oo
Two hours after dawn next day, set up by a full Redwall breakfast, the creatures of the Abbey began to set their home right again. Fire damage was repaired, crops and orchard tended back to their former fruitfulness, the pond was weeded and cleared of charred fire-swingers,
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and the main gate had a team attending to it, armed with carpenter's tools and headed by Saxtus.
"Brother Hubert, Cockleburr, lend a paw with this new timber, please. Baby Grubb, I won't tell you again; put that hammer down."
"Burr, oi wants t' nokken 'ee nailers in, Sax'us."
"Well you can't, you're too small. Ah, Foremole, will you and your crew start sawing herethis part where the bottom of the gate is heavily charred. That's it, about there!"
"Yurr, Burgo, Drubber, do 'ee 'old gate still whoile oi saws."
Saxtus picked up some large clout nails. "Baby Grubb, drop that hammer. This instant!"
"Gurr, go boil yurr 'ead, bossy ol' Sax'us!"
"Owowowooch! Come here, you little ruffian!"
Grubb hid behind Sister Sage, who was pushing Hon Rosie's wheelchair. Saxtus hopped about, clenching his paw.
Sister Sage remonstrated with Grubb. "That was a very naughty thing to do, Dibbun."
"Arr, but maister Sax'us tol' oi t' drop 'ee 'ammer."
"Maybe he did. Still, it was no excuse for dropping it on his footpaw."
"Hurr, may'aps it weren't, tho' 'ee do darnce noicely, doant 'ee?"
Hon Rosie held her ribs and winced as she chuckled. "Whoohahahooh! You're an absolute savage, young Grubb!"
Grubb climbed onto the chair and sat upon Rosie's lap. "Yurr, Sax'us daresn't get oi naow, miz Rose."
oo
Simeon felt the smooth grain of the newly planked oak. He pressed his nose against it and breathed in deeply. "That will make a stout door. Pity it loses its fragrance with the seasons and the weather, Bernard."
The Abbot led him away to the shade of the threshold
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wallsteps. "I feel that everything is going to be all right now, Simeon."
"Good, your senses are improving, my friend. I too can sense something."
"Oh, something I've missed? It's not that mole Burgo and his wild garlic again, is it?"
"Haha, no. I sense that we should do something about continuing construction on our bell tower. I've been meaning to tell you, I had a wonderful dream last night."
"Sshh!" the Abbot interrupted. "Don't mention Dandin or the others. Here comes Mellus. She looks in a happy mood this morninglet's try and keep her that way. Good morning, Mellus. Another beautiful day."
The badger nodded. "It was, until I spotted those two wretches over there. Bagg and Runnlook at them, covered from nose to tail with green gatehouse paint. I'll scrub the hides off the pair o' them!"
She took off at a trot, chasing the two green perils of Red wall.
"Sometimes I think she's only happy when she's got dirty Dibbuns to hurl into bathtubs!" Simeon whispered in the Abbot's ear.
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39
Late the previous night six searats had been posted on guard duty by Captain RiptungFelltooth and the rats who had swum out in vain pursuit of the Waveblade. Felltooth was not the most popular searat at Bladegirt, a fact that his mates kept reminding him of.
"Please sir, Cap'n sir, can I swim out an' bring that naughty ship back? Yer great turnipbrain, there was no chance o' catchin' Waveblade an' you knowed it."
Felltooth defended his unsuccessful action indignantly. "Ah, sharrap! I was tryin' t' get that craft back fer the likes of you 'n' me, matey. Don't yer realize, we're marooned on Terramort now!"
"Aye, well nex' time let some other dopes do the swimmin' an' you keep yer trap shut, cabingob. Ideas an' decisions is fer Cap'nsthat's why they're Cap'ns, see!"
The crack of the rock was audible in the darkness as it struck the speaker. He dropped without a sound. Felltooth leaned over him.
'"Ere, are you all right matey? Yaaaagh!"
An arrow had gone right through Felltooth's ear. He straightened up and ran for the fort, screaming aloud, "Attack! Attaaaaaack!"
Still half-asleep, the searat horde were rousted out
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by Hookfin, Riptung and Grimtooth. They hurried into
the courtyard surrounding Bladegirt, snatching
weapons as they went.
"Stir yer stumps, y'dozy layabouts. We're under
attack!"
"Come on, out there, every ratjack of ye. Move!" "Pick up those weapons. Never mind yer fancy
clothesyer goin' to a fight not a dance!"
00
High in the rocks Dandin and Mariel drew back their bows, glancing along the line of Trag warriors as they drew bowstrings tight in unison. Durry Quill nodded. "Now!"
The arrows zipped off like a flight of angry wasps, straight down into the teeming courtyard, where even despite the night they could not miss among the large numbers of milling rats. As the archers dropped down to fit more shafts to their bows, a line of warriors behind them stood up whirling slings. Again Durry nodded. "Now!"
The rocks hurtled down, chunking into the searats below.
oo
From a lower floor window Gabool the Wild grabbed hold of a passing searat, hauling him in bodily over the sill.
"What in the name of Hellfangs is a-goin' on out there?"
"Majesty, we're bein' attacked!"
"I can see that, idiot! Who is it doin' the attackin'?"
"Sire, I don't know, but we're bein' cut down by arrows an' rocks from both sides, left an' right!"
Gabool hauled the unfortunate off with him toward the banqueting hall. "It's the badgerI know it is. You stay outside the door an' sing out t' me as soon as y'see the badger. Hear?"
The terrified searat nodded dumbly, though no sooner had Gabool gone into the banqueting hall and
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w
slammed the door than the young searat sneaked off back to the courtyard, where a hard-slung rock put an
end to all his fears.
oo
On the far hill Joseph was marshaling his troops to snipe from two different directions of the hillside, causing great confusion among the searats. They would turn to fire their bows in one direction, only to be hit from behind as they did.
Riptung ran up and down the courtyard in the dark, laying about with the flat of his sword as he yelled out, "Up there in the hills to yer left, dolts. Can't yer tell by the way those arrows W stones are comin' in? 'Ere, gimme that bow, you!" He snatched the bow and arrow from a bewildered rat. Pulling the shaft taut on the bow, he held it as a row of archers ducked down. Riptung let the arrow fly as the slingbeasts stood up, and was rewarded with a faint cry from high on the hillside.
"See, that's the way to get 'em! Now get down behind the wall and use yer tiny brains. Up an' down! Quick like, same's they're doin' to us. There ain't that many of 'em, judgin' by their volleys."
Gradually the three Captains got the searats into some semblance of fighting crews, using all their cunning in reply to the surprise invasion.
Dandin caught a stray searat who had moved out of the wall cover. He glanced anxiously at Mariel. "Where's Tarquin got to?"
As if in reply a cry rang out from below. "Eulal-iaaaaa!"
Whump\ . . . Bump\ . . . Thud\