The hole the badgerine had dug had been filled with quick-setting concrete and had no further attraction for animal visitors. Late in the afternoon, however, something came to the door, and Alice tried to phone the mine. But the line was dead, and she realized that some animal, probably another badgerine, had cut through the concrete and metal shield that protected the phone and visor wires. She was not seriously upset, however—not then. She simply switched to the radio sender, and tried to contact the mine along her private wave-length. It was only when she realized that the power was not on that panic really gripped her.
The creature at the door kept working steadily, as if unaware that a half hour after its arrival a competitor had arrived at one of the shutters, and that a pretty race was on to see which would get Alice as its prey. She stared at her watch and tried to guess when Anthony would be coming home. Probably, as far as she could estimate, a half hour after the first creature had reached her. She might stop it with the explosive gun, and she might not. And then, if another showed up at the same window or door, while she was still unsteady from the recoil....
Her only hope was that they would come after her one by one, not too close together. She considered seriously the possibility of opening the shutter to allow the entrance of the snaffle which she was sure was tearing at it, getting rid of that, and then closing the shutter again while she recovered her steadiness. But she knew that the thing might come at her faster than she could handle it, and decided to leave the shutter alone.
For another half hour the animals worked away, each intent upon its own means of arriving at the victim. Then, for the first time, Alice heard the sound of a struggle between animals outside the house. The scratching at the shutter stopped, there came a thin shriek, a crash against the side, and then silence except for the vibration of the shutter.
The scratching at the door stopped next. This time there came the howling of octerocap heads, and then a crash high up, as if the creature had been hurled with great force against the house. The thing that had hurled it next pounded on the door, and to her horror Alice saw the door yield at the same time both at the bottom and at the top, as if it had been hit by both head and foot at once. Never before had any animal been large enough to accomplish such a feat. This must be a predator of a new type, huger and stronger than the others.
For the second time in two days, Alice fainted.
She was awakened a little later by a great pounding on the door. At first she thought she would faint again, but the unexpected sound of Anthony's voice reassured her. He was yelling to her to open up.
She lifted the bolt, and Anthony stepped toward her. As she fell forward to fling her arms around his neck, however, she caught sight of something over his shoulder ... she closed her eyes and shrieked.
"Take it easy," said Anthony. "He may look frightening, but he's of a breed that's been trained to be gentle with humans."