Last night DH came in with a long face.   It seems that while he was
putting out the rubbish before bed, Clyde slithered out.  DH spent about
an hour cavorting around the street after slippery Clyde and came in
fuming.

"I"m going to bed," he scowled, "Clyde can stay out all night."  And he
vanished!

Alarm bells rang in my head and I immediately became aware of every car
going past.  'was Clyde being squashed on the road right that minute?'.

I went out with the torch.   Try catching a frisky dark cat in the
dark!    Car headlights came and went.   Suddenly  a dark streak
flashed across the road towards the neighbours.   Clyde was trying to
break the two minute mile.

I followed, grimly clutching my torch and whispering  kitty kitty.  
Clyde smirked at me from under the neighbour's lighted lounge window.  
It was 11.00 p.m.

I crept on my stomach towards Clyde - ye Gods I was turning into a
'peeping Tom'.   I could hear the telly inside and voices, doors slammed
- I froze, lying fair in the middle of the flower garden.  I could
imagine the morning speculation as to what large creature had crushed
the pet flowers in the night.

I crept closer to the miscreant.  I was in his paws and he knew it.  I
reached out and managed to touch the end of his tail - whoooooosh.   He
was now under a lighted bedroom window.  OMG, what was I doing.    I had
to get out of here!

I crawled on all fours down the drive under the lighted windows.  I
wondered if they had called the police!

I wiped the sweat from my brow when I reached home, that had been a
close thing.  I decided that Clyde  could stay out all night and shakily
headed for the lighted front door.   Something scuttled past me.   It
was Clyde, chasing a huge moth.   He was so engrossed with his stalking
duties that I grabbed him without any trouble.  I slept well last night!

Bev