The leopardess was suddenly beside Johnny, rubbing up against him like a big cat. She looked up into his face and growled in the way that Johnny knew meant "come."
Johnny looked at the wrist watch. "We do have to hurry."
He threw the bagful of the precious claws over his shoulder, and stepped toward the rhinosaur. "How'm I going to get on?" he asked, with sudden surprise.
A series of grunts came from the rhinosaur, that sounded something like laughter. Then it lay its horned snout upon the ground, and grunted again.
"Climb on," Keetack said.
Grasping one of the long snout horns, Johnny climbed aboard his strange mount.
"Goodbye," he shouted. All around hundreds of the marva were hanging from their trees. They waved and he waved back. "Let's go!" he clicked to the rhinosaur.
And so began the race through the jungle. The great rhinosaur moved forward with thundering speed, the leopardess and her cubs loping along beside them. When one of the cubs grew tired it leaped on to the rhinosaur's back, curled up beside Johnny and went peacefully to sleep. The arrow-bird perched on one of the beast's horns and the monkey beside it. They did not stop for rain or rivers. Everywhere the jungle seemed to have blossomed forth with animals, who waved and grunted, growled, clicked, or sang greetings to them as they went past.
The broad back of the rhinosaur was a perfect place to travel, Johnny found. It swayed hardly as much as a helicopter and bounced much less than a tank. It was not long until Johnny had followed the leopard cub's example. He found a hollow in the big back, curled up and went to sleep, lulled by the steady swinging movement and the thunder of the rhinosaur's hooves.