Chapter SIX - The Very Edge
"It's all right, Bigwig," said Hazel, who had noticed his friend's expression of horror. "He's only exhausted: the strain's got to him rather, I should think. He'll be as right as rain before too long, just you wait and see."
"But... the blood-"
"It looks nasty, I know, but it's only a flesh wound: he was pretty lucky. All the same, we shall need to take care to keep it clean, as it's rather deep. I suppose he'll always have a scar there, but I don't think we need worry ourselves overmuch about it."
As if in response to Hazel's words, Pipkin stirred slightly in his sleep, and muttered something, although the actual words were too low to be caught. His breathing was shallow, and a little laboured, but it was steady; and Bigwig's heart rejoiced at the sound.
"What about you, though, Hazel-rah?" said Silver, who along with his companions had come into what was now a somewhat crowded burrow. "I take it that this miserable creature (he shot a contemptuous glance at Stitchwort) is the reason for the state of your ear and shoulder? Though you seem to have got away pretty lightly, all things considered."
"Well, Pipkin here's the one to thank for that," answered Hazel. "I'm sure he'd like to tell you all about it himself, but it wouldn't be a good idea to wake him now, so I'd better tell you myself."
Hazel now recounted all the dramatic scenes that had been played out in the others' absence. Stitchwort, it seemed, had initially appeared calm, though impetuous, putting forward the idea that Hazel should "get it into his head that Fiver might not have an answer to everything that ever goes wrong". Hazel had pointed out that neither Fiver nor he himself had ever made such a boast, but Stitchwort would not listen, and had grown angry, finally telling Hazel that, as he obviously cared only for what his brother told him, it would be better for everyone if both of them left Watership for good.
Hazel had, of course, refused, and tried once again to make Stitchwort listen to reason - then, without warning, the youngster launched into a full-blooded attack, his needle-sharp front claws aimed squarely at Hazel's eyes. Hazel, with his weak haunch, could not leap aside quickly enough, and he might have been blinded at once had not Pipkin, who all this time had been virtually ignored by all concerned, flung himself between the two protagonists.
Now it was Stitchwort's turn to be on the receiving end of a surprise, and he flailed and snapped about him wildly. It was quite by chance that a claw caught and ripped the end of Hazel's ear, but Stitchwort seemed to recover after this, and managed to sink his teeth into Hazel's shoulder, only to be immediately barged away by Pipkin. This time, however, Pipkin's effort had winded him, and he now lay between the other two, gasping and helpless on the ground.
Stitchwort, seeing this, determined to kill Pipkin before he could recover, and then resume his battle with Hazel. He lunged at Pipkin's throat, scoring deeply along the underside of his chin. As the blood welled up in great dark droplets, and then began to flow freely, Pipkin's desperate energy began to leave him, and he found himself unable to rise. Stitchwort closed for the kill; but at a moment almost beyond the last, Pipkin sat up, looked directly into his eyes, and screamed.
It was such a scream as none of the rabbits present had ever heard; it penetrated to the very core of their hearts, speaking of ghastly terror and hideous suffering beyond anything a living animal should understand. The hangers-on, waiting with Knapweed outside the burrow, had been whispering among themselves as they watched the fight unfold, but all were now stunned into quiet, and for a few moments there was complete silence. One by one, however, they returned to their senses - with the exception of Stitchwort, who remained quite still, gazing at the bleeding Pipkin as though he could not comprehend how such a thing could possibly have come about.
"Knapweed was the first to recover," continued Hazel. "He seemed to be less affected than the others: I don't know why-"
("Hasn't got the imagination," grunted Bigwig.)
"-but he stood his ground anyway: he still had it in his head to guard the run outside, as Stitchwort had told him. Several of the other rabbits were obviously frightened by now, but they stayed put because they were more frightened of Knapweed. Thank Frith that Blackberry had the wit to get out and to go and hurry you along: I don't like to think what might have happened if you hadn't appeared when you did. Pipkin's the real hero here, in any case: He saved my life today, I'm sure of that."
