hesitated. âBut didnât we agree it would be more sensible to go by road?â
âSensible!â scoffed Alex. âWe donât need sensibleâwe need speed! I bet the kidnappers go by road, right? So we take this shortcut over the mountains and come out in front of them.â
âThat does sound like a good plan,â Alice conceded. âYou carry the rucksack.â
They turned onto the narrow path, which wound between straggly, unkempt bushes and twisted rough-barked trees. Huge rocks jutted into the sky above them like enormous tombstones. Some small hardy shrubs and dry grasses clung stubbornly to the steep sides, but the higher reaches were bare, exposing steep crevasses and sheer drops. One lone mountain with a snowy peak towered above the rest, piercing the sky like a claw: Mount Sharpnest.
They trudged for hours, barely speaking, up and upand up until the sun was sinking in the sky. Alice, whose steps had become slower and heavier as the hills had grown steeper, declared: âIâm exhausted. I think we should try to find somewhere to stop for the night.â
âStop? We donât have time to stop,â replied Alex, though he was puffing slightly.
âWell, presumably the kidnappers will need to rest too,â Alice reasoned. âAnd theyâve got Alistair with them, maybe tied up, so that would slow them down as well.â
âOh, all right,â said Alex. âHow about we go as far as that cave up there?â He pointed to an opening in the rock face at the top of the next hill. âThatâll give us shelter and a good view of the valley.â
âItâd be nice if it gave us a feather pillow,â muttered Alice. âI donât know . . . What if thereâs something in there?â
âLike what?â
âSnakes. Spiders.â She shivered.
Alex rolled his eyes. âOr scaredy-mice,â he said. âCome on. Iâll check it out first.â
They walked on, and though Alice was sure her legs wouldnât be able to carry her up yet another hill, the thought that every step forward was one step closer to Alistair spurred her on. When they reached the cave at last, Alex went in first, as promised, and althoughit was dank and dark, it was also silent and completely free of snakes and spiders. So they sat inside the entrance of the cave and looked over the valley as they ate an unsatisfactory dinner of dry bread, then they lay down.
âDo you think weâll find Alistair tomorrow?â Alice murmured sleepily after a few minutes, shifting to find a comfortable position on the stony ground.
But her brother was already asleep.
The two young mice slumbered undisturbed as sunset turned to twilight, but as the moon rose, the cave was suddenly filled with flapping and beating and hundreds of shrill cries.
âEeek!â cried Alice in terror, covering her head with her arms. âBats! Alex, wake up! Help!â
âIâm awake,â came Alexâs muffled voice, almost indistinguishable above the shrieks of the bats. âRun, sisâyikes!â He ducked as a wing brushed his neck. âStay down.â
They wriggled forward on their bellies, trying to avoid the mass of dark shapes surging toward the night sky.
As they reached the mouth of the cave Alice dived forward, only to find her progress arrested by Alexâs hand grabbing her tail. âAlex, let go,â she began, turning to scold him, but in the dim light she saw that he had his finger to his lips. Then he let go of her tail and pointeddown the path they had climbed earlier. There, bathed in moonlight, were two miceâone silvery gray, the other coal black.
Alice and Alex shrank into the shadows at the side of the cave as the pair drew closer.
âIf we hadnât stopped for a meal in that last town thereâd be no need for this ridiculous shortcut,â said the black mouse. His voice carried clearly in the still