Dottie had taken up her position as sentry under the hole inside, and glared fixedly at it, as she sat rigidly to attention at the top of the stairs. A low growl vibrated through her frozen frame every time she sensed any kind of movement from above. When the Landlord finally made his way up the stairs to join her, her tail wagged appreciatively from side to side. "We need to put some rat poison in the roof, and then seal up that hole." advised the Landlord, dragging the ladder up the stairs behind him and wedging it precariously on the landing. Dottie jumped to her feet, ears perked, tail stiff as a board as he ascended to the hatch, clutching a bag of rat poison in one hand and holding tightly to the ladder with the other. As he reached the top step and stretched up to push the hatch door to one side, there was a scrabbling, scrambling sound above him. Two sleek, black bodies with long, pink tails, leapt from the hole and landed with a thud on the staircase behind him! Dottie nearly jumped out of her skin! The moment she had been waiting for had arrived, a chance to come to grips with the interlopers once and for all!