The Geeter once saved Erbert's life. The boys had asked to visit ancient Greece, and found themselves on board an Athenian ship during the Battle of Salamis in 480 B.C.

Just as the battle was beginning, Halleys Comet was called away on an emergency mission near Proxima Centauri, As usual, as soon as Halley was out of sight, evil Comet Morehouse put in an appearance and began to act up.

Now in 480 B.C., all ships, even warships, were made of wood. Therefore, it was a simple matter for Morehouse to set afire the ship on which the boys were sailing. The fire threatened to sink the ship, so all hands, including Erbert and Gerbert, were forced to jump into the water. Because the ship had been very close to shore, the boys were able to swim to the beach.

Gerbert hid behind a rock, but Erbert began running down the beach. Some of the Persians spotted Erbert and began shooting arrows at him. For a while it looked as though Erbert would be killed as soon as the archers got the range.

Just when it looked blackest though, a giant crab came out of the ocean and Erbert jumped aboard. The Persians kept shooting ahead of Erbert, thinking he would run right into the arrows. But, as we all know, crabs don't move straight ahead; they move sideways. So before the archers could figure out which direction Erbert and the crab were going, the two were out of range and the boy's life was saved.

Later, when Erbert and Gerbert were reunited in Athens, Gerbert said to Erbert, "It was almost funny watching those archers try to figure out where to shoot while you and that crab were geeting up the beach sideways." The name stuck, and thereafter the boys always called their crab friend, "The Geeter."