Strange Creatures of Dr. Korbo (4 page)

“Hang on!” Gus hollered. “Here we go!”

The waves drove the boat forward. Gus fought to keep the vessel going straight. But a line of rocks loomed ahead, and he shouted, “Look out! We're gonna hit!”

Seconds later there was a tremendous crashing sound.

“The bow's caving in!” Dave yelled.

Seawater poured in, but the boat did not start to sink. Jammed among the rocks, it did not move.

“We're caught between two rocks—which is a good thing,” Gus said. “I reckon we can try wading to shore from here. Though it's probably way too deep to do that.”

“But our things. We can't leave our things in the boat,” Sarah argued.

Gus was insistent. “We'll go and come back when it's light. For right now, we'd better get away from here before something worse happens.”

Led by Gus, they climbed out of the boat and found that the water on the beach side of the rocks was only two or three feet deep. The waves were rolling in heavily and tossed them about. But they finally reached shore and staggered up onto the narrow beach. To their left, a small stream poured into the sea. Above them, great trees shut out the stars overhead.

“Well, we made it this far,” Gus announced. “Shouldn't wonder but what there are lions wandering around. We'd better stick close together tonight. If we make it through, we'll see what's to be done in the morning.”

 

 

S
arah and her friends huddled together on the beach as well as they could, waiting for dawn. By the time the first light appeared in the east, everyone was eager to see what was left of the boat. They all hurried to the edge of the surf and, sheltering their eyes, peered out to where the longboat lay captured between two black rocks.

“Looks to me like most of the boat's still there,” Reb announced. “We'll have to wade out and see what can be salvaged.”

As it turned out, almost everything could be salvaged. The longboat itself was shattered beyond repair, but they retrieved all of their gear, including their weapons. Each had to make two trips, and by the time they had brought in the last of their things, everyone was hungry.

Dave said, “We've got to have something to eat. Why don't we split up and look in different directions? Maybe we'll find some fruit—or maybe even some animal to bring down.”

“That's a good idea.” Reb nodded to Sarah. “You want to come along with me, Sarah?”

“Sure, Reb.”

Carrying their weapons, Sarah and Reb headed into the heavy woods that backed up to the shore, while Gus and the other Sleepers went off in other directions.

As they walked along, Reb's eyes searched the
ground ahead and the trees above, looking for game of any kind. “I could eat just about anything with fur on it!” he exclaimed.

“I'm hungry, too, but it's so wonderful just to have fresh water again.”

When they passed a spring, they stooped down to drink, then continued their hunt.

“Be nice if a deer would jump up. I could eat some venison,” Reb said.

“I'd settle for something less. A rabbit—or a squirrel, even.”

“Me too. You know my favorite part of the squirrel?”

“No. What is it?”

“The brains.”

“The brains! You eat squirrel
brains?
”

“Oh, sure! You can eat 'em with fried eggs. Just mix 'em in. Boy, that's good eating.”

“It sounds awful!”

“Just give me a chance to get some of those bushytailed rascals, and I'll show you what's good, Sarah.”

Ten minutes later Sarah saw a movement among the trees. Quickly she drew an arrow and released it. “Got him!” she exclaimed.

They hurried ahead and saw that she had brought down a rabbit.

“Great shot, Sarah!” Reb said. “You're sure the best of us with a bow.” He carried his own bow, but he looked at it rather sadly. “I got to have a bigger target than a rabbit. So you shoot 'em, and I'll carry 'em.”

They had brought along a coarse sack that had been part of their supplies, and Reb put the rabbit in it. Then they continued to hunt.

Sarah killed two more rabbits, and Reb finally managed to bring down one.

“Well, we've got us some supper,” he said, “but not enough.”

“Maybe the others have had better luck.”

Suddenly another rabbit started up. “Let me get this one, Sarah!” He had kept his arrow notched, and his left hand gripped the bow.

The trick, Sarah knew, was to shoot not where the animal was but where it was going to be. Since rabbits ran in zigzag fashion, hitting one with an arrow was often just a lucky guess. With a rifle it was a different story.

Reb was just about to release his arrow when he suddenly lowered the bow. “What in the world—”

“What
is
that thing?” Sarah gasped.

A beast the size of a large dog had leaped down from a tree and pounced upon the rabbit. It had a bushy tail and thick, reddish brown fur.

“Is it a lion?” she whispered.

“I don't know what it is. Never saw anything like it.”

The furry creature had killed the rabbit with one bite at the back of its neck. Then the animal evidently heard their voices, for it reared up on its hind legs and looked toward them.

“It looks like—it looks like a giant
squirrel
,” Reb said. “But look at those teeth!”

Indeed the animal was rather like a squirrel but many, many times larger. It had reddish eyes and a large mouth full of wicked looking teeth. Its red eyes seemed to glow. Abruptly it dropped the rabbit, uttered a shrill shriek, and charged across the clearing toward them.

“He's coming for us!” Reb shouted. “Shoot him, Sarah!”

