Under The Net - Iris Murdoch [63]
as well,' I said. 'It won't go through the door,' said Finn, 'and anyway someone's sure to stop us on the way out.' We'll try,' I said. 'If it won't go through the door I'll promise to give up.' You'll have no choice,' said Finn. I was certain it would go through the door. But to get it through we should have to stand it on its side. There was a bowl of water inside on the aluminium floor of the cage. 'That proves it,' said Finn; 'they surely put it together up here. We'll not get it away.' I took a flower vase and poured the water from the bowl into it, holding it close against the bars. Then very gently we began to tilt the cage. Mars, who had been watching us intently, now began to get very excited. 'Be careful,' said Finn, 'or he'll bite the hand off you.' We tilted the cage until it lay entirely upon its side, and as we did so Mars slid down until he was standing on the bars which now rested on the floor. He began to bark nervously. 'Be quiet,' I told him. 'Think of the fix you were in in Five in a Flood, and it all turned out all right!' 'When we lift the cage,' said Finn, 'his feet will fall through the bars and he may break a leg by struggling.' This was a sensible thought. We stood and considered the problem. We were past troubling about the time. We were ready to go on now even if it meant another two hours. 'We must stretch something across the bars,' I said. I seized a tablecloth, and stuffing it into the cage tried to spread it out under Mars's feet. But he immediately started to paw it and worry it. 'You'll have to fix it somehow,' said Finn, 'or he'll scruff it away with his feet.' 'String,' I said. "That would slip off,' said Finn. 'What you need is something long enough to double back and tie on to itself underneath.' He disappeared and came back a moment later with a sheet. We measured the sheet against the edge of the cage. 'It's not long enough to meet underneath,' said Finn. I began trying to tie the corners of the sheet to the bars, but it was highly starched and the knots came undone at once. We looked round desperately. 'What about those curtains?' I suggested. 'We'd need a step-ladder to get them down,' said Finn. 'No time,' I said. I gave them a sharp tug, and the fitting came out of the wall and the curtains came down on top of us with great clattering of rings. We detached one of them. It was extremely long. We stretched it along inside the cage, making Mars pick up his feet and stand on it. Then there was quite enough of it protruding at either end for it to meet itself if doubled back on the underside of the bars. But we had no means of getting at the underside. 'We need a jack,' said Finn. I took two chairs and put them one at each end of the cage 'Lift it on to these,' I said. We began to lift, but as we did so Mars's paws, slipping through the bars as soon as the cage left the floor, pulled the curtain into a tangle. At the same time he began to bark loudly. We put the cage down again. I looked at Finn. He was sweating. He looked at me. 'I've just thought of something else,' he said quietly. 'What is it?' I asked him. 'Even suppose we were to tie the two ends of the curtain together underneath,' said Finn, 'the knot would pull the curtain up into a rope on the inside of the bars, so it wouldn't even then be spread out under his feet. Do you see what I mean?' I saw what he meant. We leaned pensively against the two ends of the cage. 'Perhaps after all it would be better to try twine,' said Finn. 'If we were to thread two pieces into the curtain rings at each end, and then make two holes...' 'To hell with it!' I cried. 'We'll try nothing more,' and I began to drag the curtain out from under Mars's feet. He forthwith seized the corner of it in his mouth and wouldn't let go. 'Get it away from him!' I told Finn. 'You do that,' said Finn, 'and I'll pull.' With difficulty I forced Mars's mouth open, and we rescued what remained of the curtain. After that I sat on the floor and leaning my head against the bars I began to laugh hysterically. I've thought of something too,' I told Finn. 'What?' 'Perhaps