Tippy, Chapter Six

By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist

Continued from last week.

I decided I had to find Pete and Jim. I knew I would not be happy until I did. It can’t be that hard – the old chicken had given me the address.  

The next morning, I ask her if she knew where Ivy Hill Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio was. She stared at me and said, “west.”  

I ask her when I got to the end of the driveway would I turn right or left? She shook her head and said, “right.”

I began to think she was a homing pigeon, not a chicken. She admitted her second grandfather on her mother’s side was thought to be a homing pigeon.

“Are you going to go?” she asked.

“I must.”

“Can I come with you?”

I thought about it for a few minutes and decided it was actually a surprisingly promising idea. 

“OK, but you can’t slow me down. I am in a hurry.”

I had never heard a chicken give a belly laugh until then.

We agreed to start the next night. She would be nearby, but not too close so that the two of us together would not attract attention. If I needed her, I would lie on my back and have my four legs up in the air. This would be our signal. Most of the time I would not know she was around unless I got way off the path whereupon she would fly in and correct me.  

Who was she fooling? She was more than a little bit of a homing pigeon.

It was raining hard when I started out that night. It rained for the next four days. I walked in the ditch by the side of the road so humans likely would not see me. I would follow my old pattern, hide and sleep during the day and move forward only at night.  

As the fourth night was breaking toward dawn, I looked up and saw a sign that said “Marshall.”  

I sure hoped “Marshall” was near Ivy Hill Drive. I fell asleep, exhausted {D Jim, Pete and I were under the Maple trees in the front yard again. And Jim was reading from the Black Book again: John Chapter 16, Verse 33. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. D}

I awoke refreshed that evening and decided I would tackle “Marshall.” The rain had stopped. The main road seemed to turn to the left but that didn’t seem correct. There was an alley straight ahead, or nearly straight ahead, and I decided to take it. Then I came to a cross alley.  

Which way should I go? I was getting confused. Just then, the chicken appeared in front of me.

“You idiot! It will soon be light again and the children will be coming to school. You might get caught!”

“Are we near Ivy Hill Drive?”

“Not even close. Follow me and I will find you a place to hide for the day.”

Where would be the least likely place for children to be on a school day in a village? The cemetery. So, she led me to the cemetery, and I hid among the stones in the back. Although the grass was not too tall, the old chicken was correct. Unlikely anyone would be there on a school day. 

Note: The {D} section indicates a dream sequence.