But this time it was Twitch who held his ground, staring out from the cover of the long grass. “Look at that giant metal tooth,” he whispered. “They are eating the ground. Chasing the Earth-Dog. Do you think they’re hurting her?”

“If Earth-Dog was hurt,” said Dart, “she would let us know. She would Growl again.”

“What if they’ve killed her?” Twitch whined.

“I don’t know,” snapped Dart, “but Lucky’s right. We should leave now.”

“No. We said we would find out more and report to Alpha. We have a duty to the Pack.”

Twitch had a stubborn, determined look in his eyes. Lucky sighed, annoyed and impatient. Maybe the slower-moving dog was desperate to impress Alpha and improve his standing in the Pack. There was little chance of that, so far as Lucky could see: Speed and strength were what mattered for the higher-ranked hunting dogs, and even Mulch and Spring, who were less experienced and skilled than Fiery or Snap, had nothing to fear from Twitch. But Twitch had a point. The business with the giant loudcage was strange behavior, even for longpaws—it might be good for the dogs to find out what they were up to.

For the time being, they did not seem to be up to much at all. The giant loudcage rested, still and silent, while the longpaws ambled around, exchanging curt sounds and inspecting the churned earth. One of them held a box in his hand that seemed very important to him, because he kept touching it, staring at it. Lucky pricked one ear.

It was all they seemed to do—stand and talk and prod the ground, and occasionally peer at the box. Just as Lucky was beginning to think there was nothing more to be learned, one of the longpaws strode up to the giant loudcage and mounted it. After a moment of silence, the loudcage roared—a terrifying sound that made the ground tremble beneath his paws.

With a whine, Lucky crouched low, seeing that Twitch and Dart were doing the same. What were the longpaws doing—trying to provoke another Big Growl? The giant loudcage’s roar was constant and deafening, blotting out every other sound in the world. The smell of broken wet earth and disturbed crawling creatures obliterated every other scent. Lucky hated the fact that all his senses could detect was that loudcage and its work.

“We need to get away,” he barked at the others. “We’re blind and deaf here!”

“Yes!” yelped Twitch. Dart was already scuttling back, her eyes alight with terror.

The sunlight that spilled over them vanished, as if a cloud had drifted across the Sun-Dog. His senses were so confused and blunted, Lucky thought he was imagining it—that the sudden cool dimness was in his head. Then he realized: a shadow cast by . . .

He spun around. A longpaw was behind him, and advancing!

Lucky’s neck fur rose up and he barked as loudly as he could, but the longpaw did not hesitate the way he had known some city longpaws do in the face of a strange dog. Dart and Twitch were barking too, teeth bared and ears flattened like Lucky’s, but there were more longpaws now. Friends of the ones with the giant loudcage? They were dressed just the same, though they’d come from the opposite direction. Their faces were black, and seemingly without eyes, noses, or mouths. They wore those yellow, shiny furs.