Read Online The Island of Whispers by Brendan Gisby - Free Book Online Page B

earnest.’
    Twisted Foot
glanced round him. The place was more crowded now, more noisy. He
shifted away from Long Ears.
    ‘ Watch for my sign,’ he said quickly, ‘then we’ll speak
again.’
    He left the
pool without Long Ears. He felt cheerful, light-headed, as if a
great burden had been lifted from him. He wanted to comfort Grey
Eyes; to snuggle close to her and give her his warmth. He would
whisper in her ear, tell her of the plan to leave. That would be
the greatest comfort.
     
    – o –

– Chapter Sixteen –
     
    Narrow Back
was twitching furiously again.
    ‘ I’ve found it! I’ve found it!’ he squealed. ‘Come
quickly!’
    Twisted Foot
gave out a sigh of exasperation and then scrambled over the rocks
to join the skinny Watcher.
    Narrow Back’s
whole body was quivering. His eyes flashed wildly in the
darkness.
    ‘ Here!’ he exclaimed. ‘Just here!’
    ‘ Sh!’ Twisted Foot snapped. ‘You’ll wake the underworld with
your shrieking.’
    His patience
had been stretched almost to the limit. He had waited two long days
for the opportunity to be alone with Narrow Back. He had
volunteered for the watch, intervening on Small Face’s behalf.
    ‘ Poor Small Face is not yet fit,’ he had pleaded with Sharp
Claws. ‘Let me take his place.’
    They had gone
to the point of the island, where Twisted Foot had outlined the
plan to Narrow Back. That was when the difficulties began. Narrow
Back had behaved like a youngster: prancing, twittering loudly,
filled with uncontrollable excitement. With panic rising in him,
Twisted Foot had begged his companion to quieten down, had even
threatened to leave him behind. It had taken a long time, but
gradually Narrow Back became more restrained, his actions more
sober.
    The next task
proved equally difficult. Twisted Foot had asked Narrow Back to
locate the spot where he had spied Broken Tail on the night when
the giant came to life.
    ‘ It’s very important to our plan,’ he had explained. ‘Broken
Tail didn’t just appear from nowhere. There has to be another
tunnel – a secret one – out of the underworld.’
    To Twisted
Foot’s dismay, the prancing and twittering had begun afresh.
    ‘ A secret tunnel?’ Narrow Back shouted. ‘My goodness, a secret
tunnel!’
    After another
period of pleas and threats, they had set off to find the spot, but
Narrow Back’s excitement seemed to have blurred his recollection.
With mounting frustration, Twisted Foot had followed the eager
Watcher’s zigzag path across the sharp rocks and had listened to
his incessant babbling. They were getting nearer the monastery. The
watch was drawing to a close; the search more haphazard, the
chattering more incoherent. At last, though, Narrow Back had found
something.
    Twisted Foot
peered anxiously at the cluster of boulders. He was not surprised
that the tunnel had gone unnoticed by countless passing Watchers.
Its entrance was a long slit, kept permanently dark by the overhang
of the largest boulder. Even in daylight the slit would be hard to
detect. He understood now why the search had taken so long.
    ‘ You did well, comrade,’ he said. The appreciation was genuine;
his earlier impatience forgotten.
    Narrow Back
looked pleased with himself.
    ‘ What now?’ he whispered, trying his utmost to keep his
eagerness in check.
    ‘ Listen carefully,’ Twisted Foot also whispered. ‘I’m going
into the tunnel. I need to be sure where it ends. I’ll be as quick
as I can. Stay here and keep watch – quietly. If anything goes
wrong, if I don’t ... return, go back to the underworld with the
others. Say that I disappeared; nothing else. Remember, nothing
else.’
    He was
grateful when Narrow Back merely nodded. His companion was suddenly
quiet, as if he understood the danger.
    Twisted Foot
slid under the boulder and through the slit. The blackness inside
was complete. He was alone now and very afraid, but he had to
finish this task. The tunnel was much wider than the one which ran
from