but the night air was still. I heard leaves moving and many feet running across the ground.

 

Several white shapes ran between the plants in the moonlight. I pointed my gun and fired twice. After my second shot, I heard a cry of pain from one of the animals. After a few minutes, the garden became quiet again. But from the direction of the big hole, I could hear many loud pig-like noises. These sounds were not just noise—they had a way of talking. Sometimes a louder, angry cry would rise above the others, and many pig voices would answer together.

 

I believed the animals were having a talk to plan how to break into our house. They seemed very angry, probably because I had fired at some of their group. I decided this was a good time to check all the doors and windows of the house while the animals were busy with their talk. I carefully went back down and walked through the house.

 

First, I went to the lower floor and looked at each door. All the lower-floor doors were strong, made of heavy wood with metal parts. I felt safe about these doors. Then I went upstairs to the room where I work. The door there worried me more. It was newer and not as strong as the other doors. This door opened onto a small area with grass on one side of the house. The windows there had metal bars to keep things out, but the door itself might be weaker than the others. All the other doors of our house are on the ground floor, except for the large main door at the front, which we never open anymore.