And yet, watching the magnificent creature that a second ago had been vibrant with life and grace being clubbed to death slowly over the head, it was impossible to remain totally detached and objective and Nab felt tears start from the corners of his eyes and trickle down his face.
Eventually the Urkku vanished into the far distance and the animals felt able to relax again. Warrigal flew back to them where they lay amongst the trees and they all decided to stay where they were until after Sun-High to give the Urkku plenty of time to get clear.
‘We shall rest here, then, until mid-afternoon,’ said Warrigal, ‘and then we shall have to travel through the night.’ This of course suited him and Brock but Sam and Perryfoot felt more at home in the daylight. Nab did not mind travelling by day or night as he was equally comfortable in either, but on balance it was agreed by them all that it was generally safer in the evening and at night as there were less likely to be Urkku abroad. The sky was still bright and clear and the mid-morning sun was quite warm in any shelter they could find from the cold wind. So once again they settled down behind clumps of heather and tree trunks and were soon lightly sleeping with the warmth of the sun on their eyelids.
Sam was the first to wake up in the afternoon and he roused the others. It was quite a different day to the one they had closed their eyes on. The sky was full of large ominous black clouds and the wind had died down slightly and changed direction so that it was also warmer.
‘Rain,’ said Brock as he lifted his nose and sniffed at the air, and just as they left the trees the first large wet spots began to fall. Beth put up the hood of her cloak and felt grateful for its cover as she heard the rain pattering down on it. They headed out over the stretch of moors through which the Urkku had walked that morning with Warrigal once again in the lead. However, he had to keep stopping now and conferring with Nab for it was the boy who was able to feel most strongly the currents in the earth which told them the way to follow. The rain soon began to turn the hard crisp surface of the snow into a wet soft slush and the going became more difficult as they departed from the route along which the shoot had gone and headed into an area of bog where the green spongy surface of moss and rushes squelched beneath their feet and Beth found her wellingtons sinking in almost to the top. Perryfoot, although he was much better, was still unable to keep pace with the others so he was being carried again by Nab but Sam was having great difficulty behind them as his legs kept sinking in the mulch and Brock had to help him out.
Fortunately they were soon clear of the bog and now they began to descend through the foothills. It was less sharp and craggy here; instead gentle green slopes and soft valleys surrounded them and here and there they saw flocks of sheep grazing, seemingly oblivious to the weather. Soon they were walking through a particularly deep valley with a rushing stream on one side and they were completely hidden from view by the steep banks on either side which were covered with gorse bushes, thorn trees and the strewn remains of last year’s bracken, standing out dark brown with the wet. The sky ahead was full of the pinks and crimsons of sunset and the dark clouds had broken up allowing shafts of cold winter sunlight to break through. The rain had stopped but with its departure the cold wind had returned adding to the discomfort they all felt at still being soaked from the rain. In a way the sunlight made them feel worse as it gave the illusion of warmth and made them even more aware of how cold and damp they were. Wearily they trudged on through the valley along a muddy path that ran next to the stream. Sam’s wounds had begun to ache badly again and he and Brock were falling further and further behind until, as dusk drew in, the others had to keep stopping to let them catch up or they would have been out of sight. Gone now was the magic euphoria of the Scyttel when the power of the rocks and the wind had filled them with a feeling of limitless energy and invincibility. Now the thought of plodding on through the night filled them with unutterable despair. To make matters worse the rain had started to fall heavily again and it was so cold that the drops were coming down as hail, stinging their faces and necks and making them smart with soreness where they hit. And they were hungry. The animals had not really stopped to eat since they had left Ellmondrill so long ago and Beth had not eaten since lunchtime two days ago. Strangely she had not realized it until now and was only at this moment beginning to feel hungry; the excitement of everything had allowed her no room for thoughts of food; but now she became scared as her stomach began to rumble and feel hollow and empty. ‘What am I going to eat?’ she thought to herself. She would have to eat what the boy ate, whatever that was. She wondered when they would stop for food, if ever, and, gripping Nab’s hand tightly to make him look at her, she pointed a finger to her open mouth. To her relief he nodded and stopped.
Softly and very low, Nab called to Warrigal and the owl flew back and perched on a branch of the alder tree under which they had stopped. There the four of them waited for Sam and Brock and when they had arrived it was arranged that Perryfoot and Sam would stay under the shelter of the tree and try to keep as dry as they could while the others went off in search of food. Warrigal would bring something back for Sam and Brock for Perryfoot while Nab and Beth would look after themselves. Then they separated and Beth found herself being led by the boy down into the stream where they splashed along looking minutely at the damp dripping banks and picking out little green shoots and roots which he handed to her and she ate. The tastes were mostly strange: some were vaguely familiar and reminded her of salad vegetables, like the water-cress which he found and which she had had many times before, but others were tangy and acidic or else bland and tasteless. Sometimes she recognized the plant but had never eaten it before, like chickweed, but more often she had no idea what she was eating. Occasionally he would find a fungus growing and hand it to her with a look of pride and satisfaction, for edible fungi were difficult to find at this time of year. Then she closed her eyes and chewed little bits off and swallowed them without thinking. She loved mushrooms but some of these were slimy as they slid down her throat and she had to fight hard to avoid being sick even though they tasted of very little.
When they had walked along the stream for some little while they clambered up the steep bank and Nab led her to a patch of scrubland where he again proceeded to produce little pieces of green foliage and leaves for her to eat. Finally after what Beth guessed must have been about two hours of searching for food, he stood up and they began the long walk back to the alder where they had left Perryfoot and Sam. She felt very little better and just hoped that what she had eaten would keep her going through the night. She thought with longing of the meals at home and the wonderfully satisfied feeling of warmth and fullness after a good supper and began to panic a little. Still, if it kept the boy going it must be all right for her, she thought, and tried to put all thoughts of food out of her mind although to her intense annoyance visions of large chunks of whole nut chocolate kept appearing and making her mouth water and her tummy rumble.