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49 Making Plans

Burr-Burr-Chan took Gravelbeard, still well and truly trussed up, to a se cavern that even a douldn’t be able to overhear the plans they were hatching to outwit his master When he was dumped alone there, Gravelbeard soon spat his beard out of hisbrownie, but Burr-Burr-Chan only chuckled

On returning to the great cavern he found the others sitting in a circle, silent and obviously at a loss Burr-Burr-Chan sat down beside Sorrel

"Well?" he whispered to her "Looks as if you haven’t yet thought up a good plan, right?"

Sorrel shook her head

"We can’t attack him down in the valley," said Lola Graytail "He can disappear into the lake at any ti hi "His armor would be a drawback there"

But Firedrake shook his head "The approach flight would be tricky," he said "We could crash ahed

"Then we must lure him to a valley where there isn’t any water!" said Burr-Burr-Chan

"I’m not sure hoe’d do that," muttered Ben

They talked and talked How could they best attack Nettlebrand? Dragon-fire could not harested luring him up the mountains so that they could push him off a precipice, but Firedrake just shook his head Nettlebrand wasas a teaestion: She volunteered to fly her plane down his throat and destroy him fro told her that anyway Nettlebrand carried his heart in an arested and turned down until they were sitting around in frustrated silence again

Thoughtfully Ben put his fingers into the little bag hanging around his neck and brought out Nettlebrand’s golden scale It lay there in his hand, cool and shining

"What’s that?" asked Burr-Burr-Chan, looking at it curiously

"One of Nettlebrand’s scales," replied Ben, stroking the cold metal "The professor found it--Professor Greenbloom He has one, too" Ben shook his head "I’ve tried scratching it withit with stones, I’ve even thrown it in the fire, but nothing happened It didn’t get as hed, and laid the scale on the palain "And Nettlebrand is ars from head to foot How could we ever pierce such arh at us"

Lola Graytail ju was sitting on the other knee "You’re sure you’ve tried dragon-fire?" she asked

Ben nodded "Firedrake and Maia breathed so No effect at all It didn’t even war the tip of his nose "Nettlebrand was ons Do you think he’d wear aron-fire? No, believehis head, "I polished that ar, absolutely nothing that can penetrate it"

"But thererestlessly up and down between the silent dragons who had turned to stone

Ben was still holding the scale, turning it this way and that

"Put the stupid thing away," growled Sorrel "I bet it brings bad luck" Then she spat on it

"Oh, don’t be so disgusting, Sorrel!" Ben wiped the scale with his sleeve, but the brownie saliva was not so easily re to thebehind Ben He looked at the golden scale

"It’s gone all cloudy," Twigleg pointed out "Nettlebrand wouldn’t like that a bit You should just see how he admires his reflection in the water when his scales have been polished, especially when he’s going hunting You wouldn’t believe how hard I had to clean hiers bled!"

"Brownie saliva and dragon-fire," murmured Firedrake He raised his head "Sorrel, remember those ravens?"