'Over there, sir, by the shaft.'
Woundwort crossed the burrow quickly. On the far side of the rubble that had fallen in from the shaft was lying the inert body of a buck. He sniffed at it and then pressed it with his nose.
'He'
s not been dead long,' he said. 'He's nearly cold but not stiff. What do you make of it, Vervain? Rabbits don't die underground.'
'It's a very small buck, sir,' answered Vervain. ' 'Didn't fancy the idea of fighting us, perhaps, and the others killed him when he said so.'
'No, that won't do. There's not a scratch on him. Well, leave him, anyway. We've got to get on, and a rabbit this size isn't going to make any difference, dead or alive.'
He began to move along the wall, sniffing as he went. He passed the mouths of two blocked runs, came to an opening between thick tree-roots, and stopped. The place was evidently very big - bigger than the Council burrow at Efrafa. Since they were not being attacked, he could turn the space to his own advantage by getting some more rabbits in at once. He went back quickly to the foot of the shaft. By standing on his hind legs he could just rest his forepaws on the ragged lip of the hole.
'Groundsel?' he said.
'Yes, sir?' answered Groundsel from above.
'Come on,' said Woundwort, 'and bring four others with you. Jump to this side' - he moved slightly -' there's a dead rabbit on the floor - one of theirs.'
He was still expecting to be attacked at any moment, but the place remained silent. He continued to listen, sniffing the close air, while the five rabbits dropped one by one into the burrow. Then he took Groundsel over to the two blocked runs along the eastern wall.
'Get these open as quick as you can,' he said, 'and send two rabbits to find out what's behind the tree roots beyond. If they're attacked you're to go and join in at once.'
'You know, there's something strange about the wall at the other end, sir,' said Vervain, as Groundsel began setting his rabbits to work.' Most of it's hard earth that's never been dug. But in one or two places there are piles of much softer stuff. I'd say that runs leading through the wall have been filled up very recently - probably since yesterday evening.'
Woundwort and Vervain went carefully along the south wall of the Honeycomb, scratching and listening.
'I believe you're right,' said Woundwort. 'Have you heard any movement from the other side?'
'Yes, sir, just about here,' said Vervain.
'We'll get this pile of soft earth down,' said Woundwort. 'Put two rabbits on it. If I'm right and Thlayli's on the other side, they'll run into trouble before long. That's what we want - to force him to attack them.'
As Thunder and Thistle began to dig, Woundwort crouched silently behind them, waiting.
Even before he heard the roof of the Honeycomb fall in, Bigwig knew that it could be only a matter of time before the Efrafans found the soft places in the south wall and set to work to break through one of them. That would not take long. Then he would have to fight - probably with Woundwort himself: and if Woundwort closed with him and used his weight he would have little chance. Somehow, he must manage to hurt him at the outset, before he expected it. But how?
He put the problem to Holly.
'The trouble is this warren wasn't dug to be defended,' said Holly. 'That was what the Slack Run was for, back at home, so the Threarah once told me. It was made so that if we ever had to, we could get down beneath an enemy and come up where he wasn't expecting us.'
'That's it!' cried Bigwig. 'That's the idea! Look, I'm going to dig myself into the floor of the run just behind this blocked opening. Then you cover me with earth. It won't be noticed - there's so much digging and mess in the place already. I know it's a risk, but it'll be better than just trying to stand up in front of a rabbit like Woundwort.'
'But suppose they break through the wall somewhere else?' said Holly.
'You must try to make them do it here,' replied Bigwig. 'When you hear them on the other side, make a noise - do a bit of scratching or something - just above where I am. Anything to get them interested. Come on, help me to dig. And Silver, get everyone back out of the Honeycomb now and close this wall completely.'
'Bigwig,' said Pipkin, 'I can't wake Fiver. He's still lying out there in the middle of the floor. What's to be done?'
'I'm afraid there's nothing we can do now,' replied Bigwig. 'It's a great pity, but we'll have to leave him.'
'Oh, Bigwig,' cried Pipkin, 'let me stay out there with him! You'll never miss me, and I can go on trying -'
'Hlao-roo,' said Holly as kindly as he could, 'if we lose no one but Fiver before this business is ended, then the Lord Frith himself will be fighting for us. No, I'm sorry, old chap, not another word. We need you, we need everyone. Silver, see that he goes back with the others.'
When Woundwort dropped through the roof of the Honeycomb, Bigwig was already lying under a thin covering of soil on the other side of the south wall, not far from Clover's burrow.
Thunder sunk his teeth into a piece of broken root and pulled it out. There was an instant fall of earth and a gap opened where he had been digging. The soil no longer reached to the roof. It was only a broad pile of soft earth, half-filling the run. Woundwort, still waiting silently, could smell and hear a considerable number of rabbits on the far side. He hoped that now they might come into the open burrow and try to attack him. But they made no move.