Chapter Nine GEORGE MAKES A DISCOVERY - AND LOSES HER TEMPER
GEORGE slipped down from the rock. She peered under it. There was a large opening there,scattered with stones that Timmy had loosened in his digging.
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　　'Surely you haven't at last found a rabbit hole big enough to go down!' said George. 'TIMMY!
　　Where are you?'
　　Not a bark, not a whine¹ came from the hole. George wriggled² under the shelf of rock, and peereddown the burrow³. Timmy had certainly made it very big. George called up to Julian.
　　'Julian! Throw me down your trowel, will you?' The trowel landed by her foot. George took itand began to make the hole bigger. It might be big enough for Timmy, but it wasn't big enoughfor her! She dug hard and soon got very hot. She crawled out and looked over on to the rock tosee if she could get one of the others to help her. They were all asleep! 'Lazy things!' thoughtGeorge, quite forgetting that she too would have been dozing⁴ if she hadn't wondered whereTimmy had gone.
　　She slipped down under the rock again and began to dig hard with her trowel. Soon she hadmade the hole big enough to get through. She was surprised to find quite a large passage, onceshe had made the entrance big enough to take her. She could crawl along on hands and knees!
　　'I say - I wonder if this is just some animal's runway -or leads somewhere!' thought George.
　　'TIMMY! Where are you?'
　　From somewhere deep in the quarry⁵ side there came a faint whine. George felt thankful. SoTimmy was there, after all. She crawled along, and then quite suddenly the tunnel became highand wide, and she realized that she must be in a passage. It was perfectly⁶ dark, so she could notsee anything, she could only feel. Then she heard the sound of pattering feet, and Timmy pressedaffectionately against her legs, whining⁷.
　　'Oh Timmy -- you gave me a bit of a fright!' said George. 'Where have you been? Is this a realpassage -- or just a tunnel in the quarry, made by the aid miners, and now used by animals?'

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