Tallstar's Revenge/Chapter 13

"Just because you don't want to be a tunneler, doesn't mean you have to spoil it for everyone else! From now on, stay away from me and the tunnels!”

— Sandgorse to Tallpaw in Tallstar's Revenge, page 157

Tallstar's Revenge
Chapter number:	13 (of 45)
Page numbers:	147-157
Point of View:	Tallpaw
Chronology

Below contains in-depth information for chapter thirteen of Tallstar's Revenge. If you are looking for a shorter summary of the entire book, please check the main article.

Chapter Number: 13 (of 45)

Page Numbers: 147-157

Chapter description

Dawnstripe sees a rabbit, and Tallpaw looks at Reena, who asks if she should stalk it from behind. The WindClan warrior asks if she can stalk the rabbit without scaring it, and the rogue promises she can, praising Tallpaw for his speed. Reena drives the rabbit towards the other cats and Tallpaw pounces at it, but it disappears before he can catch it, and he asks where it went, confused. Reena stops and sniffs pointedly at a hole in the ground, saying it went down there. Dawnstripe irritatedly meows there was no way to have seen it, but she is cut off when the rabbit hurtles out of the hole in terror. Without hesitating, Tallpaw springs forward and delivers the killing bite to its neck. The apprentice spots gray fur as Woollytail emerges from the hole, remarking how he scented rabbit. Reena asks if he was waiting for the rabbit, and Woollytail replies he was only fixing a roof, but saw the rabbit and decided to catch it. Tallpaw asks who else is with him, and Woollytail says Sandgorse and Plumclaw were working on the second gorse tunnel, but he'd noticed the roof was weakening on his way back to camp, and decided to fix it. Dawnstripe, confused, asks why there needs to be two tunnels. Woollytail begins to tell her that the first tunnel flooded, and they were digging a replacement, but Dawnstripe cuts him off, questioning if the tunnel had really flooded.

Tallpaw explains how the tunnel had been submerged while he was digging with his father, and Woollytail expands on it, telling her the tunnel had been too deep, and that the other tunnel they had dug would flood during the snowmelt. Dawnstripe, concerned, asks Tallpaw if he's alright, and he reassures his mentor that he's fine. Woollytail praises the apprentice, meowing he's a great runner, and the golden she-cat asks in shock if they actually had to run. The tunneler replies it was the only option, and Dawnstripe exclaims to her apprentice that he might have died. Tallpaw, again, reassures her that he's fine, and Dawnstripe claims tunneling is too dangerous. Reena asks in amazement if there are any cats in the tunnels right now. Woollytail replies of course there is, and the ginger-and-white rogue asks if they sleep underground too. Tallpaw tells her Sandgorse and Palebird are also tunnelers, and the ginger rogue asks him why he isn't a tunneler like his parents. Tallpaw replies Heatherstar thought moor running was more suitable for him, annoying Woollytail.

Dawnstripe demands to know if Heatherstar was informed of the flood, and Woollytail retorts that she doesn't need to know, as she isn't a tunneler. Before they can argue any longer, however, Shrewpaw and his mentor, Hareflight, appear. Shrewpaw tells them that they're going to Outlook Rock, offering for Reena to come. Dawnstripe asks Hareflight if he can take Tallpaw, and the light brown tom agrees. Reena asks if she can come as well, but Hareflight responds there is no need, and Dawnstripe takes her back to camp. Hareflight takes the apprentices to Outlook Rock, telling Shrewpaw to list everything he could see. Tallpaw asks for a turn and describes how a buzzard is teaching its fledglings to fly. Shrewpaw scoffs that he can't see it, and Tallpaw asks him what else would it be doing. Hareflight compliments Tallpaw's guesswork, angering Shrewpaw.

Later, the group returns to camp, and the WindClan warrior gives Tallpaw and Shrewpaw permission to eat. Reena offers a lapwing to Tallpaw, and informs him the rabbit they had caught earlier was given to the elders. The black-and-white apprentice sees and greets his father, but Sandgorse angrily asks why he had to tell Heatherstar about the flooding tunnel. Tallpaw tries to defend himself, but the ginger tom snarls at him to stay away from him and the tunnels.

Characters

Major

• Tallpaw

Minor

• Dawnstripe
• Reena
• Woollytail
• Shrewpaw
• Hareflight
• Sandgorse
• Whiteberry
• Plumclaw
• Hickorynose
• Mistmouse
• Reedfeather
• Heatherstar

Mentioned

• Bess
• Palebird