Chapter LXXIVPetrie flew a turn when he was sure to be out of sight of the eggeaters and flew back whereby he stayed close to the rocky wall not to be discovered. Already after a short time the eggeaters came towards him and he landed on the rock to be out of sight. Those with the scratched nose ran ahead and coursed so rude over the “leafeaterchickens” that Petrie grinned with satisfaction. How would the eggeater course in a few hours when he and his brother would have pressed through the narrow chasm and would have reached its end? When the eggeaters were out of sight Petrie soared up again, flew over to the narrow chasm and followed it until he finally found Littlefoot, Ali, Spike, Ducky and Chomper, who had meanwhile dismounted from Ali’s back again, shortly before its end. “Petrie. Have they been taken in by your trick? Where are they now?” asked Littlefoot and his words resounded from the rocky walls. Petrie nodded only and asked highly interested: “Was the chasm very narrowly?” “Well”, said Ali, “We’ve come through, but Spike would have nearly stuck fast two times. Does it continue like this for long?” “Well, very well”, mumbled Petrie ignoring Ali’s last question. Spike wailed. He was pretty pale, seemed to suffer from an acute fit of agoraphobia and not to find anything well in the narrowness of this chasm. “Oh don’t worry Spiky!” Petrie calmed him hasty. “It’s not far anymore than you’ll reach the broad canyon again.” “And why on earth is it so well that it is so narrow here that we’ve nearly been stuck fast?” asked Chomper slightly irritated. Although he was smaller than Spike and couldn’t have real problems with the narrowness he seemed to feel very uneasy between the rocky walls. “You can imagine eggeaters try to go through the chasm?” answered Petrie and began to narrate. Petrie finished his report, just when they reached, for especially Spike’s relief, the end of the chasm, with big laughter of his friends. “Not so loud!” ordered Littlefoot suddenly. Everybody became silent and looked at him surprised. Only the resound of their laughter could still be heard. “If the eggeaters are in the chasm too then they’ll hear that”, explained Littlefoot. They fell silent and suddenly they heard the resound of loud and unrestrained cursing. “That must be them!” said Ali shuddering. “Sounds really as if they would have problems”, said Chomper with a malicious grinning. Petrie giggled and said with a quiet voice: “Petrie flies back to look at that!” “Alright Petrie, but be careful. They don’t need to see you. We go on along the broad canyon. Don’t stay away too long!” Petrie nodded and flew away while the others continued their way whereby Chomper stopped once more and compared under the hardly suppressed laughter of his friends his footprints with those Petrie had drawn into the snow. The similarity was really amazing.
Chapter LXXVPetrie returned soon just as Littlefoot had asked him to. Meanwhile the canyon began to ascend ever steeper. “Eggeaters really in troubles”, Petrie proclaimed. “The one with scratched nose is sticking fast again and again and the other one must push. Petrie really must keep words in mind the eggeater used for next time when Hyp’s mean again. They have heard us laughing and think now we made fun of them and… what?” Petrie’s words didn’t cause the general outburst of laughter he had obviously expected. The others looked at him with grieved looks while they plodded on. “Cera”, said Ducky simply quite contrary to her usual talkativeness. “Oh”, sighed Petrie conscious of his guilt and landed on Littlefoot’s back.
“Me completely forgeted about her”, he mumbled down-spirited.
“We all have Petrie”, Littlefoot consoled him. “We had many other worries”, added Chomper sadly. “But now we finally have to know what has happened with her!” said Ali. “You mean…”, Petrie set on, but suddenly Ducky uttered a surprised call from Spike’s back at the head of the column. “What’s the matter Ducky?” asked Littlefoot immediately. “Come on, come on!” called Ducky and waved at them. “Look at this!” The others followed her invitation curiously. Spike had reached the highest point of the gap that was at the same time the end of the rocky labyrinth through which they had erred since the morning. In front of them lay a long snowy slope that led down into a pretty big valley whose ground was largely covered with a dense mixed forest of conifers and bare deciduous trees. At the ground of the valley lay distinctly less snow than up here and at some spots they could even see the withered grass. A small stream came forth from the mountain. For their surprise it was not frozen. “Finally!” sighed Ali relieved. “I began to fear we would never come out of this awful rocky solitude.”
“Don’t be unfair Ali”, rebuked Littlefoot gently. “Had it not been for this rocky solitude the eggeaters surely would have caught us.” Spike starred like being hypnotized at the green conifers and the others too noticed now that they could hardly remember their last meal. “There is water!” called Ducky charmed when she noted the small stream. “I can even swim there!”
“You no be silly!” croaked Petrie. “Water certainly far too cold for that.”
“We are on the right way”, mumbled Littlefoot dreamy.
“Not all of us”, Chomper reminded him gloomy. “Don’t forget Cera again!”
“We sure will not!” called Ducky. “No, no, no, we will not!”
“Petrie”, said Littlefoot gently, “I know you’ve already done very much and…”
“Petrie shall fly back finding Cera?” “It would be really wonderful”, said Ali. “But if you’re too tired, then we understand.” Petrie nodded. “Where will you wait for Petrie?” “Do you really think that this is good?” asked Ducky sympathetic. “Petrie has really done enough today and…” “No, Petrie too wants to know what has happened to his friend Cera.” “Alright Petrie”, said Littlefoot. “But if anything happens then return immediately, will you?” Petrie nodded. “We’ll go straight on and wait for you nearby the edge of the forest.” “Probably nearby the stream”, added Ducky eagerly nodding. “Please be careful Petrie, it will be dark soon”, said Ali. Petrie couldn’t help grinning. Anyhow the way the others talked reminded him very much of his mother, but Ali was doubtlessly right. The bright circle sank already towards the ground and had taken an orange-red glowing color. Then he flew away.