"So Stitchwort did mean to kill you?" said Bigwig. "And Pipkin, too. We can't simply let this pass and pretend nothing's different. Holly, d'you remember when you tried to stop us leaving the Threarah's warren and I attacked you? We knew we'd done it then all right, that there was no going back. To wound an Owsla officer was death; and to kill - or try to kill - the Chief Rabbit is far, far worse. There's no two ways about it, Hazel-rah: that rabbit's got to be killed."
"That's exactly what you said about Stonecrop, and look how that turned out. I don't believe Groundsel would swap him for hrair of us. Of course, it was Fiver who really saw what to do there - and here he is now. Fiver, what do you make of it? Do you think Stitchwort will be all right now?"
Fiver's eyes were glazed, and his head was held at a curious angle. "He may," he said woodenly, "and then again he may not. That rabbit lies on the very edge, and only Lord Frith himself can know if he will stand or if he will fall." He blinked, and his eyes returned to their usual appearance. "I'm sorry, Hazel, what was it you wanted to know?"
"The very edge," said Bigwig impatiently. "What did you mean by 'the very edge'?"
"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean," said Fiver, confused. "Who spoke of an edge?"
"You did, you vaporous veheer*!" cried Bigwig, but Hazel cut him short.
"Now look here: it seems to me that there's a risk in whatever we do about Stitchwort, but for what it's worth my feeling is that he won't try anything like this again - in which case, how on earth can it be right to have him killed? All that would do is to make a martyr of him and give his friends a real reason to hate the rest of us."
Bigwig exploded. "That embleer piece of hraka was trying to kill you! I'd like to see him dead just for that."
"NO, Bigwig. You say you want me as your Chief Rabbit: if that's truly what you believe then, when it comes right down to it, you've got to obey my orders. And I'm telling you now - and this goes for the rest of you too; for the whole warren - that I don't want Stitchwort, Knapweed or anyone else killed, or hurt in any way, over this business. I won't have my rabbits killing just to suit themselves: that's how men behave."
The other rabbits stared in total astonishment: never before had they heard Hazel issue Bigwig such a blunt rebuke. His final words had been a serious insult, and everyone knew it. Bigwig himself remained motionless, looking into Hazel's eyes and finding only a steady, resolute expression.
"The very edge," thought Hazel.
After what seemed an eternity, Bigwig subsided, speaking in a voice so low that the others had to strain to hear him.
"I can't pretend I agree with you about this; but yes, of course I think you're the best Chief Rabbit we could hope for - and so should everyone else, after all the miracles you've worked for us. So I'll do what you say. I just hope you know what you're doing here, Hazel-rah, that's all.
"So do I," replied Hazel.
* * *
It took some little time to get Stitchwort to move. The other rabbits alternately encouraged and pushed him, in the end half-dragging him to a sheltered patch of grass on the edge of a small clearing a little way into the beech hanger. Here they left him in the care of Holly and Bluebell.
"Do see if you can bring him back to his senses," Hazel had said. "He might have been a bit of a silly duffer today, but when I said I didn't want him killed, I included elil in that; and he's not going to last very long if he comes out to silflay in that state."
"Don't you worry, Hazel-rah," said Bluebell cheerfully. "We'll get Kehaar to give him a ride out to that Big Water of his. The fresh air will do him good, and if he causes any trouble Kehaar can always drop him in it!"
"It strikes me," said Holly slowly, "that he's made a pretty good job of dropping himself in it."
* * *
Back in his burrow, the earth still stained here and there with ruddy patches, Hazel had gathered together a group of his best rabbits. Bigwig and Fiver had been joined by Blackberry, Vilthuril and Silver - and also Pipkin, who was now awake, and despite the pain in his neck was extremely proud of the part he had played in defending his Chief.
