Lord Cayvear showed them all around his domain. Bat Mountpit was large and impressive, with chasms, tunnels, streams, caves, waterfalls, and underground lakes, all inside the hollow mountain.

Then he took them back to his cave for dinner. There were some bat Dibbuns there who were Lord Cayvear's children.

"What kind of bats are you?" one of the children asked. "I've never seen bats without wings before."

Bugs laughed. "I guess I do fly through the earth when I'm diggin'. That's how I wore my wings out."

Cayvear walked up, balancing a tray of little cakes on his wing. "Eat, eat."

Martin took one and munched on it. "Pretty good. What's it made from?"

"Let's see. Oats, flour, sugar, butter, and I'm not exactly sure of the species of the insects…"

Martin spat out his mouthful of food with a great "FPOO!"

"Don't ya have anything else, Doc?" Bugs asked. "I mean, you're fruit bats, right? Don't ya eat fruit?"

Cayvear hung his head. "We have not been able to get fruit for a very long time."

"How come?"

"Because we have to leave Bat Mountpit and go outside to search for fresh fruit, and we haven't been able to get out for the past few weeks. The way is blocked."

"What is it blocked by?" Martin asked, thinking the bat was going to say an avalanche or something.

"A big bird, an owl!"

"But owls are nice birds!" Gonff said.

"Yes, most owls are nice, but this one is mean. He took up residence at the top of the mountain, right next to our entrance hole. Whenever bats so much as poke their heads out, he kills them. We don't know what to do. We've had predatory birds nest up here before, but we always went out at night, while they were asleep. But this bird stays up all night and sleeps during the day, like us bats!"

Martin drew himself up. "Well, your worries are over. We are all seasoned warriors, and we can deal with your bird problem."

"Si," said Speedy. "I've tangled with birds before."

"All right," said Lord Cayvear. "You can give it a try, but be careful. That owl's a real killer."

Martin, Bugs, Gonff, and Speedy went back to the wreckage of Sylvaticus and salvaged their weapons. Martin and Bugs got their spears, Gonff got his dagger, and Speedy got his club.

Lord Cayvear led them up through the tunnels to the top of the mountain. The paths got steeper and steeper as they climbed higher. Finally, they came to a tunnel that led outside. Martin could see the moon shining through.

"This is as far as I go," said the Bat Lord. "Good luck." He flapped away.

With Martin in the lead, they crept up the tunnel into the outside world.

The four of them stood in the moonlight for a moment, looking around. The mountainside was dotted with gnarled trees and stunted bush.

Gonff took a few steps forward and tripped over something. He recoiled with disgust when he saw what it was. "Ugh! A bat skeleton!"

"Rukkudooh! What brings mice and a bunny to my mountain?" a voice called.

They all turned around. A big brown owl with a murderous beak was standing before them.

"It's not your mountain," Martin said boldly. "It's the bats' mountain!"

"It is my mountain now!"

Without warning, the owl lashed out with his talon, kicking Martin to the ground. At the same time, he spread his powerful wings, hitting Gonff with one hand and Bugs with the other, before they had a chance to react.

Moving quickly, Speedy hurled his club at the owl, knocking him down. That gave the others just enough time to jump up and scramble back down into the hole. Speedy dived in after them.

The owl was too big to follow them through the hole, so he just went and sat back down on his nest, but he didn't take his eyes off the entrance. "If they come out again, one peck and that'll be the end of them," he muttered.

"You really lived up to your name, Speedy," Gonff panted, down in the tunnel.

"We need a new plan," said Bugs. "We can't fight this boid. We have to outsmart 'im."

Martin recognized the gleam in his friend's eyes. "Have you got an idea, Bugs?"

"I sure do, Doc. Watch this."

Bugs started tunneling through the soil directly above his head. "I don't think that's such a good idea, amigo," Speedy whispered. "You'll bring the whole tunnel down on our heads."

Bugs paused in his work and looked down at Speedy. "Trust me, Doc, okay?" He went back to digging.

Soon he had made another hole to the surface. He poked his head out of the ground. He could see the night sky all around him.

The owl was sitting directly in front of Bugs, but he had his back turned to the bunny and was still keeping his eyes on the other hole. What a maroon, Bugs thought.

He reached out and gave the nest a push. It started to slide down the mountainside!

"YAHOOHOOHOOHOO!" the owl screamed as he careened down the slope in his nest. His bed had essentially turned into a toboggan.

"Ain't I a stinker?" Bugs said.

At the bottom of the mountain, the nest hit a rock and the owl was catapulted out. He landed headfirst in a swamp.

"His technique was adequate, but that poor finish is gonna cost him," Bugs said as though he was an Olympic skiing judge. "I'd only give him three out of ten."