Harry said no more and followed him along a tunnel that led to the no-top-world.
It was night. The two young centis poked their feelers out, side by side, and felt around, and sniffed the outside air. It smelt wildly exciting. They couldn’t see much with their weak little eye-clusters, but their feelers told them there were lots of interesting things about.
“I smell food!” whispered George.
“Me too! What is it?” Harry whispered back.
George crawled a little further out of the hole, and waved his feelers some more.
“It’s something lovely and meaty, anyway! Let’s follow its smell and find out what it is!”
They crawled swiftly out and ran across the ground. It was great to be outdoors! Harry wondered why his mother had never brought him before. He could feel the fresh air along his segments, and knew by instinct that he mustn’t stay out long – that air could make him Dry Out. Meanwhile, this was the best fun he’d ever had!
George stopped so suddenly that Harry ran over the top of him.
“Smell that!” George crackled quietly.
The most wonderful, warm, juicy, meaty smell came to Harry’s feelers. It was very close!
“What is it? A mouse?”
“No. I don’t know what it is. It’s over there! Let’s go and get it!”
“It might be too big…”
“It’s not. Can’t you feel the vibrations from its feet? Its not much bigger than us! Come on, let’s go for it! Get your poisonpincers ready!”
George started to run, and Harry, who was still on his back, fell off. He righted himself and ran after George. He didn’t want to be left behind!
They turned a corner beside a large stone. And suddenly, they saw it!
In fact they practically ran right into it.
It was the fearsomest-looking creature they had ever seen. It was a thing called a mole-cricket: like an enormous furry cockroach armed with a pair of huge front paws like a bear’s.
George reared up in terror, and his top half did a swift U-turn in the air. “Let’s get out of here!” he crackled shrilly, and turned to flee.
As George spun round, The Thing turned as well, and came lumbering after him.
George was well on his way, but Harry wasn’t. He was so frightened he just stood there, and The Thing came running towards him, looking like a charging rhinoceros would to us.
At the last second, Harry tried to dodge out of its path, but The Thing turned its great ugly head, and its terrible clawpaws made a swipe at Harry.
Harry instinctively whisked his tail and gave The Thing a clout. That made it jump, just long enough for Harry to stick his head under it and get in a good poisonous bite on its belly.
It went stiff. Its claw-paws drooped to the ground. In another second, its thick jointed legs had collapsed under it, and it fell with a thud.
Right on top of Harry!