"And so he should be," said Blackberry. "I tell you what, Hazel-rah: if you and Hyzenthlay-rah ever feel like a bit of a rest from Chief Rabbiting, you could do worse than this little chap."
"A lot worse," agreed Hazel. "You've done wonders, Hlao - Hlao-rah! (Pipkin looked slightly embarrassed at this.) Though everything's been so tangled up that we've rather forgotten about poor old Blackavar, haven't we? I hope you managed to get him to that hole Kehaar was talking about."
"We did," answered Silver, "though it was a pretty queer sort of hole, so Bigwig said: almost like a regular rabbit warren, but, well-"
Bigwig continued. "It wasn't that it felt at all dangerous - quite the reverse, in fact - or like Cowslip's place, but all the same it unsettled us rather."
"What did Kehaar make of it?" asked Blackberry.
"He couldn't work it out either. I suppose it might have been some sort of man-thing, but there was no smell at all - except from the farm, of course."
Vilthuril now spoke. "I can't be certain, but it sounds a little like something I once heard about from the secret river in Efrafa. It was very faint - neither Hyzenthlay nor Thethuthinnang could make it out at all, and even I had to strain - but from what Bigwig and Silver have said, it fits: a tunnel with no smell near a road. I never heard of it again, and Flyairth never spoke of it, so I can't tell you any more than that."
"In any case," said Silver, "whatever sort of a tunnel it might have been, we made sure we stopped it up good and proper: Blackavar can't be smelt at all from the outside now, so let's hope he can be left in peace. And let's see if we can't have a bit of peace for ourselves now, shall we? I'm still waiting for Dandelion to tell us his new story."
But Silver's hopes were dashed almost immediately, as Holly burst into the burrow.
"What are you doing in here?" asked Hazel, with more than a touch of irritation. "I thought I told you to look after Stitchwort."
"Not a lot of point in that now," replied Holly. "He's dead."
===========================
* veheer - a rabbit with intuitive powers
"It's all right, Bigwig," said Hazel, who had noticed his friend's expression of horror. "He's only exhausted: the strain's got to him rather, I should think. He'll be as right as rain before too long, just you wait and see."
"But... the blood-"
"It looks nasty, I know, but it's only a flesh wound: he was pretty lucky. All the same, we shall need to take care to keep it clean, as it's rather deep. I suppose he'll always have a scar there, but I don't think we need worry ourselves overmuch about it."
As if in response to Hazel's words, Pipkin stirred slightly in his sleep, and muttered something, although the actual words were too low to be caught. His breathing was shallow, and a little laboured, but it was steady; and Bigwig's heart rejoiced at the sound.
"What about you, though, Hazel-rah?" said Silver, who along with his companions had come into what was now a somewhat crowded burrow. "I take it that this miserable creature (he shot a contemptuous glance at Stitchwort) is the reason for the state of your ear and shoulder? Though you seem to have got away pretty lightly, all things considered."
"Well, Pipkin here's the one to thank for that," answered Hazel. "I'm sure he'd like to tell you all about it himself, but it wouldn't be a good idea to wake him now, so I'd better tell you myself."
Hazel now recounted all the dramatic scenes that had been played out in the others' absence. Stitchwort, it seemed, had initially appeared calm, though impetuous, putting forward the idea that Hazel should "get it into his head that Fiver might not have an answer to everything that ever goes wrong". Hazel had pointed out that neither Fiver nor he himself had ever made such a boast, but Stitchwort would not listen, and had grown angry, finally telling Hazel that, as he obviously cared only for what his brother told him, it would be better for everyone if both of them left Watership for good.
Hazel had, of course, refused, and tried once again to make Stitchwort listen to reason - then, without warning, the youngster launched into a full-blooded attack, his needle-sharp front claws aimed squarely at Hazel's eyes. Hazel, with his weak haunch, could not leap aside quickly enough, and he might have been blinded at once had not Pipkin, who all this time had been virtually ignored by all concerned, flung himself between the two protagonists.
