They passed a nice little nest on their way – just the right size for one of them to curl up in. (It was a tummy button, of course, but they didn’t know that.)
They were both very tired by now. George got into the little round nest and turned around in it several times. When he curled up tight, it just fitted him.
“You can’t rest now, Grndd!” crackled Harry. “We must go—”
Suddenly there was an upheaval. Something came down hard on top of the warm-web above the little round nest. Huge hard things moved around, prodding and scratching. And the whole vast meat-mountain they were on heaved and shook.
George shot out of the nest just in time. The two centis clung together. Then, as the prodding things went on digging and rubbing at the little round nest, they scattered and ran.
They ran through a heaving forest of hairs. This was tricky for them. The hairs grew so thickly here that they had to push through. Several times their little claw feet got caught on the hairs and they had to pull free.
The hairy forest moved up and down even more than the hairless floor, even after the whole meat-mountain had stopped heaving about. And then The Noise started.
It was a rumbling, gurgling, growly sound, a little like thunder, but wetter. It happened – then stopped – then it happened again. It kept on happening.
“What’s that noise?” asked Harry fearfully.
But George didn’t even bother to answer. His cuticle was feeling drier and drier. His breathing holes were all dry around the edges. His feelers, back and front, were so dry he felt they might snap off if he bumped into them.
He could sense the water. It was getting nearer! Nothing else mattered. He made for it, and Harry, though quaking with fear, followed.
At last they came out of the forest and found a meaty ridge in front of them. There was no warm-web tunnel roof over their heads now. They were in the open.
They ran along the ridge. There was a great curly complicated bit of meat at the top. They found a tiny tunnel in the middle, and stood for a moment, peering in. Should they go down it?
But the moist smell was not coming from there. It was close by, though. They ran over a prickly slope, and suddenly, there it was – a round hole, rather like the top of the Up-Pipe only it was made of warm meat.
They stopped on the edge and peeped in. The noise was coming from here and it was very loud, but they just didn’t care.
“A lovely wet tunnel!” breathed Harry.
“Oh, Hx! We made it!” said George.
“LET’S GO!” they both cried together.
And they threw themselves down into it.
For about two beautiful seconds, they ran along the inside of the tunnel, getting themselves gloriously damp again.
Two seconds was all they had.
After that, everything started to happen.