"The big point-tails on Aldebaran kappa can do eighty with a native on their backs."
"Ah!" I said. "So that's it! Maybe tomorrow night...."
But we could hear the drumming of the returning dodo.
"Don't be stupid," Rene said. "He can't carry both of us and you'd be a fool either to go alone or stay here alone."
"As a tribute to my deceased uncle, I'm going to be a fool."
I stuck my flashlight into one of my many pockets and climbed onto the huge bird's back. The down beneath his outer feathers was as soft and strong as heavy fur. I dug in with my hands and feet, my head braced against the thickened part of his neck.
He started off with a lurch that brought my stomach out of hiding. I kept my eyes squeezed closed. I couldn't have seen anything, anyway. Not even the impossible creature that was rushing through the darkness carrying me, for all I knew, straight to damnation.
