Golem in the Gears by Piers Anthony

course! Hollow claws, put on over the natural ones, like gauntlets. That would greatly enhance the ability of a digging creature. Mystery solved.
    But as Grundy returned to the bed, he realized that the greater mystery remained. Where had those voles gone, and why? It was evident that nothing had hurt them, for there were no skeletons and there was no damage, other than that done by Chester's hooves. They must have gone of their own volition—their own vole-ition—to some place of their choosing. Perhaps they were there today, digging even better labyrinths.
    But probably he would never know where or why. It was a frustrating frustration.
     
      Chapter 5. Stella Steamer
    In the evening they proceeded to the tunnel and entered it. The ghost horses, satisfied that all was well, did not accompany them; they preferred to graze on the surface. Again the dim illumination of the fungus helped them, without bothering Snortimer unduly; it was almost as if the voles had had Bed Monsters in mind. Or maybe such fungus was part of the natural habitate of nocturnal monsters. It was, at any rate, another fortunate coinci- dence.
    Grundy led the way, because Snortimer was most at
    home in a dark passage like this and was very sure-handed here. Chester and Bink had to be more careful, with their big clumsy feet. Once again Grundy appreciated the Good Magician's wisdom in specifying this particular steed. Often Humfrey's prescriptions made a good deal more
    sense than they seemed to at first.
    The tunnel wound down and around, tantalizing them with a seeming descent to the bottom, only to rise again. Obviously the voles had not considered directness to be a virtue! This was probably their scenic route, though all
    there was to see was round walls.
    Then an aperture appeared, into which a stray beam of moonlight probed. Snortimer shrunk away; moonlight wasn't deadly to him, but he distrusted it on principle.
    Chester paused to peer out—and whistled. Grundy dis- mounted and went over to look, climbing up to the cen- taur's shoulder in order to reach the elevation of the hole.
    Now he saw it. Above, the pale moon squatted on an unruly cloud. Below, the awesome precipice of the Chasm opened. Grundy felt suddenly dizzy, as if falling into that terrible Chasm. Chester's big hand caught him before he fell. "You need all four feet on the ground before you lean out that window," the centaur murmured.
    True words! Grundy scrambled back down and away from the hole; he had had more than enough of it!
    Travel resumed. Progress seemed swift enough, but was actually slower than it would have been on level ground, because they were constantly stepping over stones and clearing cobwebs from their way.
    Somewhere around midnight they heard something, and paused. It was a low whistling or moaning, coming from somewhere ahead, in the tunnel. "Something's there!" Grundy exclaimed, horrified.
    "I'm sure it's all right," Bink said nonchalantly. "How can you be so sure things will be all right, all the time?" Grundy demanded.
    But Bink only smiled and shrugged. Obviously he knew something Grundy didn't, and that annoyed Grundy inor- dinately.
    They waited, for there really was not much else they could do. The noises approached, and in due course a dark shape loomed in the tunnel. Grundy shrank back, and Chester drew his sword, but Bink remained uncon- cerned.
    It seemed to be an animal, smaller than the centaur, but massive. It had front feet with enormous claws. It moved along, and it was evident that there was not room
    for it to pass them in the narrow tunnel. Yet it did not pause; it just moved on at them.
    "Just let the vole pass," Bink said. "It's harmless."
    "A voleT' Grundy asked.
    "The ghost of one," Bink said.
    With that, the creature moved right through Chester, through Bink, and brushed by Grundy with no impact. It was indeed a ghost.
    It proceeded on up the tunnel, going its mysterious way, paying the living party no attention.
    "I daresay the