Sorrel nodded. “The Golden One,” she murmured.
Gilbert and Ben looked at her curiously.
“What did you say?” asked the boy.
“Oh, nothing.” She turned thoughtfully and headed for the gap between the shelves.
“Thanks, Gilbert, and good-bye,” said Ben, following her.
“Give Rosa my love if you ever get back again!” the rat called after them. “Tell her to come and see me again sometime. There’s a ferry quite close to your home, and they don’t put rat poison down on it.”
“Oh, yes?” Sorrel turned back once more. “And what will you give me to deliver your message?” Then, without waiting for Gilbert’s answer, she disappeared between the shelves.
6. Dragon-Fire
“Well, we could have saved ourselves the trouble!” said Sorrel crossly once they were out in the street again. “We come to this stinking city purely to find that stuck-up rat, and what does he give us? Oh, stinking sticky-bun fungus! A map, that’s all. Scribbles on a bit of paper! Huh! I could have found that heavenly brim thing just by following my nose.” She imitated Gilbert’s voice. “‘So, now we come to the matter of my fee.’ I ought to have tied that silly fat podge to his globe with his own tail.”
“Calm down, will you?” said Ben, pulling the hood up over Sorrel’s ears before he led the way along the street. “It’s not a bad map. There are some things your nose won’t tell you!”
“You don’t know anything about it,” muttered Sorrel, plodding crossly after him. “You humans use your noses for nothing but sneezing.”
For a while the two of them walked along in silence.
“When are you going to set out again?” Ben asked at last.
“As soon as it gets dark,” replied Sorrel, almost colliding with a fat man whose dachshund was sniffing its way along the pavement. The dog raised his head in surprise when the scent of brownie reached his nostrils and tugged at his leash, yelping. Ben quickly drew Sorrel away and into the nearest alleyway.
“Come on,” he said. “There’s not so much going on here. Anyway, we’re nearly back.”
“Stones everywhere. Nothing but stones!” Sorrel looked uneasily up at the walls of the buildings. “My tummy’s rumbling louder than those machines with their engines. I’ll be glad to be out of here again.”
“It must be really exciting to go on such a long journey,” said Ben.
Sorrel wrinkled her forehead. “I’d rather have stayed in my cave. Much rather.”
“But just think of going to the Himalayas!” It sounded so exciting to Ben that he started walking faster. “And flying on a dragon’s back! Oh, wow!” He shook his head. “I’d be bursting with happiness! It sounds like a thousand adventures rolled into one!”
Sorrel gaped at the boy, shaking her head. “Don’t be so daft. What sort of adventures? It sounds to me like cold and hunger. It sounds like danger and fear. We were very well off at home, take my word for it! Rather too much rain, maybe, but what does that matter? You know something? It’s all because of you humans we’re going on this crazy journey. Because you won’t leave us alone. Because we have to find somewhere your nasty furless noses will never come poking in! Oh, why do I bother telling you all this? You’re one of them yourself. We’re escaping from human beings and here I am hanging around with one. Now, that really is crazy!”
Ben did not reply. Instead he hastily shoved Sorrel into the dark doorway of a building.
“Hey! What’s the big idea?” She looked at the boy, irritated. “Are you angry with me now, or what? We have to cross the street, right? The factory’s on the other side.”
“Exactly. Can’t you see what’s going on there?” whispered Ben.
Sorrel peered over his shoulder. “Humans!” she breathed. “Lots and lots of humans. And they’ve got machinery with them, too.” She groaned. “Speak of the devil —”
“You stay here,” Ben interrupted her. “I’ll cross the road and find out what’s up.”
“What?” Sorrel shook her head vigorously. “No, that’s no good. I have to warn Firedrake. At once!” And before Ben could stop her she was out in the street. She dodged between the honking cars and clambered over the low wall around the factory yard.
Cursing, Ben ran after her.
Luckily there was so much else going on in the yard that no one noticed the two of them. A couple of men were Standing beside a large bulldozer, talking to each other. Ben saw Sorrel hide behind the big scoop of the bulldozer to eavesdrop. Hastily he ran across and crouched down beside her.
“I can’t make out what they’re saying!” Sorrel whispered. “At least, I can hear them, all right, but I don’t understand the words. They keep talking about blowing something up. What do they mean?”
“Nothing good!” Ben whispered back. “Come on, quick!” He pulled Sorrel to her feet and ran toward the factory building. “We must find Firedrake. We have to get him out of there somehow. Fast.”
“Hey, you two! What are you up to?” someone called after them.
They swiftly disappeared into the dark shelter of the tall building, but within seconds they heard footsteps following them down the stairs. Heavy footsteps. “That’s the way they went!” someone called. “Couple of kids, it was!”
“Darn it, how could a thing like this happen?” replied someone else.
Ben and Sorrel ran through the empty, dilapidated factory basement. Their footsteps echoed down the long corridors, giving them away. But what else could they do? They had to warn the dragon before anyone discovered him.
“Suppose we’re too late?” gasped Sorrel. As she ran the hood slipped off her pointy ears, and she quickly pulled it up again. “Maybe they’ve already found Firedrake. Maybe they’ve already gone and stuffed him.” She sobbed.
“Nonsense! Come on!” Ben took her paw, and they ran on side by side. The footsteps behind them were coming closer and closer. Sorrel’s legs were trembling, but it wasn’t far now to Firedrake’s hiding place. Then Ben stopped suddenly, gasping for breath.
“Wait a minute — why didn’t I think of it before? We must lead them away from Firedrake. You go on. Tell him to follow the canal to safety. The two of you must swim as far away from the factory as possible. This whole place is about to go up in smoke.”
“What about you?” panted Sorrel. “What will you do?”
“I’ll be okay,” Ben managed to say. “Go on, run! You must warn Firedrake!”
Sorrel hesitated for a split second, then turned and ran. The stairs were quite close now. She rushed around the corner and into the room where she had found Ben. The dragon was lying asleep by the hatch.
“Firedrake!” Sorrel jumped between his paws and shook him. “Wake up, we’ve got to get out of here. Quick!”
The dragon sleepily raised his head. “What’s the matter? Where’s the human boy?”
“I’ll explain later!” whispered Sorrel. “Quick, through the hatch and into the canal.”
But Firedrake pricked up his ears. He rose and went slowly toward the corridor down which Sorrel had run. He heard human voices: two deep male voices, and Ben’s as well.