In the Desert : In the Desert (9780307496126) (5 page)

“The kangaroos are about a billion times bigger than we are,” said Judy. “If one of them stomps on us, we’re kangaroo toe jam. Let’s find somewhere to hide.”

Andrew and Judy took off.

Thumpa! Thumpa! Thumpa
!

They managed to reach a witchetty bush just as the kangaroos were almost on top of them.

Kangaroos were stopping to nibble leaves.

Chuck, chuck, chuck
! a kangaroo called loudly.

THUMP! A
kangaroo foot slammed down next to Andrew and Judy. It was so close that a giant black claw brushed the tip of their toes! The next instant, the kangaroo leapt off. Its humongous claw sent them tumbling across the sand like bug-sized golf balls.

Suddenly they stopped rolling and started falling down and down into darkness.

The kangaroo had tossed them into a
hole. But it wasn’t just a hole. It was the entrance to a steep underground tunnel.

“Oooof!” hollered Andrew.

“Aaaack!” yelped Judy.

Andrew whammed into something soft, something furry. Downy hairs tickled his neck and legs.
Feels like a kitten
, thought Andrew.

“Where
are
we?” asked Judy.

Andrew whipped off his sunglasses. He unclipped his mini-flashlight from his belt loop and flicked it on.

The beam lit up a cave that was almost filled with a giant, hairy lump the size of a person’s fist.

Andrew scratched his head. He couldn’t make out what it was. But it wasn’t a kitten.

Eek
! squeaked Thudd. “Whistling spider! Tarantula!”

“Yaaaaaah!” screamed Judy backing away. “I
hate
spiders even when I’m bigger than they are! And this one’s a hundred times bigger than I am! Let’s get out of here!”

Andrew put a finger to his lips. “It looks like it’s asleep,” he said softly. “Don’t scream. You’ll wake it up.”

“Spiders don’t have
ears
, Bug-Brain,” said Judy. “Where’s the way out of the tunnel? It’s too dark to see.”

meep
… “Spiders hear with hairs on legs,” said Thudd. “Smell with leg hairs, too. Can tell if stuff is good to eat.”

As Andrew searched for the way out, his beam flickered on a white blob above his head. It looked like a big paper balloon. There was a raggedy hole at the bottom of it.

When his light passed over the hole, Andrew could see small white creatures crawling over each other inside. They looked like eggs with legs.

meep
… “Baby spiders,” said Thudd.

“
More spiders
!” said Judy. “Get me
outta
here!”

One of the big spider’s dark, hairy legs twitched. Then it stretched. Soon another leg twitched and stretched.

“It’s waking up!” screamed Judy.

Andrew’s light fell on the opening to the tunnel. Judy raced for it.

As Andrew clambered after Judy, he shoved the back of his flashlight against his
forehead. A suction cup at the back made it stick.

meep
… “This spider hunt in nighttime,” said Thudd. “Desert too hot in daytime. Make spider dry out.

“If spider lose lotsa water, legs get soft. Like plant that wilt. Then spider legs too soft for spider to walk.

“Getting cool outside. Spider coming out soon, maybe. Gotta hurry!”

Judy found a soft strand of spider silk in the tunnel. They used it to pull themselves along.

Aroooooo! Ow! Ow! Owooooo
!

Chilling howls drifted into the tunnel.

“Wolves!” said Andrew.

meep
… “Dingoes!” said Thudd. “Wild Australian dogs. Hunt in packs like wolves.”

Below the howls, Andrew heard a soft sound.

Whhhhooooooooo
…

The wind
, Andrew thought.

They were close enough to the top of the tunnel to see that it was nighttime now. The moon was full and bright.

The view outside went dark for a second.

meep
… “Tumbleweed rolling over spider hole,” said Thudd. “Tumbleweed break loose, roll across desert, spread seeds long, long way,”

“Shhhhh …,” said Andrew.

Andrew thought he heard a soft scraping sound at his back. He turned.

His beam reflected off many round, shiny black eyes in a hairy face. The spider was close behind them. It was getting closer every second.

Uh-oh
, thought Andrew. His heart was pounding in his ears.
Will we
ever
get out of here alive
?

“Move it, Judy!” he hollered. “The spider’s right behind us!”

