Chapter LXXXI
Ali startled when she perceived a quiet cracking and rustling in the undergrowth and she made ready to wake the others immediately if the originator of the noises should turn out to be dangerous. Since their flight, that had led them up to the nearness of the edge of the forest at the end of the valley Ali had kept watching while the others had fallen into and outermost unsound sleep. Their spirits were very low for, yet they had escaped the eggeaters, but first here they had noted tat Ducky was missing. After Cera of whom they still had no idea what had happened to her, Ducky was now already the second of them to be lost. They had all been pretty exhausted and have had no idea what they could do. If they would have run back they wouldn’t have maybe run directly into the eggeaters and moreover such a search would have had a very low chance to succeed since they would have not even been able to call Ducky in the dense forest without calling the attention of the eggeaters on themselves so they had decided to rest, on the one hand as they really needed a brake urgently and on the other hand not to distance to far from Ducky so she wouldn’t be able to beat her way to them easier in the case that the eggeaters hadn’t caught her and of that they didn’t want to think at all. Ali uttered a sigh of relief when she heard the well known coughing. So it was Ducky who made her way through the undergrowth, pretty exhausted and breathing heavily. Probably the others had only dozed or at least they had slept very unsound, for the actually not very loud coughing of Ducky was enough to startle all of them, even Spike. Ducky sighed relieved when she stepped forth from the undergrowth and saw her friends. Exhausted she sat down on the ground where she just stood to stop for breath. But the others didn’t let her any time for that anymore. Immediately they surrounded Ducky and snowed her under with welcomes and questions. With a tired movement of her hand Ducky made to make them silent for a moment and when they started to ask again they didn’t talk all at the same time at least. “My goodness Ducky, am I glad that you are here!” called Littlefoot. “How have you escaped the eggeaters?” Ducky shook her head and made a disparaging movement with her hand. “I am not! Oh no, no, no! We are not!” The others looked pretty bewildered. “What do you mean Ducky?” asked Ali frowning. “Strut has caught me, yes, he has!” “What?” Chomper looked at Ducky with bulging eyes. “And he has let you escape again?” Ali and Chomper had meanwhile learned from the others what had happened during the flight at the canyon. Chomper had hardly been able to believe that an eggeater had let his prey escape. Ducky nodded. “Yes, he has, he has!” “What about the other one; those with the scratched nose? What was his name?” asked Ali. “Ozzy!” Littlefoot answered Ali’s second question and then he repeated the first: “What about him?” Ducky fetched deep breath, for so far she had hardly found an occasion to regain her breath; the she answered: “He knows nothing of that of course, no, no. He has slept while Strut had to watch. He has! I don’t want to know what he would do with poor Strut if he would ever find that out.” “I can hardly believe it!” said Littlefoot shaking his head. “The eggeater had really caught you and has let you go again?” Ducky nodded and began to tell more detailed what she had experienced. She also repeated the talk she had had with Strut partly literally and tried to make plain to the others by that in what a danger they were. Littlefoot bit on his lower lip when Ducky had finished. For a while he kept quiet just like everybody else, then he said: “When the eggeaters start their pursuit again tomorrow, then we have to be as far away as possible! Down here we have no chance to escape them anyhow. We must come out of the valley and into the mountains. Maybe we can shake them off there again.” “You do really think so Littlefoot?” Petrie inquired doubting and resigned. “At least we have to try it or do you have a better idea?” the little flyer shook his head. “And moreover, who knows…” Littlefoot looked suddenly very thoughtful. “What do you mean?” asked Ducky. “Maybe…”, began Littlefoot, “…we have still a chance even when the eggeaters catch up with us.” “What of do you think?” asked Ali. “You have heard what Ducky has said. If Ozzy would find out that Strut has helped us and if we would say it to him just when the two have caught up with us, then…” “Oh no, no, no, no, no!” Ducky jumped up and shook her forefinger angrily against Littlefoot. “Strut has helped me, helped us very much. He has! And we won’t betray him to his brother! No, no, no!” Ducky sounded really indignant. “But if it is the only possibility for us to divert the eggeaters to escape them?” asked Ali, but before Ducky could reply anything Littlefoot shook his head himself and said: “No, Ducky is right! It wouldn’t be fair to do that!” “Alright ”, said Chomper. “But then we should hurry now and go on to get a bigger lead before the eggeaters.” Everybody nodded agreeing although they all felt far too tired to walk on now. “And Cera?” asked Petrie sadly. Littlefoot bit himself on the lower lip again and said then: “ We haven’t heard or seen anything of her since she has fallen down the slope. But you have not found her there. So Cera must have gotten over the precipice.” Littlefoot gulped. “We can’t go back now to search for her, otherwise we’ll run directly into the eggeaters, but…”, he hesitated for a moment, “…as it looks I could imagine that she is better then we are.” “I hope so!” said Ali nodding. “I fear at the moment we really can’t do the slightest for her”, said Littlefoot and everybody had to see that it was really as he said. “We have to hurry!” said Chomper with a look to the sky at whose eastern horizon a bright stripe announced the impending dawn. Littlefoot nodded. “Let’s go!” And he set in motion.
