When the army straggled wearily back into Kotir at midday, Tsarmina’s temper had not improved.

“Ashleg,” she commanded. “Dismiss this load of nincompoops. Send them to their barracks. I’ll be up in my chambers.”

Ashleg was stumping his way round to the front when the voice was heard again.

“Oh, that’s nice, lads. Wish I had comfy chambers instead of a damp barracks.”

Tsarmina turned to confront the sea of blank faces, but she stifled her reply and contented herself by elbowing her way savagely through the ranks to the main door.

* * *

“Dinny, I was thinking—could you burrow upward through the side of this cave?”

The mole tested the walls with his digging claws.

“Loik as not, Marthen. But ’ee’d need diggen claws loik oi to foller upp’ard if we’n all t’get outten ’ere.”

Martin patted his friend’s velvety back. “Good mole, Din. We only need you to reach the surface, then you can lower something down so we can all climb out.”

Dinny wiped his paws. “Stan’ outten this yurr mole’s way. Yurr go oi!”

With a mole’s undoubted digging skills, Dinny was soon burrowing inward and upward.

Martin reported the plan to Snakefish as Log-a-Log and Gonff backpawed the freshly dug earth out of the way into the pit below.

* * *

Night and day were of little consequence in the misty world of the marshes. The toads had lingered awhile on the edge of Screamhole, but there was little to see, and their enjoyment was marred by the fact that no screams issued from the well. One by one they drifted off, back to the Court of Marshgreen. Deathcoil and Whipscale stayed, however. They sat by the Screamhole, waiting to hear the cries of their foes as Snakefish did his grisly work.

The newt felt the stump of his new growing tail.

“What’s happening down there? Has the Snakefish gone to sleep?” he snarled.

Deathcoil stretched leisurely on the ground. “Patience! Have you ever known any creature to escape what happens in the Screamhole? Snakefish is probably feeling sluggish from lying in that muddy water for so long. He’ll liven up when the hunger drives him. You’ll see. Sit down here and wait a bit.”

The unsavory pair stretched out side by side.

They had been dozing for some considerable time when the earth beneath them began trembling.

Deathcoil pulled to one side, rearing up. “Did you feel that? The ground’s shaking.”

The newt scampered out of the trembling area. “Quick, let’s get out of here.”

His companion slithered behind. “No, wait, it’s only in that one spot,” he called out. “The ground is quite still over here. Let’s get behind that rock and see what happens.”

In a short while, two digging claws and a moist snout broke through the ground surface. Young Dinny emerged from the earth, shaking soil from his coat. Going to the edge of the Screamhole well, he called down, “Doant wurry, soon ’ave ee outen thurr, ho urr.”