Chapter 12: Down into the Rabbit Hole

           “How does one save a lost buck?” Maria exhaled nervously.  All she had was the quadruped’s leash after a big, peculiar bird had severed the rope round its nape.  Her pounding heart gripped her throat.  The cries of the animal rang at the forgotten crag which had been seeding.  She could manage through its naturally low, rocky curb but beyond the boundary was dense.  Creeping vines and leafage as thick as the countless sand on the seashore had harbored the historic cavern and sunk around the entrance.

           However, the awkward girl had got little time to waste sightseeing.  The attacker was perhaps also still at large.  She had to hide for a while until the coast was clear.  Again, called the goat, Meh-eh-eh.  Maria was not an expert in mutton semiotics, so she had no discer