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We began our trek down theThe animals accompanied us as far as the sheer rock wall

Olive said to them, "Won’t you all come with us?"

The emu-raffe snorted "We wouldn’t last five minutes out there! You can at least hope to pass for norled her forearm-less body "I’d be shot, stuffed, andapproached E of you …"

"You’ve been so kind," she replied "Anything"

"Would youmy pipe? We have no matches here; I haven’t had a real ser to the bowl of his pipe The dog took a long, satisfied puff and said, "Best of luck to you, peculiar children"

5

We clung to the swinging net like a tribe ofclumsily down the rock face while the pulley squealed and the rope creaked Co to earth in a knotted pile, we extricated ourselves froes bit; several ti and fall flat on ain with a cartoonish whump! The dead hollow lay just feet away, its tentacles splayed like starfish arms from beneath the boulder that had crushed it I almost felt embarrassed for it: that such a fearsome creature had let itself be laid low by the likes of us Next time--if there was a next time--I didn’t think we’d be so lucky

We tiptoed around the hollow’s reeking carcass Charged down the iven the lio Once we’d reached flat land ere able to follow our own tracks back through the squishy ain just as the sun was setting and bats were screeching out of their hidden roosts They seeht, crying and circling overhead as we splashed through the shalloard the stone giant We climbed up to his mouth and pitched ourselves down his throat, then swahter light of midday, Septe and holding their ears, everyone feeling the pressure that acco off," I said, working my jaw to release the air

"Never flown in an airplane," said Horace, brushing water frohway and sohway?" asked Olive

"Forget it"

Es barking They seeely in deep woods, and distances could be deceiving "We’ll have to move quickly," Emma said "Until I say different, no one make a sound--and that includes you, head that gets near us," said Hugh "That’ll teach them to chase peculiars"