“We can only wait and see,” Grandfather answered.
The storm had shut out the light so quickly that it was almost dark. Little Bear crouched despairingly against the cliff. He felt above his head in the hope he could find rough places which could be used as steps out of the canyon. The wall was smooth and water running down it made it slippery. If the water in the canyon rose to their shelf, there was no way of escape.
He couldn’t talk to Great Bear. The thundering, crashing roar of water was so loud he couldn’t have made himself heard if he had leaned close to Great Bear’s ear and shouted. The rain began to slacken, but the roar of water in the canyon grew louder. Little Bear knew that even if the rain stopped at once, the water in the canyon might still rise to their shelf.
He waited for what seemed hours. The rain decreased until there was only a light drizzle falling. Little Bear’s muscles ached from sitting in his cramped position. At last he could stand it no longer. Slowly he got to his feet. Sharp pains ran up and down his arms and legs, but as he continued to move around, the pains soon left. Was the deafening roar of water in the canyon decreasing? He waited, listening. He saw Great Bear raise his head in a listening attitude. Slowly Grandfather got to his feet.
“The water is going down,” Great Bear shouted.
It was true. Only a few minutes earlier he couldn’t have heard Grandfather shout. The roar of rushing water lessened rapidly. In a short time the sound was no more than what a small river would have made.
Not until his fear of rising water had completely disappeared did Little Bear realize how uncomfortable he was. He was wet through and thoroughly chilled. He had to clamp his jaws tight to keep his teeth from chattering.
As the downpour of rain had lessened into a drizzle, it had grown lighter, but it was only the light of evening. Soon it would be pitch-dark again.
“We must find fuel and build a fire,” Great Bear warned.
There were no trees on the small shelf. Finding wood appeared to be a hopeless task. Darkness fell rapidly, adding to their difficulties. Little Bear searched to the right and Grandfather to the left. Little Bear found a small clump of brush and a few dead branches. He got down on his hands and knees and groped around, but could find no more. He carried the few he had found back to the cliff. Great Bear had been more fortunate. He had brought back a large, dead limb.