“By all that glides!” shouted Bismark, pacing back and forth. “It was the beast! We have experienced his rage firsthand!”
Tobin’s eyes widened. “Oh goodness!” he cried. “Have we angered it by coming up here?”
“I have no doubt he wants us gone, amigo! Word in the woods is that this beast fellow gets territorial!”
“Bismark,” said Dawn, “what are you talking about? There is no ‘word.’”
“Potato, potahto. Pomelo, pomahlo.” Bismark waved his paw. “Point is, that’s one bad beast. Our friend Polywollydingdong was right.”
“Polyphema,” said Dawn with a sigh.
“Yes, right, that’s what I said.”
Dawn held up her paw to shush Bismark. “We still haven’t seen the beast. Don’t you think that’s a little odd if he’s a giant?”
Bismark scratched his bald spot. “Do you need to see the air to know it’s there, mon amour? Do you need to see my love to know it exists?”
Dawn paced toward the rim of the ledge and narrowed her almond-shaped eyes. She surveyed the expanse of dark dust below. Then she gazed at the jagged rocks perched above. “No,” she began, “but—”
“But nada, my darling! I know you and Tutu aren’t the bestest of friends, but I see no evidence to prove her wrong!” Bismark stood tall and punched a small fist in the air. “I object to your objection!”
Dawn looked again at the barren, gray landscape then thoughtfully scanned the horizon. “What if it was her?” she asked suddenly. “What if Polyphema caused the rockslide herself?”
Tobin glanced at his leader. “I… I was sure it was the beast,” he stammered. “Those rocks came so fast.”
“It was definitely the beast!” Bismark insisted. He clicked his tongue at Dawn. “Why are you so anti-Tutu? Hmm?” Bismark patted Dawn’s paw. “I hate to say it, my love, but your jealousy has clouded your judgment. That reptile Poly… Poly…”
“Polyphema?” said Tobin.
“Yes, si, whatever.” Bismark cleared his throat. “Our new friend’s third eye is quite a remarkable feature, and I’m sure she has mucho talent for seeing the future, but the rocks? Impossible! How would she have arrived here in time?” The sugar glider shook his small head. “No, no, no. Her legs are far too stumpy to move that fast. In fact, they’re not so unlike those of our favorite pangolin.” Bismark tilted his head toward Tobin.
Dawn shrugged her shoulders.
“Come!” The sugar glider spun on his heel. “We must track down the culprit! I’ll tackle him myself if I have to!” Bismark flexed his scrawny biceps then led them back around the mountain so that they looked out over the crater. Nearing the edge, he eyed the monstrous print at the bottom of the enormous hole. Though it seemed quite small from this height, he remembered how large it was up close. He gulped. “I shall still be victorious,” he murmured. “Size and strength are no match for pure genius!”
Tobin turned to face Dawn. Her expression remained skeptical. “Bismark has a point,” he said meekly. “You know, not about his genius, but about the beast. And Polyphema did warn us.”
Dawn looked to her friend and considered his words.
“That rockslide scared me,” Tobin continued, his beady eyes wide with fright. “I’m not as brave as you are. I’m afraid of the beast.”
The fox nodded. The rockslide could have been the work of the beast. It was possible. “You’re right,” Dawn said softly.
Tobin’s expression turned hopeful. “So we’ll go back to Polyphema and talk to her?”
Dawn gazed at the blurry horizon. Then she noticed a small figure near the edge of the crater. It was Polyphema, who seemed to be waiting for them. “Yes,” she replied. Her taut muscles slightly relaxed. “The tuatara may be right after all.”