|
The pounding of giant steps
suddenly faded.
The scout looked up to see a
pair of stoop-shouldered figures silhouetted on the summit of the hill.
They stood almost directly above the secret passage, peering down into
the gully toward Tavis.
"Meorf see somethin'?" It
was Gragg's voice, rolling up the gulch from the lakeshore.
"No," Meorf replied. "Not
Bhurn neither."
Tavis glanced toward the
lake, where he saw the last giant silhouetted against the starlit
waters. This one was especially rotund, with a shape resembling that of
a pear. The scout dropped flat to crawl to his bow.
"How Meorf know what Bhurn
see?" Gragg demanded. "Let Bhurn talk!"
"Bhurn don't see nothin',"
Meorf insisted. "Right?"
"Right," Bhurn said.
"Nothing but little fella." The hill giant pointed a long finger at
Tavis.
The scout snatched his bow
and leaped to his feet, running away from Cuthbert's tunnel. Trying to
reach the passage now would only draw the giants' attention to it and
put him in a difficult defensive position. It would be far wiser to lure
his pursuers away, then circle back later to close the door.
"Stop, little fella!" Bhurn
yelled.
"What fella?" demanded
Gragg.
A loud crash sounded on the
slope above, then a small boulder bounced past Tavis's head. He dodged
away, barely eluding a second, better-aimed stone.
"Stop, little fella!" Meorf
yelled.
"Where fella?" Gragg was
still standing on the lakeshore, peering toward his friends on the
hill's summit. "Gragg don't see nothin'!"
Tavis reached the bottom of
the slope and started up the other side of the gulch, intentionally
kicking stones down the hill to make it easier for Gragg to find him. If
the secret passage was to remain hidden, all three giants had to follow
him.
"Wait!" yelled Gragg. "Hill
giants friends! Not hurt little fella!"
Two more boulders slammed
into the ground behind Tavis. The scout paused and looked back across
the gulch.
"Why should I stop? Meorf
and Bhurn are too stupid to catch me!" he yelled. "And so is Gragg!" |