Chapter LXXXII
A gentle push woke Cera far too early for her taste and she kept her eyes closed. But the moment after she was pushed anew, yet still gentle, but already with a perceptible impatience. Cera opened her eyes and startled back with an outcry. She had remembered to everything that had happened yesterday, also to Chomper’s parents while she had kept her eyes closed, but even if you were prepared for it the sight of a sharptooth was enough to give a dreadful scare. And Cera had at least not been prepared to have the huge eye of one of the two sharpteeth so close in front of herself. It was still pitch dark and in the darkness the huge silhouette of the sharptooth-head with the two eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness appeared to be even uncannier. Cera moaned painfully, for by the instinctively startling back from the sharptooth she had forgotten her injured leg and burdened it so much that a burning pain flashed up from her knee. Cera closed her eyes firmly and fought against the tears as good as she could, and that she couldn’t stop them completely made her furious. “What are you doing?” she bawled out at the sharptooth angrily and in the same moment she was frightened about her own boldness. Yet the sharptooth could not understand her words, but her tone had been unmistakable. For Cera’s relief the sharptooth seemed to take her outburst with humour. He grinned broad, just like Chomper did some times whereby the sight of the teeth flashing in the moonlight sent a cold shudder down Cera’s back. Cera cast a doubting look up to the star-sky, but the second sharptooth came along and snarled anything. The other sharptooth roared an answer and Cera understood that the first sharptooth urged to march off. While she set in motion, taking very much care to burden her injured leg as less as possible, she wondered if sharpteeth always got up so early and slept always so short. But then she remembered Chomper. He didn’t sleep more or less than any of them. Probably the worry about Chomper was the only reason for the sudden haste of the sharpteeth and that remembered Cera anyhow very much to her own father. Moreover she wanted to know herself, the tired she was what has happened with the others, eventually she knew nothing but that the eggeaters had pursued them and that was reason enough to be worried. So Cera followed Ali’s and Chomper’s tracks and the sharpteeth followed her. They hadn’t gone far when they came to a place where a deep crack gapped to their left. On the other side of the crack Cera could recognize a rocky ledge that looked similar to those on which she herself and the sharpteeth walked at the moment, indistinctly in the moonlight. The sharpteeth didn’t seem to like the way and Cera couldn’t take it amiss, for the way was hardly broad enough to offer their feet abreast enough room and the crack to their left was so deep that a fall down there would have been fatal, even for a grownup sharptooth. But for the relief of the sharpteeth the crack became more and more narrow and finally ended whereby the rocky ledges from both sides of the crack ran together to one single broader way to whose sides high rocky walls rose. Cera’s relief when they reached the point where the ways ran together became the bigger as that from the other ledge the tracks of Littlefoot and Spike joined Ali’s and Chomper’s. There were no traces of Ducky and Petrie, but the both had probably ridden on the back of Littlefoot and Spike or, concerning Petrie, flown. Apparently Ali and Chomper had really met the others here for the tracks led criss-cross at the point where the rocky ledges ran together as if they had stayed here for a longer time. But what worried Cera and Chomper’s parents were not only the tracks of the eggeaters, that traversed the point too, coming from the ledge they had used as a way themselves, but above all the fact that the tracks of Chomper, Ali, Littlefoot and Spike looked as if they had run. Their footprints lay wide apart from each other as if they had run with swift and long steps. Also from the tracks of the eggeaters you could conclude that the both had run, but not first from the point where the rocky ledges united, but already for a longer time. Had the eggeaters caught up with the others and had a race for life and death started here? Cera ignored the pains in her leg as well as she could and ran on as fast as possible and the sharpteeth followed her hasty. Cera could read the highest apprehension in their faces as distinctly as from a leafeater’s face. For the first time Cera thought of what would be if really something had befallen the others. This imagination in itself was already horrible enough, but Cera realized that her own life would depend completely on the temper of Chomper’s parents if the eggeaters should have caught him. Suddenly Cera stopped abruptly