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Outside, it was still as dark as ifto drive straight on,’ said Elinor, ‘until we reach hts showed, like fingers probing the night

20

Snakes and Thorns

‘None of that ht ‘Look behind you’

The Borribles did and there, just a little beyond the rie, they saw a halo of harsh whiteness reflected on the underneath of the dark sky It was the beaot into position on the north side of the bridge, the side the runaways had left only moments before

Michael de Larrabeiti,

The Borribles Go For Broke

Behind the closer, no matter how fast Elinor drove

‘It could be just any old car,’ said Meggie, but she knew that was unlikely There was only one village on the bu for almost an hour, and that was Capricorn’s Their pursuers could only have come from there

‘Nohat?’ asked Elinor She was in such a state the car eaving all over the road ‘I’ain No No No’ At each ‘No’ she struck the steering-wheel with the palm of her hand ‘Didn’t you say you’d slit their tyres?’ she snapped at Dustfinger

‘Yes, and so I did!’ he replied angrily ‘Obviously they’ve thought of that kind of thing Ever heard of spare tyres? Go on, step on it! There ought to be a village quite soon It can’t be far away now If we can make it that far …’

‘If, yes If is the question,’ said Elinor, tapping the fuel gauge ‘I’ve got enough petrol for about another ten kiloot that far As they swerved round a sharp bend one of the front tyres blew out Elinor only just -wheel round before the car skidded off the road Meggie screa her face in her hands For a terrible e down the steep slope to their left, the bottom of which disappeared in the darkness, but the car skidded to the right, scraped its wing against the low stone wall on the other side of the road, gave a last gasp and came to a halt under the low branches of a chestnut oak that leaned over the road

‘Oh hell, hell, bloody hell!’ swore Elinor, undoing her seat-belt ‘Everyone all right?’

‘Now I knohy I’ve never trusted cars,’ ie sat there tre all over Mo pulled her out of the car and looked anxiously at her face ‘Are you all right?’

Meggie nodded

Farid clier’s side Did he still think he was dreaer stood in the road, rucksack over his shoulder, listening The uht froet the car off the road!’ he said

‘What?’ Elinor looked at him in horror

‘We’ll have to push it down the slope’