WHILE the two boys were whispering behind, both the girls suddenly cried “Oh! ” and stopped.
“The robin! ” cried Lucy, “the robin. It's flown away.” And so it had—right out of sight.
“And now what are we to do? ” said Edmund, giving Peter a look which was as much as to say “What did I tell you? ”
“Sh! Look! ” said Susan.
“What? ” said Peter.
“There's something moving among the trees over there to the left.”
They all stared as hard as they could, and no one felt very comfortable.
“There it goes again, ” said Susan presently.
“I saw it that time too, ” said Peter. “It's still there. It's just gone behind that big tree.”
“What is it? ” asked Lucy, trying very hard not to sound nervous.
“Whatever it is, ” said Peter, “it's dodging us. It's something that doesn't want to be seen.”
“Let's go home, ” said Susan. And then, though nobody said it out loud, everyone suddenly realized the same fact that Edmund had whispered to Peter at the end of the last chapter. They were lost.
“What's it like? ” said Lucy.
“It's—it's a kind of animal, ” said Susan; and then, “Look! Look! Quick! There it is.”
They all saw it this time, a whiskered furry face which had looked out at them from behind a tree. But this time it didn't immediately draw back. Instead, the animal put its paw against its mouth just as humans put their finger on their lips when they are signaling to you to be quiet. Then it disappeared again. The children all stood holding their breath.
A moment later the stranger came out from behind the tree, glanced all round as if it were afraid someone was watching, said “Hush”, made signs to them to join it in the thicker bit of wood where it was standing, and then once more disappeared.
“I know what it is, ” said Peter; “it's a beaver. I saw the tail.”