and uttered a surprised shout. When the sharpteeth approached hasty and bent down to her to see the reason for her surprise Cera’s heart was in her mouth and she was sure that her life was not worth a fig anymore. The tracks of Littlefoot, Ali and Spike led into a very narrow side chasm, far to narrow for Chomper’s parents as Cera recognized with one look. For a moment she thought of fleeing into the side chasm with some quick leaps not to have to feel the wrath of Chomper’s parents. But firstly one of Chomper’s parents was between Cera and the side chasm and secondly she would have hardly been able to make some quick leaps with her injured leg. What terrified Cera so much and what had to cause the rage of Chomper’s parents was the fact that Chomper’s tracks didn’t disappear in the side chasm but led straight on. Had Littlefoot, Ali, Spike, Ducky and Petrie quarrelled, so he had continued his way alone? Or had they send him in another direction since they knew that the eggeater with the scratched nose, who was a kind of leader, was especially after him? One possibility sounded more unlikely than the other. Littlefoot and also the others would have never allowed that Chomper exposed himself to such a danger. Cera wouldn’t have believed it if she wouldn’t have seen it with her own eyes. She became really sick with angst. And the wild snarling and growling that had begun between Chomper’s parents let Cera’s worst fears become nearly certainty. The longer Cera looked on the snow that was only slightly enlightened by the moonlight the more details she recognized and these details meant nothing good. The tracks of the eggeaters led past the side chasm, thus followed Chomper’s traces, what had to intensify the impression of Chomper’s parents that their son had been send in a different direction as a bait by the leafeaters. But what worried Cera even more was the fact that the tracks of the eggeaters returned from the direction where Chomper’s traces led and disappeared in the chasm. That could only mean that the eggeaters had gotten Chomper and started the pursuit of the others after that. Cera stopped resigned to think over her chances of survival in view of the sharpteeth. Suddenly one of the sharpteeth bent forward and Cera avoided it as well as she could. But the sharptooth didn’t seem to be interested in Cera, but eyed the footprints sceptically and growled anything. After that the other sharptooth bent down to the traces too. Cera pondered for an instant if she should flee in the side chasm while the sharpteeth were engaged with the traces. But anything kept her back. The sharpteeth seemed to debate intensively about the traces and one of them gesticulated fiercely with his tow short arms. Instinctively Cera approached and tried to understand what they were talking about. The one sharptooth seemed to measure the distance between Chomper’s footprints. Cera looked carefully and suddenly she believed to understand. The distance between the two footprints was unusually long. Even if Chomper would have jumped Cera could hardly imagine that he was able to make such a long leap. Also the snow would have had to be especially stamped down in the next footprint if Chomper would have jumped, but the contrary seemed to take place. Cera got new hope suddenly, for she had recognized too what Chomper’s parents seemed to talk about. The track of Chomper looked convincing at the first sight, but the longer Cera looked the surer she became that the track was not real. It was a fraud, a wrong track! Cera gathered all her courage and called the attention of Chomper’s parents on herself again. She went to one of the footprints of which she thought that it was not real and wiped with one of her hooves through it. The snow was loose and powdery and appeared absolutely not as if a dinosaur of Chomper’s weight had stood on it recently. After that Cera went, becoming more confident with every second pas Chomper’s parents to one of the footprints she took for real. The snow in that footprint was fast and when Cera wiped through it with one of her hooves she could scratch the snow from the ground only with some effort. The snow had pasted and it was obviously that the originator of this footprint had to be far heavier than those of the other one. For Cera’s big relief Chomper’s parents seemed to understand too what Cera wanted to say them and both bent down to the track again and sniffed at them whereupon they began again a chat consisting of snarling and growling. Cera sniffed at the tracks too. Her sense organs were probably not as developed as those of the grownup sharpteeth, but she believed to perceive a difference between the tracks. Finally Cera discovered even a print of one of Petrie’s claw armed feet in one of the footprints, so Cera believed to understand how the wrong track had been made. Petrie had lain out the track