The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents

Darktan, and hurried off.
    Traps! he thought. There were too many of them. And too much poison. Even the experienced members of the squad were getting nervous now. He didn't like to come across unknown things. You found out what unknown things were when they killed you.
    The rats were spreading out under the town, and it was like no other town they'd found. The whole place was a rat trap. They hadn't found a single living keekee . Not one. That wasn't normal. Everywhere had rats. Where you got humans, you got rats.
    And on top of everything else the young rats were spending too much time worrying about… things. Things you couldn't see or smell. Shadow things. Darktan shook his head. There was no room in the tunnels for that sort of thinking. Life was real, life was practical, and life could get taken away really quickly if you weren't paying attention…
    He noticed Nourishing looking around and sniffing the air as they trotted along a pipe.
    'That's right,' he said approvingly. 'You can't be too careful. Never rush in. Even the rat in front of you might have been lucky and missed the trigger.'
    'Yes, sir.'
    'Don't worry too much, though.'
    'He did look awfully… flat, sir.'
    'Fools rush in, Nourishing. Fools rush in…'
    Darktan could sense the fear spreading. It worried him. If the Changelings panicked, they'd panic as rats. And the tunnels in this city were no place for a terrified rat to be running. But if one rat broke ranks and ran, then most of them would follow. Smell held sway in the tunnels. When things went well, everyone felt good. When fear arrived, it flowed through the runs like flood-water. Panic in the rat world was a kind of disease that could be caught too easily.
    Things did not get any better when they caught up with the rest of the trap-squad. This time, they'd found a new poison.
    'Not to worry,' said Darktan, who was worried. 'We've come across new poisons before, right?'
    'Not for ages ,' said a rat. 'Remember that one in Scrote? With the sparkly blue bits? It burned if you got it on your feet? People ran into it before they knew?'
    'They've got that here?'
    'You'd better come and see.'
    In one of the tunnels a rat was lying on its side. Its feet were curled up tight, like fists. It was whimpering.
    Darktan took one look and knew that, for this rat, it was all over. It was only a matter of time. For the rats back in Scrote, it had been a matter of horrible time.
    'I could bite her in the back of the neck,' a rat volunteered. 'It'd be all over quickly.'
    'It's a kind thought, but that stuff gets into the blood,' said Darktan. 'Find a snapper trap that hasn't been made safe. Do it carefully.'
    ' Put a rat in a trap , sir?' said Nourishing.
    'Yes! Better die fast than slow!'
    'Even so, it's-' the rat who had volunteered to do the biting started to protest.
    The hairs around Darktan's face stood out. He reared up and showed his teeth. 'Do what you're told or I'll bite you!' he roared.
    The other rat crouched back. 'All right, Darktan, all right…'
    'And warn all the other squads!' Darktan bellowed. 'This isn't rat-catching, this is war ! Everyone's to pull back smartly! No-one touch nothing ! We're going to- Yes? What is it this time?'
    A small rat had crept up to Darktan. As the trap-hunter spun around, the rat crouched hurriedly, almost rolling on its back to show how small and harmless it was.
    'Please, sir…' it mumbled.
    'Yes?'
    'This time we've found a live one…'

CHAPTER 6
    There were big adventures and small adventures, Mr Bunnsy knew. You didn't get told what size they were going to be before you started. Sometimes you could have a big adventure even when you were standing still.
    - From Mr Bunnsy Has An Adventure
    'Hello? Hello, it's me. And I'm going to give the secret knock now ! There were three knocks on the stable door, and then Malicia's voice rose again with 'Hello, did you hear the secret knock?'
    'Perhaps she'll go away if we keep quiet,' said Keith, in the straw.
    'I shouldn't think so,' said Maurice. He raised his voice and called out, 'We're up here!'
    'You've still got to give the secret knock,' shouted Malicia.
    'Oh, prbllttrrrp ,' said Maurice under his breath, and fortunately no human knows how bad a swearword that is in cat language. 'Look, this is me, OK? A cat? Which talks? How will you recognize me? Shall I wear a red carnation?'
    'I don't think you're a proper talking cat, anyway,' said Malicia, climbing the ladder. She was still wearing black, and had