Chapter 7

Cody watched as the man went to the shelf and took down a couple of bowls. He disappeared for a moment, then reappeared before Cody, carrying a spoon and a steaming bowl of watery rabbit stew.

“You’ll have to untie me,” said Cody.

The man put the spoon in the bowl and dragged over one of the chairs from the table. He spun it round as though it were made of balsa wood and sat.

“I don’t understand what you want with me,” said Cody.

The man dipped the spoon into the stew and brought it to Cody’s mouth. Cody took the stew, which was reasonably delicious. He tasted the garlic. The thin gravy meant each mouthful slid down his throat, although the rabbit bones were a different story. He couldn’t speak with bones in his mouth, and even though he poked them through his lips to show the man, the stranger remained silent and made no attempt to remove them. With no other option, Cody spat them onto the floor. The man didn’t seem to mind.