carefully and apart form some details Petrie hadn’t been able to imitate, the trace was perfect. Apart from the first footprint after Chomper’s real track the distances between the footprints were correct too. They were surely real enough to deceive one or two eggeaters who pursued their victims and thus wouldn’t take the time to examine the track carefully. Cera uttered a sigh of relief for the danger of Chomper’s parents seemed to be turned away for the moment. The both continued talking with roaring, hissing and growling and it were above all their looks that let Cera realize that the matter was the question in which direction they should go on. The side chasm through which all, including Chomper, had obviously gone, was far too narrow for Chomper’s parents. So they could only either follow the wrong track, in a direction where Chomper and the others were probably not, or they could go back and seek a different way. Chomper’s parents agreed pretty fast to follow the wrong track. To go back would have apart from that it would have had probably no sense, cost too much time. Cera noted a bit affected that Chomper’s parents despite of everything didn’t seem to be completely convinced that the track was really wrong. At all events they didn’t let Cera lead the way anymore, but took her between them so every possible attempt to escape would be doomed to fail beforehand. Cera believed to notice that the sky began to enlighten when the wrong track ended. Whatever had happened here, it was impossible to conclude it completely from the tracks. The wrong track ended here and the tracks of the eggeaters turned back and led now into the opposite direction than before. Only few steps ahead gapped the exit of a narrow side chasm in the rocky wall. It had to be the exit of those side chasm through which Chomper, Littlefoot, Ali, Spike and most likely also Ducky had gone for their tracks, apart from Ducky’s led out of the chasm and further along the way on which Cera and Chomper’s parents had followed the wrong track so far. But out of the side chasm led also the tracks of the eggeaters and prints in the snow testified of that one of the eggeaters had thrown himself down here and had hammered with his fists on the ground. After that the eggeaters seemed to have resumed the pursuit. Yet Cera and Chomper’s parents couldn’t conclude everything that had happened here, but now they had a real track again to follow and especially the reappear of Chomper’s real track seemed to dispel the mistrust Chomper’s parents seemed to have had against Cera temporary. At all events she might go ahead again and one of the sharpteeth nudged Cera with his nose what was surely meant friendly but let Cera shiver a bit. They went straight on and the way began to slope steeper and steeper what was pretty troublesome for Cera with her injured leg. But already after a short time they had reached the highest point of the gap, where the labyrinth of rocks ended. An exceedingly beautiful sight presented to them. Here where the rocks dispersed they could first time see the whole sky and the sunrise had colored the sky there in innumerable red-, orange-, yellow- and violet tones while the sky was still pitch black and starry in the west and dark blue in the zenith. Also the big nearly round silver circle of the moon stood still on the sky. The snow that covered the valley and the forest in front of them glittered in the light of the beginning day. The view remembered Cera very much to the morning when they had left the Great Valley. But Cera and Chomper’s parents didn’t have the time to enjoy the sight long. They had to reach Chomper, Littlefoot, Ali, Ducky, Petrie and Spike before the eggeaters, assuming that they hadn’t already caught up with them for a long time. Cera began to hobble down the slope into the valley, but her leg caused a lot of trouble for her. She progressed only slowly. There one of the sharpteeth shook his head and snarled something to the other one. Then they rushed after Cera and before she could even react one of them had grasped her with the teeth. Cera shrieked, struggled and tried to free from the sharptooth’s bite. What had she done wrong? Why wanted Chomper’s parents eat her now? Where they simply so hungry? Cera noticed in her panic that the sharptooth hadn’t bitten really only when the sharptooth had set her down on the other sharptooth’s back. A bit dumbfounded and with tearing hard beat Cera starred at the sharptooth who had set her on the back of the other. The sharptooth grinned, but it lasted long until Cera had calmed a bit and her panic gave way for insulted pride. But in spite of everything Cera had to admit that she progressed on the back of a running sharptooth far faster than on foot with an injured leg. But she had to cling very strong not to fall down from the back of the sharptooth by the enormous speed.