“
EEEEEYAAAAA
!” hollered Judy. She lost her hold on the strand of spider silk and fell on top of Andrew.

Eek
! “Go, Oody! Go!” squeaked Thudd. “Spider gonna bite with fangs. Spider juice turn Drewd and Oody insides into goo. Then spider suck out Drewd and Oody goo like milk shake.”

Judy got a grip again and scrambled furiously up to the top of the hole. Spider silk covered the edge of the entrance. Andrew and Judy grabbed on to it and pulled themselves out into the cool desert night.

Sssss … sssssss … ssssss
…

The shadow of a giant claw passed over Andrew’s head. He looked up.

In front of them was a lobster-like creature as long as a person’s hand. Its fat front claws jabbed the air. Its spiked tail curled over its back.

“
AAAAAAAAACK
!” screamed Judy. “Scorpion!” She tried to run. She fell. Her feet were tangled in the silk that surrounded the edge of the spider burrow. “
HELP
!”

Eek
! squeaked Thudd. “Scorpion eat anything that move. Eat other spiders. Even eat baby scorpions.”

Andrew’s knees wobbled.

Judy was screaming and kicking. “Play dead, Judy” said Andrew. “Scorpions eat what moves.”

Hssssssssssssssss
… came a sound from behind them—from the spider hole.

meep
… “Whistling spider whistling,” said Thudd. “Whistle when it scared.”

Andrew shuddered and looked around.

Leg by furry leg, the whistling spider was creeping from its burrow. It reared over them like King Kong.

The scorpion’s tail twitched above its head.

meep
… “Scorpion getting ready to sting,” said Thudd. “Got poison claw at end of tail!”

The scorpion’s claws jabbed at the spider.

“HELLLLLP!” hollered Judy, still caught in the silk. The clawed feet of the spider and the scorpion scraped against her as their battle raged on.

Andrew crept in among the furry legs and the armored legs. He grabbed Judy’s hand and tried to pull her up, but a furry leg knocked him away. The spider was pacing quickly back and forth, trying to avoid the scorpion’s claws.

Andrew crept behind a pebble and waited for another chance to get Judy.

Hssssssssssssssss
…

Ssssss
…
ssssss
…
sssss
…

With its front legs, the whistling spider furiously scraped hairs from its abdomen and tossed them at the scorpion.

meep
… “Spider got poison hairs on abdomen,” said Thudd. “If poison hairs land in eyes of scorpion, on soft parts of scorpion, scorpion leave, maybe.”

“What if the poison hairs land on Judy?” asked Andrew. “She’s right under the spider!”

meep
… “Hurt a lot,” said Thudd.

The scorpion clamped a claw on to one of the spider’s legs. The spider backed away. The end of the spider’s leg snapped off!

meep
… “Spiders got skeleton outside of body,” said Thudd. “Called exoskeleton.

“To grow, spider gotta shed old skeleton. Called molting. When spider grow new skeleton, spider grow new leg.”

“Wouldn’t it be great if people could do that!” said Andrew.

Andrew caught sight of something racing toward the spider-scorpion battle. It was
moving so fast that it was hard to see. But Andrew could tell that it was about the size of a mouse. It leapt onto the scorpion!

The scorpion let go of the whistling spider. The whistling spider turned and scrambled back into its hole.

Judy finally yanked herself free of the spider silk. She raced over to Andrew behind the pebble.

“A mouse attacked the scorpion!” said Andrew.

meep
… “Not mouse,” said Thudd. “Animal called fat-tailed dunnart. When dunnart find lotsa food, extra fat get stored in tail.

“Fat-tailed dunnart is marsupial like kangaroo. Tiny babies born small as grain of rice. Crawl into pouch to grow.”

“It’s
cute
!” said Judy. “And it saved my life. If it hadn’t come along, the spider or the scorpion would have stepped on me or eaten me!”

meep
… “Dunnart look cute,” said
Thudd. “But dunnart is scary fighter. Attack big prey.”

The dunnart had turned the scorpion on its back and pinned it down with its paws. The scorpion was frantically waving its claws. In the shadowy moonlight, Andrew couldn’t tell who was winning.

Behind the life-and-death struggle, a huge lump appeared. It was low to the ground and as long as an alligator.