 The Ratcatcher, read by Jessica Hines In the afternoon the Ratcatcher came to the filling station. He came sidling up the driveway with a stealthy, soft treading gate, making no noise at all with his feet on the gravel. He had an army knapsack slung over one shoulder and he was wearing an old-fashioned black jacket with large pockets. His brown cordroy trousers were tied around the knees with pieces of white string. Yes, Claude asked, knowing very well who he was, rodent operative. His small, dark eyes moved swiftly over the premises. Ratcatcher, ask me. The man was lean and brown with a sharp face and two long, sulphur-coloured teeth that protruded from the upper jaw, overlapping the lower lip, pressing it inward. The ears were thin and pointed and set far back on the head, near the nape of the neck. The eyes were almost black, but when they looked at you there was a flash of yellow somewhere inside them. You come very quick. Special orders from the alfalfa, sir. And know you're going to catch all the rats? Yeah. The kind of dark, furtive eyes he had were those of an animal that lives its life peering out cautiously and forever from a hole in the ground. Are you going to catch them? Oh, the rat man said, darkly. That's all according to where he is. Trap, am I suppose? Trap, am I? He cried, disgusted. He won't catch many rats that way. Rats isn't rabbits, you know. He held his face up high, sniffing the air with a nose that twitched perceptibly from side to side. No, he said scornfully. Trap is no way to catch a rat. Rats is clever. Let me tell you that. If you want to catch them, you've got to know them. You've got to know rats on this job. I could see Claude staring at him with a certain fascination. They're more clever and dogs, rats says. Get away. You know what they do? They watch you. All the time you're going round preparing to catch them. They're sitting quietly in dark places watching you. The man crouched, stretching his stringy neck far forward. So what do you do? Claude asked, fascinated. Ah, that's it, you see. That's where you've got to know rats. How'd you catch them? There's ways. The rat man's. Sample complete. Ready to continue?