Now it was quite light outside, and the snow had stopped.
"They'll see our tracks," said Sacco. "Even humans will notice this many tracks." "It doesn't matter," said Dorcas. "Just get everyone into the oldsheds."
"Are you sure, Dorcas?" said Grimma. "Are you really sure this is a good idea?"
"No."
They joined the stream of nomes hurrying through a crack in the crumbling corrugated metal and entered the vast, echoing chamber of the shed.
Grimma looked around her. Rust and time had eaten large holes in the walls and ceiling. Old cans and coils of wire were stacked willy-nilly in the corners, along with odd-shaped bits of metal and jam jars with nails in them. Everything stank of oil.
"What's the part we ought to know about?" she said.
Dorcas pointed to the shadows at the far end of the shed, where she could just make out something big and indistinct.
"It just looks like ... some sort of big cloth ..." she said.
"It's, um, underneath it. Is everyone in?" Dorcas cupped his hands around his mouth. "Is everyone in?" he shouted. He turned to Nooty. "I need to know where everyone is," he said. "I don't want anyone to be frightened, but I don't want unnecessary people getting in the way."
"Unnecessary for what?" said Grimma, but he ignored her.
"Sacco, you take some of the lads and get those things we put in the hedge," said Dorcas. "We'll definitely need the battery and I'm really not certain how much fuel there is." "Dorcas! What is it?" said Grimma, tapping her foot.
Dorcas got like this sometimes, she knew. When he was thinking about machines or things he could do with his hands, he started to ignore people. His voice changed too. He gave her a long, slow look as if he were seeing her for the first time. Then he looked down at his feet.
"You'd better, er, come and see," he said. "I shall need you to explain things to everyone. You're so much better at that sort of thing." Grimma followed him across the chilly floor as more nomes filed into the shed and huddled apprehensively along the walls.
He led her under the shadow of the tarp, which formed a sort of big, dusty cave.
A tire like a truck's loomed up a little way away in the gloom, but it was far more knobby than any she had seen. "Oh. It's just a truck," she said, uncertainly. "You've got a truck in here, have you?" "No," said Dorcas. "It's a Cat."
Grimma's response was impressive. She spun around in an effort to see in every direction at once. "Where? Where?" she screamed. "You idiot! You brought us where there's a caty Dorcas said nothing. He just pointed upward.
Grimma looked up. And then looked up some more. Into the mouth of the Cat.
Chapter 13
IV. Dorcas said, This is the Cat, Great Beast withteeth.
V. Needs Must. If we are driven, let us Drive.
-From the Book of Nome, Cat II, v. IV-V
Sometimes words need music too. Sometimes the descriptions are notenough. Books should be written with soundtracks, like films.
Something deep, on an organ, perhaps.
Grimma stared. Soundtrack on: Deedle-dah-DEEdleDAHda-dum It can't really be alive, she thought desperately. It's not really aboutto bite me. Dorcas wouldn't have brought me in here if he knew there wasa monster about to bite me. I'm not going to be frightened. I'm notfrightened at all. I am a thinking nome and I'm not frightened'.
"I think the knobby wheels are just to make it grip the ground better," said Dorcas, his voice sounding a long way off. "Now, I've had a goodlook around it and, you know, there's nothing really wrong with it, it's just very old-"
Grimma's gaze travelled along the huge yellow neck.
Deedle-dah-deedle-dah-DUM
"Then I thought, I'm sure it could be started up. These diesel enginesare quite easy really, and of course there were pictures in one of thebooks, although I'm not sure about these pipes, hydraulics I think itscalled, but there was this book on one of the benches, Workshop Manual, and I've put grease on things and cleaned it up," Dorcas gabbled.
Dah-dah-dah-DUM
"I suppose the humans, or whatever, knew they would be coming back, andI've been up and looked at the controls and, you know, it's probablyeasier than the truck was, only of course there's these extra leversfor the hydraulics, but that shouldn't be a problem if there's enoughgas, which ..."
He stopped, aware of her silence.
"Is there something the matter?" he said.
"What is it?" said Grimma.
"I was just telling you," said Dorcas. "It's fascinating. You see, these pipes pump some sort of stuff which made those parts up there move, and those pistons are forced out, which makes the arm thing over there-"
"I didn't ask you what it does, I asked you what lt is," said Grimma, impatiently. "Because I know one thing. It's not a cat, Dorcas."
"You're wrong about that," said Dorcas. "See what's painted on it. Justup there, look."
She looked where he pointed. Grimma's brow wrinkled.
"C ... A ... T," she said. "Cat? But ... but ... Dorcas, that can't beright. Not really right. Look, a cat's got, well, whiskers. And hair. Andit's a whole lot smaller."
"Dunno," said Dorcas, and he shrugged. "It's written right there. I'm notabout to argue with things that are written right there. Maybe it's a bigcat. Maybe all the whiskers dropped out a long time ago. You know? Likesome old nomes lose their hair?"
"W-well," said Grimma, uncertainly. "But even the shape isn't right, and-"
"What do I know about this?" said Dorcas. "I'm not an expert in naturalhistory. Anyway, come over to this side."
She followed him dreamily, and, once more, stared into the darkness underthe tarp.
"There," he said. "There's no mistaking what they are, I hope."
"Oh, my," said Grimma, and raised her hand to her mouth.
"Yes," said Dorcas. "That's what I thought. When I first found this Ithought, oh, it's a sort of truck, well, well, and then I walked up hereand I found that it was a truck with-"
"Teeth," said Grimma, softly. "Great big metal teeth. A mouth at bothends?"
"That's right," said Dorcas proudly. "The Cat. A sort of truck. A truckwith two heads. A truck with teeth."
Dah-DUM
"Does it-does it work?" said Grimma. "It should. It should. I've tested what I can. Basic principle is like a truck, but there's a lot of extra levers and things-"
"Why didn't you tell me about this before?" Grimma demanded.
"Dunno. Because I didn't have to, I suppose," said Dorcas.
"But it's huge. You can't keep something like this to yourself!"
"Everyone has to have something they can keep to themselves," said Dorcas vaguely. "Anyway, the size isn't important. It's just so, well, soperfect." Dorcas patted a knobby tire. "You know, you said humans thinksomeone made the world in a week? When I saw the Cat for the first time I thought, okay, this is what he used."
He stared up into the shadows.
"First thing we've got to do is get the tarp off," he said. "It'll be very heavy, so we'll need lots of people. You'd better warn them. The Cat can be a bit scary when you see it for the first time."
"Didn't frighten me a bit," said Grimma.
"I know," said Dorcas. "I was watching your face."
The nomes looked expectantly at Grimma.
"The thing to remember," she said, "is that it's just a machine. Just a sort of truck. But when you first see it, it can be rather frightening, so hold on to small children's hands. And run smartly backward when thetarp comes down."
There was a chorus of nods.
"All right. Grab hold."
Six hundred nomes spat on their hands and grasped the edge of the heavy cloth.