She tripped on a rock and went headlong into a pile of broom. Armel could not help chuckling as she took hold of Brooky’s paw. “Up you come, mate. Are you alright?”
The stout ottermaid shot up immediately. “Right as rain, thankee! Though I wish that moon’d keep still an’ stop dodging behind the clouds. This cloak’s a nuisance, too. Can’t take a step without it tripping me!”
They made the path without further incident and followed it south for a while. Armel began getting used to the dark. “Watch the ditch on your right side, Brooky. Hold on a tick while I fix this sword.”
Brooky helped her friend adjust the sword, which was wrapped in a sheath of soft barkcloth. She fixed it so that the blade hung flat down Armel’s back beneath her cloak, away from prying eyes. The ottermaid took charge of both their foodpacks, toting them easily over one shoulder. “I’ll carry these. You take care of the sword, pal.”
Armel smiled gratefully. “Thanks, mate. Friar Glisum said that he thought up some travelling rations specially for us, stuff that doesn’t need cooking. He said there’s a full meal in each piece. Oh, and Burlop Cellarhog gave us a flask of a recipe he’s invented to save carrying too much weight.”
Brooky flexed her shoulder. “Feels light enough. What is it?”
Armel explained. “A syrup made from boiled-down fruit juices and honey. Burlop said you only have to add water to it and it’ll make a sweet, nourishing drink. Good, eh?”
The ottermaid commented doubtfully, “I’ll let you know after I’ve tried it. Hadn’t we better cut off west into the trees? This path runs mainly south.”
Armel agreed. “Good idea, but how do we cross the ditch?”
Brooky suddenly regained her sense of fun. “The best plan would be to jump over it, ’cos we can’t very well jump under it. Hahahaha, here goes!”
She took a short run and jumped, making the other side with ease. “See that, Armel! I should’ve been born a bird really, I just flew over. Your turn now—ready, steady, jump!”
The squirrelmaid took a short run at the ditch, but at the crucial moment of jumping, her footpaw became snarled in her cloak hem. With a small cry of dismay, she plunged headlong into the ditch.
Her otter friend came swiftly to the rescue. “Oh, bad luck, pal. Stay there, I’ll get you out!” She slid down into the ditch, which was deeper than she had thought it would be.
The moon came from behind the clouds, throwing a pale light down to illuminate the scene. Armel was flat on her back, almost rigid with fright as she called out, “Brooky, stand still, don’t move!”
There was no water in the ditch, just a deep layer of damp leaves and weeds. Right between the two travellers, a snake reared its head out of its scaly coils, hissing venomously. “Thrrrrttsss!”
Wide-eyed with horror, Armel whispered, “Brooky, I think it’s an adder. What do we do now?”
The ottermaid had been studying the reptile carefully. Slowly she took the ration packs from her shoulder. As she did this, Brooky appeared to be striking up a conversation with the snake. “Well, are you an adder?”
Its head swivelled to face her. “I am death to allbeastssssss!”
Brooky seemed quite fascinated by this declaration. “Are you really? Well, what can we do for you, Mister Death?”
The snake slithered toward Brooky, its forked tongue flickering. “I like to eat thingssssss!”
As soon as the reptile had its back to her, Armel began inching her paw slowly toward the sword hilt. However, there was no need for any action on her part because of what Brooky did next.
The ottermaid smiled engagingly at the snake. “You like to eat things . . . haha, don’t we all! Listen, we’ve got lots of nice vittles with us. Why not try some?”
She swung both the ration packs with lightning speed. Whap! Smack! Thunk! Wallop! Four hefty blows landed forcibly on the snake’s head, leaving it slack-coiled and totally senseless.
Armel struggled up and ran to her friend. “Oh Brooky, I thought the adder was going to kill you! How wonderfully brave you were, attacking it like that!”
The young otter looked up from the packs, which she was checking for damage. “Hahahaha! Wonderfully brave, my grannie’s apron! You great, fluffy-tailed buffer, don’t you know the difference twixt an adder an’ a grass snake? Huh, Mister Death, eh!”
Armel stammered, “B . . . but I didn’t know, I thought it was poison!”
Brooky scoffed. “Just look at its back, the thing hasn’t got a diamond pattern. Adders have diamond patterns along their backs. Grass snakes only have markings on their sides. Look.”
She wiped the unconscious reptile’s back off with her cloak hem. There, beneath the layer of ditch mud and rotten leaves, was the black V-marked head and zigzag marks of an adder.
Brooky thought this was hilarious. “Oh hahahahoohoo! Silly me, it was an adder after all. Well, the food looks alright, so there’s no harm done, really—except to Mister Death there. He’ll have a headache that should last him until midsummer. Let’s get out of this slimy place. I’ve never liked hanging about in ditches.”
Armel joined in the spirit of the thing. Nobeast could stay gloomy for long in the company of the happy otter. “Neither have I. Let’s leave Mister Death to his nap.”
Laughing together, they climbed out of the ditch and headed into the woodlands. They had not gone far when Brooky halted, scratching her ear. “How will we know we’re going southwest? I’m not too bright on all that northing and southing business.”
Armel reassured her. “It’s quite simple, really. The sun rises in the east, you see, so if you have it directly at your back, you’ll be going west. South is off to the left if west is straight ahead, so we take the middle course, and we’ll be travelling southwest. Get it?”
Brooky shook her head. “I’m still as baffled as when you started explainin’. So you be the pathfinder, and I’ll deal with any hungry snakes that we come across!”
They trekked all night until the dawn sunrays told them they were on the right track.
Armel rubbed her eyes. She was feeling quite tired. “Walk by night and rest by day, that’s what we were told. So let’s make camp, have a spot of breakfast and a nice little snooze. Does that sound like a good idea?”
Brooky grinned from ear to ear. “Do you hear me objectin’? How about camping at the base of that big elm over there?”
They spread their cloaks and opened the ration packs. Armel opened one parcel that contained two wheaten loaves. She bit into one, passing her friend the other.
“Mmm, this tastes good! Look, it has cheese, mushrooms, carrots and onions baked inside. What’s yours like?”
Brooky took a healthy mouthful from her loaf, which was sweetened ryebread. “Haha, this is full of thick honey, chopped hazelnuts, cooked apple and blackberry. Good old Friar Glisum, he’s given us two courses in two loaves. Tell you what, we’ll swap when we’re halfway through ’em. Then we’ll have had main meal an’ dessert together.”
Armel found one of the drink flasks and two beakers. “I’ll go and find some water to mix with Burlop’s fruit syrup. There might be a stream or a spring nearby.”
The squirrelmaid was not gone for long. Brooky was dozing gradually. She opened one eye when her friend returned. “Well, did you find some water?”
Armel slumped down beside her. “No, couldn’t see any around, but I did find something.”
The ottermaid’s eyelids began drooping. “What was that?”
Armel yawned. “The path from last night. It runs straight with the direction we’re going. We’ve been struggling along through the woodlands all night, not knowing that the path was hardly a stone’s throw away. It must run southwest for quite a bit. So, Miss Puddenhead, who said that we should take to the woods because the path goes straight to the south?”