The Inexplicables (The Clockwork Century 4)

“He’s not trying to bite me, he’s only trying to eat. I think he’ll get better, if he gets enough grub in him. ” Zeke gazed at the fox as though he’d give almost anything to pet the thing’s ears.

“Don’t be a dummy,” Rector warned. “That fox ain’t nobody’s dog. It’d bite you even if it weren’t sick. That there’s a wild animal, and if it gets better, it’s going right back outside the wall, where it belongs. ”

“That’s fine. I don’t mind turning him loose; I just don’t want him to be so damn sick. I feel sorry for him, is all. ”

Rector sat down beside Zeke and drew up his knees. “I’d feel sorry for you, if we had to cut off your hand or something. ”

Zeke smiled, but didn’t withdraw his fingers or the jerky he offered the fox. The animal took another bite, chewed it, and then retreated to the cage’s far end. It turned in a circle and flopped down, looking dejected … but maybe less dejected than it had the day before.

“You couldn’t sleep either?” Zeke asked.

“I been asleep. I just woke up. ”

“Everybody’s riled up. All this talk of dynamite and fire … the Station is going to war with the tower. Only the tower don’t know it yet. ”

“I hope they don’t know it,” Rector said nervously.

“What do you mean by that?”

He told Zeke about the inexplicable and Captain Cly, and how he and Houjin had almost been caught. He added, “I can’t imagine they knew who we were, or what we were doing. They might’ve noticed we opened some of the dynamite and took a bit, but there’s always the chance they’ll write it off to boys being boys. ”

“Ain’t that just about the dumbest expression? Boys being boys … what the hell else are we supposed to be?”

“Damned if I know. ”

“Me either. ”

They sat together in silence for a minute, staring at the pitiful fox, then Zeke said, “I been thinking. Even if we catch the inexplicable and stick him in the jail, how will we give him clean air? If Captain Cly can’t take him, then the thing’s too big to wrestle. And I don’t think he would understand if we held a gun to him. ”

“Miss Angeline seems to think we’ll manage. ”

“I know, and she’s usually right. But the spaces under the jailhouse aren’t sealed; the sasquatch wouldn’t get enough clean air like that. He’s not like this little fox. We can’t just put him in a crate and stick him in a corner. ”

“Then what did you have in mind?”

“Well, I was thinking, see: How do we get clean air when we’re moving around up topside?”

Rector said, “Masks. Filters. All that rigmarole. ”

“Right. So what if we put a mask on the monster?”

Rector leaned back thoughtfully against the wall. “How do you know he’d wear one? He could yank it off. ”

“Not if we tied up his hands, or something. If there are any irons left in the jail, and they aren’t all rusted through, maybe we could hitch him up like a crook. ”

“Sounds tricky. ”

“Yeah, but it’d be easier than convincing him to come with us just because we’re nice people who want to help him. If we can get him to the jail and get him food and water, maybe he’d settle down enough to trust us. ”

“That kind of thing don’t happen. ”

“It don’t?” Zeke pointed at the fox. “That fox is scared to death, but it knows I don’t mean it no harm. If the inexplicables are something more like people, they must be even smarter. Even if he doesn’t understand us, he might understand we’re on his side. ”

“All that sounds real nice, but I’d be afraid to see it in action. And anyway, where would we get a mask big enough to fit him?”

“The captain has a big head, but he’s got a mask to fit it. So does Mr. Swakhammer. ”

“You want to ask him for a loaner, to stick on a monster?”