"I'm not sailin' tonight, we've been on the stream all day!"
"I want to sail tonight, it's the best time for voyagin'!"
"We've done enough. I say we don't sail for the rest of the season!"
"Who asked you? Keep your opinions to yourself, rushmouth!"
"Hah! Rushmouth is it? When was the last time you put paw to paddle, boatbottom!"
"Boatbottom yourself. I vote we run the logboats ashore an' careen
'em. The hulls are filthy with moss!"
"A good voyage'd take the moss off 'em. You take my word!"
"I won't take your word, but you'll take the back o' my paw if you step on me tail again!"
The otters stayed on the Waterlily, shaking their heads sternly at the bad behavior of the little squabblers.
Grumm had been nosing around the fire, tasting the food from the various pans and cauldrons. He pulled a wry face, whispering to Rose,
"Gurr, no wonder they be ill tempered. 'Ee food tastes tumble, Miz Roser. Oi wouldn't feed et to a dead frog, burr no!"
The mousemaid took the foodpack from Martin's shoulder. "I've just had an idea. Here, do as I do!" Breaking one of Grumm's sweet invention cakes, she gave them a portion each and began eating her own piece with huge enjoyment. "Mmmm, this tastes good!" The others followed her example. Boldred snaffled hers in one bite and began pecking crumbs from her talons. "Delicious, can't afford to waste a single crumb!" "Hoo aye, 'tis vurry scrummy, 'seedin'ly noice!"
"Absolutely delightful, best I ever tasted!" "Oh yes, this is the stuff, pals. Great!" Gradually the shrews became silent, turning their attention to the friends as they praised the cake to the skies.
A shrew stabbed the air with his sword. "Gimme some, I want to try that stuff!"
Martin eyed him disdainfully. "Watch yourself, shrew. Don't wave that sword in my face and make demands of me!"
Rose wagged a stern paw at the offender. "Put that weapon away this instant and ask properly. Didn't your mother ever teach you to say please?"
The shrew was dumbstruck for a moment, then he put down his sword and lowered his voice. "Can I try your cake, please?"
Pallum took a reflective nibble and turned to Grumm. "What d'you think, is our cake too good for the likes of these?"
The mole licked a crumb from his chin. "Moight drive they'm mad, they'm on'y use to eatin' drefful swill."
Several of the shrews looked beseechingly to Boldred. The owl looked as if she were about to say yes, then shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I would have given them all the cakes from our pack, but they've made up their minds not to sail tonight. You can't make creatures go on the stream voyaging if they're afraid of the dark."
The owl's statement created uproar. Fights, scuffles and arguments broke out all over the shrew camp. Starwort bounded through the melee. Giving the friends a huge wink he roared out, "Ahoy, you can't talk about river creatures like that. My mates the stream shrews'll sail anywheres at anytime, ain't that right, lads?"
Immediately, the shrews stopped fighting and waved their swords.
"Aye, we'll sail anywhere, day or night!"
Rose put her head to one side and imitated a gruff shrew voice.
"Give us the cakes and it's a bargain!"
Boldred tossed the foodpack into a long shrew log boat. "You shrews drive a hard bargain. Those are the last of our cakes. But so be it, you've won the argument. Let's go!"
The short eared owl had to take to the air to avoid being swept into the logboats with her four friends. In a very short time they were out in midstream, the shrews poling their canoe shaped treetrunks hard, competing in a race between crews. The travellers barely had time to turn and wave at the cheering otters before they were swept out of sight. Water rushed by the bows of the six logboats as night fell.
Grumm and Pallum gripped the sides tightly as the narrow craft shot along on the swift current, shaking and rocking from side to side. Rose held Martin's paw, her face shining.
"We're travelling downstream. I recognize this part of the water. If we take a turn off to a side channel on the right we can be in Noonvale tomorrow afternoon!"
As she spoke, the shrews backed water, wheeling their craft into an inlet and down a sidestream. It was narrower than the main water, but just as fast running.
Rose laughed aloud with joy. "Ha, ha! See those knotty old willows drooping into the water? I sat under them when I was a little one. I knew it, we're going home to Noonvale!"
32
Cap'n Tramun Clogg had finished filling in the prison pit. His paws ached with weariness and his tawdry finery was coated in dust.
Pushing the barrow to a corner of the courtyard, he lowered himself gently into it and let the enormous wooden clogs slip from his footpaws as he heaved a melancholy sigh.
"Harr, 'tis an 'ard life an' no mistake, but at least Badrang ain't got me stannin' guard up on the wall like those fellers."
Clogg lay in the barrow, watching the guards on the walltop silhouetted against the early night sky, ruminating to himself. "Aye, 'is
'igh V mighty Lordship will be drinkin' wine an' dinin' off fish an'
roasted fowl in that long'ouse, while I've got to bide 'ere til mornin', waitin' fer a crust an' some water."
The corsair heard the thwock of the slingstones as the two wall sentries fell in a heap. He smiled wickedly in the darkness. "Hah, them slaves is learnin' fast. Now iffen me an' Badrang was still partners, I'd raise the alarm. But we ain't, I'm only a slave, an' raisin' alarms is nought to do with slaves!"
A volley of flaming javelins whooshed in over the walls. Clogg was well out of their range. He watched with great interest as they hit the longhouse, two or three
missing, some falling flat on the roof. But the majority thudded into the timber walls, blazing merrily. Another wave of burning javelins streaked through the night sky like comets, finding the wooden palisade fence of the slave compound. A mighty roar rose from the shores outside Marshank.
"Fur and freeeedooooom!"
Badrang came tearing out of the longhouse, stood on a lighted javelin by accident and hopped about on one paw yelling, "Attack, attack! Stand to arms! Walltop stations!" He grabbed two scurrying half asleep soldiers. "Put that fire out, quick!"
They stood undecided. "But we ain't got water, Sire!" The enraged Tyrant knocked their heads sharply together. "Addlepates, use sand, earth, dust!" He dashed off to the walltop, drawing his sword as he shouted orders to the horde milling in the courtyard. "Archers, slingthrowers, follow me!"
Ballaw and Felldoh doused the fire they had used to ignite the javelins. They split up, each taking half the force, Ballaw to the back of the fort, Felldoh to the left side.
Felldoh's attackers flattened themselves against the earth and lay quite still. The squirrel passed the order along to his group. "After Ballaw's troops send their javelins off, be ready!"
Badrang peered out across the deserted shore. The archers and slingthrowers stood ready for his command.
Crosstooth stood beside the Tyrant, watching. "They'll be hidin'
behind those rocks on the shore."
Badrang could see what the fox said was true. He raised a paw.
"Archers, put a volley or two over the back of those rocks. That should flush them out. Ready, fire!"
The shafts clattered harmlessly off the rocks, leaving the beach still silent. There was a hissing noise in the air. Instinctively Badrang threw himself flat on the walltop. "Down! Get down!"
Too late. Three hordebeasts fell to the javelins that sped in over the back walls. Propelled by the throwing sticks, they smashed and splintered on the fort side of the walltop.
Badrang was up and running around the rampart. "The slimy tricksters, they're round the back. Come on!"
Felldoh crouched low, watching the walltop, his javelins and slings ready "Here they come. Wait for it now, let them get to the middle of the wall. Wait for it, steady, steady. .. . Now!"