Quietly, Quiggly stepped into the darkness as he stealthily approached and steeled himself against the attack of the wildcat. A snarl, a flash of white as Quiggly ran past and out of sight, and Quietly let out a whoop of delight as he heard the high pitched wailing of the cat as it soared into the air. Quiggly had made his mark. Quietly reached for a rock to use as a club, but it was obvious that the cat had been badly hurt. The wailing sounded not only pained, but in despair. That wasn't going to happen again. Quietly crept through the brush, making no noise, until he was far enough away that he thought he might be safe. He had just pulled himself free of a tangle of briars when he saw two eyes staring at him from within the brush. In terror, Quietly turned to run, but he felt a strong hand grasp his right ankle. Quietly screamed as he was pulled from the bushes into the dark of the night. He found himself tumbling head over heels until he hit the hard surface of the sand. With a howl, the dark figure he could not see dragged him backward. Quietly's heart raced. He felt his lungs labor to keep up with his frantic breathing. He pulled at the rough, scratchy ground as he fought for his freedom. "Ahhh, ya, sure enough, ya got guts, boy!" the voice hissed. Quietly heard the sound of a rock being hurled through the dark, barely making a mark in the night. He heard the thud of a fist hitting a face and the wail of a woman. The pounding of feet on the soft ground sounded, and the dark body pulled away from him. A heavy weight forced Quietly down, down into the soft sand, dragging him down by the hair. The grip on his hair disappeared and Quietly struggled to his feet. Out of the darkness, another voice shouted, "Ya better hope ya took 'em down in front!" Quietly felt two hands grab his shoulders and haul him around. He squirmed until he could twist away and head for the safety of the brush. He was struck by the force of someone charging from behind, but was able to throw a rock over his shoulder and watch it fall to the ground. The thump of the rock against his chest made Quietly wince with every heartbeat. Out of the shadows, the first one yelled, "I thought you was him, aha!" Out of the darkness they charged at him, and as Quietly threw another rock, the one who had attacked him screamed in pain. He turned and fled. The other two stood there, breathing hard. "Ya gotta be pretty strong to do that." A voice called out, "You got guts, Quietly. Most wouldn't." With his heart still pounding and adrenaline coursing through him, Quietly watched as they faded into the darkness of the night, their angry voices fading with them. He stared at the two blood-stained rocks in his hands. Then, his eyes focused on a dark object that stood only a few feet away from him. It stood, with its back to him. "What's up, Quietly?" Quietly turned and let out a shout. There stood the white and golden furred man. "Whut's up, Quietly?" In the fading night, Quietly saw the look of astonishment on the face of the old fella. Quietly swallowed hard and said, "You scared me, Mr. Lard. I thought them boys might come back. I think I might have hurt one of them bad. I mean, he went down hard. My foot hurt real bad when I hit the ground. I didn't know how bad until I looked at it. I'm glad you found me, Mr. Lard. I'd of been torn to shreds by one of those cats if you hadn't." Mr. Lard walked over to the small object in Quietly's hand and reached out a hand to feel it. He said, "These rocks, they gonna be a big help, I think. Ya got one, I can get some. We gonna build a whole lot of rocks. Let's go." Quietly followed as Mr. Lard walked away. # CHAPTER 6 # A Frightening Night The next morning, Quietly's eyes lit up when he saw that Mr. Lard was working hard with a dozen or so stones. In his hand he had a rock he was sharpening. "I took a short break to get some berries and figs for this, Quietly. "What are ya doin'?" "It's a weapon I'm sharpening. I'll sharpen more rocks this way. I'm gonna carve a lot of them out and wear 'em. They'll give me a big edge if I come up against a bunch of thorny briars, or even, maybe, some of those lizards. It'll be about the time of day when the sun will be bein' at its best. I'll be ready to pounce." Mr. Lard looked up. "You'll also be able to put together a big, slingin' rock if ya have a stick or club. It'll surprise a rabbit in the night or it might even get their attention if they see it comin' on. I'm gonna make a bunch of those slingin' rocks too, or at least a good bit of 'em. Now, let me get at it." "What did you have in mind when you were talking about a lizard or a mouse?" "I got a plan to gettin' into that cabin. I believe that's the only way that my old bones can find some rest." "So you're gonna go in there all alone, just you and that lizard of yours?" Mr. Lard scowled. "Ain't no other way that I can see. Let's go with the plan. We're gonna leave and take the long way around the building, as best we can. Once we get on the other side, we're gonna make a detour back on that side to make sure we don't get into any trouble. The lizard might be able to move fast, but it ain't very smart. A lizard can't think the way a man can. It'll have a hard time doin' no good by itself. "Then, it's gonna be up to me. I'm gonna get that door open. That'll be easy with me carvin' some tools into this rock. I'm gonna use it to get that bolt open. Once I open it, I'm gonna get inside real quick, let out a yelp, and be in the house before anybody knows what's goin' on. It don't take much imagination to know what them kids are gonna do. They are gonna run right off to tell everybody about me. That's what they get for breakin' their promise. They were warned not to do so. "I'll probably be all right once I get inside. They're usually quiet about such things. They don't want nobody gettin' hurt. They just want to make their little plans. Now, if I was a mouse, I would be more worried about it. Ain't no telling what they'll do with me. The best way to tell if it's worth my life to get in that house is to watch one of them kids." Quietly said, "You ain't goin' all alone. You better take me along. It ain't gonna do you no good if you get hurt. I can help ya inside. The least I can do is keep an eye out for ya." Mr. Lard smiled and said, "You ain't goin' to go with me. I'm doin' this, and I'm doin' it alone." Quietly felt like he had been kicked in the stomach. The big man's face was serious. "I don't want to see ya killed, Quietly. There's too many things I want you to learn about." "I've learned a lot about things in my time. I don't want to just sit there and watch you all the time. I'll give ya a hand by keeping an eye out for ya, but if I hear any trouble, I'm gonna be in the house. "You'll have plenty of time to get out without bein' spotted. Just make sure you can hear the gunshot when they come for you. Don't worry. They can't get ya down here, where we'll be down by the river. They gotta know how to use that, and I don't want you, or any of us, to get hurt, as much as I do. "You just go on into the house, make that old gun work in your favor. What do ya say, Quietly?" "I'm gonna be watchin' ya. I know ya got that gun loaded, and I can watch that. I won't see any use in a watchin' ya all the time. I'm stayin