Now it was Stitchwort's turn to be on the receiving end of a surprise, and he flailed and snapped about him wildly. It was quite by chance that a claw caught and ripped the end of Hazel's ear, but Stitchwort seemed to recover after this, and managed to sink his teeth into Hazel's shoulder, only to be immediately barged away by Pipkin. This time, however, Pipkin's effort had winded him, and he now lay between the other two, gasping and helpless on the ground.
Stitchwort, seeing this, determined to kill Pipkin before he could recover, and then resume his battle with Hazel. He lunged at Pipkin's throat, scoring deeply along the underside of his chin. As the blood welled up in great dark droplets, and then began to flow freely, Pipkin's desperate energy began to leave him, and he found himself unable to rise. Stitchwort closed for the kill; but at a moment almost beyond the last, Pipkin sat up, looked directly into his eyes, and screamed.
It was such a scream as none of the rabbits present had ever heard; it penetrated to the very core of their hearts, speaking of ghastly terror and hideous suffering beyond anything a living animal should understand. The hangers-on, waiting with Knapweed outside the burrow, had been whispering among themselves as they watched the fight unfold, but all were now stunned into quiet, and for a few moments there was complete silence. One by one, however, they returned to their senses - with the exception of Stitchwort, who remained quite still, gazing at the bleeding Pipkin as though he could not comprehend how such a thing could possibly have come about.
"Knapweed was the first to recover," continued Hazel. "He seemed to be less affected than the others: I don't know why-"
("Hasn't got the imagination," grunted Bigwig.)
"-but he stood his ground anyway: he still had it in his head to guard the run outside, as Stitchwort had told him. Several of the other rabbits were obviously frightened by now, but they stayed put because they were more frightened of Knapweed. Thank Frith that Blackberry had the wit to get out and to go and hurry you along: I don't like to think what might have happened if you hadn't appeared when you did. Pipkin's the real hero here, in any case: He saved my life today, I'm sure of that."
"So Stitchwort did mean to kill you?" said Bigwig. "And Pipkin, too. We can't simply let this pass and pretend nothing's different. Holly, d'you remember when you tried to stop us leaving the Threarah's warren and I attacked you? We knew we'd done it then all right, that there was no going back. To wound an Owsla officer was death; and to kill - or try to kill - the Chief Rabbit is far, far worse. There's no two ways about it, Hazel-rah: that rabbit's got to be killed."
"That's exactly what you said about Stonecrop, and look how that turned out. I don't believe Groundsel would swap him for hrair of us. Of course, it was Fiver who really saw what to do there - and here he is now. Fiver, what do you make of it? Do you think Stitchwort will be all right now?"
Fiver's eyes were glazed, and his head was held at a curious angle. "He may," he said woodenly, "and then again he may not. That rabbit lies on the very edge, and only Lord Frith himself can know if he will stand or if he will fall." He blinked, and his eyes returned to their usual appearance. "I'm sorry, Hazel, what was it you wanted to know?"
"The very edge," said Bigwig impatiently. "What did you mean by 'the very edge'?"
"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean," said Fiver, confused. "Who spoke of an edge?"
"You did, you vaporous veheer*!" cried Bigwig, but Hazel cut him short.
"Now look here: it seems to me that there's a risk in whatever we do about Stitchwort, but for what it's worth my feeling is that he won't try anything like this again - in which case, how on earth can it be right to have him killed? All that would do is to make a martyr of him and give his friends a real reason to hate the rest of us."
Bigwig exploded. "That embleer piece of hraka was trying to kill you! I'd like to see him dead just for that."
"NO, Bigwig. You say you want me as your Chief Rabbit: if that's truly what you believe then, when it comes right down to it, you've got to obey my orders. And I'm telling you now - and this goes for the rest of you too; for the whole warren - that I don't want Stitchwort, Knapweed or anyone else killed, or hurt in any way, over this business. I won't have my rabbits killing just to suit themselves: that's how men behave."
