92 FLUFF-BUTTON THE RABBIT 
limply with blood upon his snout, and instantly the 
rest threw themselves upon him with shrill cries. 
Fluff-Button took advantage of the respite to fly. 
He scuttled through the tortuous windings of the 
burrow, and through a bolt-hole to the open air. It 
was still raining fitfully, but there was a pale 
streak in the east where the sun would presently rise. 
Rabbits popped in and out of all the holes, for they 
dared not rest below ground lest the rats should 
drive them into one of the many ' hide-ups ' and 
then attack them. Fluff-Button scampered over 
the brow of the hill, and into a bolt-hole on the other 
side, where he lay panting. 
There was a young rabbit of Cuni's first family, 
who, although the season was so late, had a litter 
in a remote chamber, just beyond where Fluff- 
Button lay. She dared not thump, lest the noise 
should betray her presence, but lay very still with 
four youngsters nuzzling at her side. By and by 
Fluff-Button heard something sniffing its way 
towards him, for the tunnel carried sound like a 
telephone. The anxious little mother also heard 
it, and sat up. Fluff-Button waited until he 
judged that the rat was within range, and then 
flung up a shower of sand with his hind feet. The 
rat squeaked and sat up to dust his whiskers. He 
imagined that he had come up a blind passage, and 