Sarah drew her arrow back to full pull. The giant squirrel was coming so quickly that she knew she would not get a second shot. She also did not trust Reb's marksmanship. She waited until it was no more than twenty feet away and then released the arrow. It left the bow just as the animal reared up, and the arrow took it in the chest. The squirrel let out a piercing cry but kept coming.

Reb released his arrow. He could not miss, now that the animal was so close. The squirrel fell and lay still.

“Well, it's dead—whatever it is.”

“Be careful,” Sarah warned as he went closer.

“Look at these teeth! I never saw anything like it. It's got teeth like a lion—or worse.”

“We've seen some pretty strange looking creatures in Nuworld, but I don't think we've seen any eightypound squirrels with teeth like that.”

Reb shivered. “And he was so quick to be so big. A fellow wouldn't have a chance.”

Sarah felt slightly sick. The squirrel's eyes were open and still had an evil look. “It's the most awful looking animal I've seen since we fought the ice wraiths,” she said.

“I wonder if it's good to eat.”

“Eat! Are you crazy? Eat
that
thing!”

“Well, it's just kind of a big squirrel.”

“No! We're
not
eating that thing! We'll do on rabbits or anything else.”

They cut the hunting trip short after bagging one more rabbit. “This ought to do it for tonight. Maybe the rest of them got a wild pig or something,” Reb said. “Let's get back.”

They took a slightly different pathway on the
return trip,keeping their eyes open for more giant squirrels. They also kept looking over toward the east, where there was a low-lying mountain.

“I wonder if anyone lives over that way,” Sarah said.

“I don't know, and I don't know how we're going to find our way anywhere. There are bound to be people here somewhere, though.”

“Maybe not,” Sarah said as they trudged along. “Maybe we're on an uninhabited island.”

“You sound like Gus,” Reb complained. “Why don't you look on the bright side of things?”

“You're right. I ought never to complain again after all the good things that have happened to us. Goél sometimes lets real bad things happen, but he knows how to send good things too.”

When Sarah and Reb reached a bluff that was impossible to climb, they started around it. “Why, look, this is a worn trail!” Sarah exclaimed. “People have been using it.”

“Well, good! It's not a desert island, anyhow,” Reb answered eagerly. “Let's see where it leads.”

They followed the path until they came to a sharp curve. When they ducked under some vines that hung over the trail, Reb said softly, “Hold up a minute, Sarah.”

“What is it?”

“Somebody's up ahead. On the ground.”

“Let me see.” She pushed forward to stand beside him. “Why, it's a woman!”

Indeed there was the figure of a woman lying on the trail, absolutely still.

“Do you think she's dead?” Sarah whispered.

“We'll go find out.”

They approached cautiously and knelt beside the woman. She was very old, very small, with an olive complexion and white hair. By her side lay an empty container.

“She's not dead,” Reb said. “You can see her breathing.”

Sarah was opening her canteen. “Let's see if she'll take a drink of water. Hold her head up, Reb.”

Reb lifted the old woman into a sitting position and held her while Sarah put the cup to her lips.

“Can you drink something? Are you all right?” Sarah asked.

For a moment there was no reply, and then the eyelids fluttered open. Fright came into her eyes, and she struck out feebly with a hand.

“It's all right, ma'am,” Sarah said. “We mean you no harm. Are you sick?”

The woman whispered, “They will die. Someone must go—”

“Who will die? Who are you talking about?” Sarah asked.

But the old lady suddenly seemed to lose all her strength. Her eyes closed again, and she slumped in Reb's arms.

“Looks like she's passed out,” he said.

“We've got to go get help.”

“No. We don't have to do that. She's real small. Sarah, if you can carry my stuff and the game bag, I can carry her.”

Sarah thought for a moment. “That might be best. We can't leave her out here all alone. One of those giant squirrels might get her. I'll take her pail too.”

Reb gave Sarah his bow and the game bag filled with rabbits. He picked up the woman and put her on
his shoulder. Reb was very strong, and the lady was small indeed. “She doesn't weigh any more than a bag of feathers,” he marveled.

“We'd better get her back to camp as quickly as we can.”

Sarah led the way, and Reb followed.

“Can I help you, Reb?” she asked. “Do you need to rest?”

“No, I can make it. We'd better not stop. She looks plumb sick, Sarah. I'm worried about her.”

 

 

B
y the time they reached camp, Reb was staggering. As light as the woman was, she had become quite a burden, and as soon as they burst into the camp, Sarah called, “Come here, everyone! We need you!”

Evidently the rest of the hunters were already back. Dave and Wash were roasting what looked like a small pig, but they left it at once to gather with the others around Sarah and Reb.

“Who in the world is that?” Abbey asked.

“Don't know what her name is,” Reb gasped. He said, “Get something to put her on.”

“Here,” Abbey said. “You can put her on my blanket.”

She spread out the blanket in the shade, and Reb lay his burden on it. Then he stepped back and sat down, red in the face. “Can't take this heat like I could when I was a young fellow,” he panted.

“Where did you find her, Sarah?” Wash asked. He bent over to look into the face of the woman. “Looks like she's in pretty bad shape.”

“We found her on a trail over that way—while we were hunting,” Sarah said, pointing. “Could somebody bring some water from the stream? I'll bathe her face.”