Goblins on the Prowl by Bruce Coville

giant!”
    â€œIgor good direction giver!” he crowed as he scrambled up the ladder on the side of the wagon. He positioned himself where a driver would usually sit. I followed him up, as did Herky. Werdolphus, of course, just floated along as he pleased.
    Bwoonhiwda started out at a walk. That was impressive enough, considering that she was pulling the wagon with all of us on it. But once we came to the road, she took off at a fast trot.
    The road wound through the forest. The afternoon sun was bright on the leaves, which were a wild mix of red, orange, and yellow. The only sound was the thud of Bwoonhiwda’s boots. The air was crisp with the smell of autumn. If I hadn’t been so worried about William, the ride would have been quite nice.
    But I was, so it wasn’t.
    It did help to know he was still alive, or at least had been a few hours before. But there was no telling what the toad—or the goblins—might do if we couldn’t rescue him. I wanted to move faster! Still, I knew we were going faster than we would have on foot.
    Herky couldn’t sit still for long, of course. Soon he was climbing up and down the sides of the wagon, or scampering from side to side on the roof.
    â€œYou’re going to fall!” I warned him.
    â€œHerky not fall!” he replied cheerfully, just before he tumbled over the edge.
    â€œBwoonhiwda!” I cried. “Stop!”
    She thudded to a halt. “What’s wong?”
    â€œHerky fell off!”
    Bwoonhiwda sighed. “Bettah go get him.”
    I would have thought she would welcome a chance to rest, but she sounded annoyed.
    I climbed down from the wagon and ran back toward Herky. When I saw that he wasn’t moving, panic surged through me.
    â€œHerky!” I cried. “Herky, are you all right?”
    Nothing. Not even a groan.
    I knelt beside the little annoyance and put my ear to his chest. He wasn’t breathing! I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ball of blue goo, then broke off a glob and shoved it into his mouth.
    I heard something beside me, and realized Igor was there. “Herky all right?” he asked, squeezing his bear nervously.
    â€œI don’t know, Igor.”
    As I spoke, the little goblin’s eyes fluttered open and he spit out the goo.
    â€œHerky all owiee!” he moaned.
    â€œI told you to hold still,” I answered sharply, feelingfree to be angry now that I knew he was all right.
    â€œStinky girl,” he whimpered, even as he held out his arms for me to pick him up.
    I carried him back to the wagon, opened the door, and shoved him in.
    â€œStay here,” I ordered.
    â€œGirl mean!”
    â€œGirl in a hurry. We have to find William. What if you slow us down again and something bad happens to him because we didn’t get there soon enough?”
    Herky’s eyes widened. He nodded that he understood.
    When I climbed back to the top of the wagon, I called to Bwoonhiwda that we could start again. As I settled in beside Igor, I noticed he was clutching his bear more tightly than usual.
    â€œWhat’s the matter?”
    â€œWon’t tell?”
    â€œCross my heart,” I said, doing just that.
    â€œIgor want to be Bwoonhiwda’s friend. She so beautiful and strong, it make Igor’s heart hurt. But Igor don’t know how to do it!” He looked at me, and I saw tears in his eyes. “Fauna know how?”
    â€œSorry, Igor. I don’t know much about making friends either.”
    After that we rode in silence until I said, “How much farther to John’s cave?”
    Igor pointed to the left. “See mountain? That where old Bonecracker live.”
    It was hard to tell how far away the mountain really was, but about an hour later Igor called, “Bwoon­hiwda! Stop. Road go wrong way now. Have to walk.”
    Bwoonhiwda thudded to a halt. She was breathing heavily but other than that showed no sign of the fact that she had been