DURING THOSE days, the community of missionaries was experiencing repeatedly small robberies on their property. One night, two blankets were gone; on another occasion, the ladder, or even some frozen chicken and some beers were taken from the pantry. Every time an incident happened, the missionaries would call the police and a van would come with two officials who would inquire about further details regarding the theft, write a report and even take some fingerprints, hoping to get hold of the suspects as soon as possible. The police officers would be very precise in taking all the information and they would leave, promising a thorough investigation. A sense of unease was growing among the missionaries, expecting anytime to be struck again. Of course, the two dogs, often sleeping during the night, were not of much help in that situation.

During that time, a new cook was employed at the mission. She was given one of the rooms situated about 300 meters from the missionaries’ house. One of the first things she was cautioned about was that some unexpected and unwanted visitors had been coming during the night, in the previous weeks, so she should remain alert and always sleep with the door of her room well locked. A few days after her arrival, the phone of the missionaries rang at a late hour of the night.

“They are here, again”, she said. “Ok, remain locked, in your room”, the missionary answered. Since the distance between both dormitories was considerable, there was no chance to check more particulars before phoning the police.

The police squad did not delay arriving, but this time it was not a single van, but a group of three vehicles and six officials. The scene was set for a vast operation. Immediately, they reached the lady’s room and established dialogue with her. Meanwhile, the rest of the officials were busy trying to find evidence of the robbery, but nothing was found. The police officials were baffled, but they could not leave the site with any proof of an intent of assault or any sign of a burglary. Finally, the police crew left and kindly wished us good night.

After thorough internal investigations, once the police had left, the conclusion was quite evident, the only culprits to be found were the numerous rats running inside the lady’s ceiling.