Chapter LXXVILittlefoot, Ali, Spike, Ducky and Chomper began with the descent. Ducky on Spike’s back could obviously not await finally to reach the stream and she kicked him her heels slightly in the flanks to drive him on. This was however pretty senseless since Spike ran anyway, the look firmly fixed on the trees, so fast that he merely slid down the slope instead of going. The both reached the edge of the forest long before the others caught up with them. Spike tackled immediately the first conifer he reached and Ducky followed his example forgetting apparently even the stream over her hunger. Also the others ate vigorously when they reached the trees. Meanwhile they had accustomed to the conifers, managed to eat without pricking themselves and they even made to ignore the bitter taste. But they even found a few trees that still bore sporadic leafs that didn’t taste very well but where by far much to prefer from the needles. Below some trees grew even green plants with pretty broad leaves that didn’t seem to be harmed by the coldness, but they tasted so strange that they preferred not to eat them. Chomper had separated from the others as inconspicuously as possible. Yet they had noted it nevertheless but nobody said anything. Eventually Chomper had to eat too. When they were full they went over to the stream. “Who is in the water first wins!” called Ducky in high spirits and rushed towards the stream when they had nearly reached it. “Stop Ducky!” called Littlefoot frightened. “The water is far too cold!” But obviously Ducky didn’t hear him. She reached the bank, jumped with a wide leap into the stream and disappeared below the water surface. She remerged a moment later, the eyes opened wide and sucking in air convulsively, then she sank down again. The water was so icy cold that it paralyzed her nearly completely and the current of the little stream, extraordinary strong, tore her along. “Ducky!” cried Littlefoot terrified and ran along the back whereby he tried not to loose Ducky out of sight and to catch up with her. Spike even made to overtake Littlefoot, but the current was far to fast to catch up with Ducky. “We don’t make it!” cried Ali desperately. “The current is too fast!” The next moment there was a loud cracking and Chomper broke forth from the embankment some distance downstream, just the moment when Ducky emerged with the crest of a wave. Instinctively Chomper threw himself forward, the arms stretched out. He got hold of Ducky, but now fell into the stream himself. He barley made to stay near the bank and to gain foothold at the shallow point. He struggled fiercely towards the bank where Spike received him and helped him out of the water. Ducky had turned slightly blue and she shivered all over when Littlefoot and Ali arrived. “My goodness Ducky!” called Littlefoot. “Have you forgotten what has happened during your last bath in the Great Valley? Or how cold the water was when we’ve fled from the fire?” Ducky didn’t answer, but Littlefoot didn’t expect an answer. “We must keep her warm!” called Ali. She seized Ducky and began to rub her carefully between her forefeet. Littlefoot, Spike and Chomper looked at her surprised. “This warms a bit”, she explained while she took care not to rub Duchy to fiercely not to hurt her. “We had one incident in the herd, shortly before I’ve been separated from the others. Then somebody had broken in a lake. The grownups have done the same then and it helped.” Spike suddenly turned away and ran into the forest. “Spike!” called Ali. “You can’t…” But Littlefoot interrupted her: “Keep cool. I don’t think that Spike wants to leave us alone. Certainly he has an idea.” Littlefoot didn’t err for Spike returned already soon with a triumphing smiling that was yet hard to recognize since his mouth was stuffed with fern leaves. It was exactly the same sort of leaves Ducky’s mother had used then in the Great Valley to keep Ducky warm after she had broken in into the river. “Great Spike!” called Littlefoot. “Wherefrom have you known that this stuff grows here too?” Spike lay down the leaves, grinned even broader and sucked in air audibly through his nostrils. “Therefore you must have a fine nose”, said Chomper grinning too. Ducky had gained visibly color by Ali’s treatment and when Ali stopped to rub her between her forefeet she grasped one of the leaves, Spike had brought along, and wrapped herself up in it whereby she sneezed loudly. Her cold that had ceased completely temporary seemed to break out again. “How are you now?” Littlefoot asked concerned. Ducky sighed and coughed fiercely: “I want to reach the warmer regions finally!” “Well, if that’s all”, sighed Littlefoot with partly real partly pretended relief. “Didn’t you hear Littlefoot calling?” asked Ali slightly reproachful. “And couldn’t you imagine that the water is to cold to swim?” “I haven’t heard Littlefoot”, answered Ducky, “No I haven’t.” And a bit injured she added: “I am a swimmer. And I could not swim for ages, no, not at all. It is as if Petrie would be forbidden to fly!” “Well”, said Littlefoot and held his head a little declined. “Petrie has come out very well without flying very long.” Ducky sep on to an angry answer that however remained unspoken on the one hand for Ducky got an anew fit of coughs and on the other hand as Chomper intervened hasty to prevent an impending quarrel: “It has turned out well.” “Yes”, answered Ali who regretted her a bit stern previous words and who wanted a quarrel as less as everybody else. “What a luck you were there.” Chomper stepped uneasy from one foot on the other. He was a bit embarrassed for that he had been just at the right time at the right place was on the one hand owed to the chance and on the other hand to the circumstance that he had hunted successfully his supper. But that didn’t seem to interest the others for his relief. Spike voiced his gratefulness for Ducky’s rescue his own way and stopped to drove his tongue through Chomper’s face only when he asked him therefore laughing. After that they drunk apart from Ducky who had enough of the water for this evening and lay down for rest at the edge of the forest nearby the stream. Littlefoot kept watching first and while the others, Ducky coughing again and again, fell gradually asleep he began to wait for Petrie impatiently.