The other rabbits stared in total astonishment: never before had they heard Hazel issue Bigwig such a blunt rebuke. His final words had been a serious insult, and everyone knew it. Bigwig himself remained motionless, looking into Hazel's eyes and finding only a steady, resolute expression.
"The very edge," thought Hazel.
After what seemed an eternity, Bigwig subsided, speaking in a voice so low that the others had to strain to hear him.
"I can't pretend I agree with you about this; but yes, of course I think you're the best Chief Rabbit we could hope for - and so should everyone else, after all the miracles you've worked for us. So I'll do what you say. I just hope you know what you're doing here, Hazel-rah, that's all.
"So do I," replied Hazel.
* * *
It took some little time to get Stitchwort to move. The other rabbits alternately encouraged and pushed him, in the end half-dragging him to a sheltered patch of grass on the edge of a small clearing a little way into the beech hanger. Here they left him in the care of Holly and Bluebell.
"Do see if you can bring him back to his senses," Hazel had said. "He might have been a bit of a silly duffer today, but when I said I didn't want him killed, I included elil in that; and he's not going to last very long if he comes out to silflay in that state."
"Don't you worry, Hazel-rah," said Bluebell cheerfully. "We'll get Kehaar to give him a ride out to that Big Water of his. The fresh air will do him good, and if he causes any trouble Kehaar can always drop him in it!"
"It strikes me," said Holly slowly, "that he's made a pretty good job of dropping himself in it."
* * *
Back in his burrow, the earth still stained here and there with ruddy patches, Hazel had gathered together a group of his best rabbits. Bigwig and Fiver had been joined by Blackberry, Vilthuril and Silver - and also Pipkin, who was now awake, and despite the pain in his neck was extremely proud of the part he had played in defending his Chief.
"And so he should be," said Blackberry. "I tell you what, Hazel-rah: if you and Hyzenthlay-rah ever feel like a bit of a rest from Chief Rabbiting, you could do worse than this little chap."
"A lot worse," agreed Hazel. "You've done wonders, Hlao - Hlao-rah! (Pipkin looked slightly embarrassed at this.) Though everything's been so tangled up that we've rather forgotten about poor old Blackavar, haven't we? I hope you managed to get him to that hole Kehaar was talking about."
"We did," answered Silver, "though it was a pretty queer sort of hole, so Bigwig said: almost like a regular rabbit warren, but, well-"
Bigwig continued. "It wasn't that it felt at all dangerous - quite the reverse, in fact - or like Cowslip's place, but all the same it unsettled us rather."
"What did Kehaar make of it?" asked Blackberry.
"He couldn't work it out either. I suppose it might have been some sort of man-thing, but there was no smell at all - except from the farm, of course."
Vilthuril now spoke. "I can't be certain, but it sounds a little like something I once heard about from the secret river in Efrafa. It was very faint - neither Hyzenthlay nor Thethuthinnang could make it out at all, and even I had to strain - but from what Bigwig and Silver have said, it fits: a tunnel with no smell near a road. I never heard of it again, and Flyairth never spoke of it, so I can't tell you any more than that."
"In any case," said Silver, "whatever sort of a tunnel it might have been, we made sure we stopped it up good and proper: Blackavar can't be smelt at all from the outside now, so let's hope he can be left in peace. And let's see if we can't have a bit of peace for ourselves now, shall we? I'm still waiting for Dandelion to tell us his new story."
But Silver's hopes were dashed almost immediately, as Holly burst into the burrow.
"What are you doing in here?" asked Hazel, with more than a touch of irritation. "I thought I told you to look after Stitchwort."
"Not a lot of point in that now," replied Holly. "He's dead."
===========================
* veheer - a rabbit with intuitive powers
