ravin'."
Clogg's crazy laugh seemed to come from nowhere.
"Haharrharrharr! Stay with Badrang the Evil One an' yore all dead meat. Come an' dig nice graves with me, mates!"
Badrang paused with his paw on the longhouse door. Staring out into the gathering gloom he called aloud, "Stay clear of me, you crazy old coot, or I'll let daylight through your hide, d'you hear me?"
"Haharrharr, ye can't see me 'cos I'm invisible. I've got a nice dark hole waitin' for ye, Evil One!"
The Captains hurried inside. As Badrang slammed the door, the upturned wheelbarrow over a freshly dug grave moved. Clogg peered out from under it.
"I'm arf a stoat an' arf a mole,
An' I'll bury youse all in a nice deep 'ole,
Down, down where it's still an' cold,
An' y'never live to get old!"
Every fighter had been fed. No fires glowed in the still summer night. It was warm and heavy. Martin sat awake with Rose as the camp lay in slumber. The mousemaid stared up at the stars which twinkled with pale fires in the midnight heavens.
"Strange isn't it, Martin, the same stars that shine on this terrible place with all its death and war, those same stars are shining over Noonvale, where all is at peace and war has never been. What are you thinking of, Warrior?"
Martin smiled, nodding at the sight of Grumm, his small fat stomach rising and falling gently. "I wasn't thinking of anything, Rose, I was just watching Grumm, flat out and snoozing with his ladle clutched in both paws."
The mousemaid relieved the sleeping mole of his ladle, placing it close to his side where he would find it on waking. "He's the most friendly and loyal mole anybeast could wish to know. Grumm has always looked out for me, ever since I was a tiny mousebabe in Noon vale. When we go back there you'll make lots of friends among our moles you're a hero to them."
"Me, a hero? What for?" Martin laughed softly.
"For bringing down that great dead sycamore. They've been at it for seasons, on and off, without much success. Then you came along and in a single day it was uprooted and fallen."
The young mouse passed her a cloak Trung had given him. "You look tired, Rose. Better get some rest. Go on. I'm not sleepy, I'll sit here close by."
Rose draped the cloak lightly about her, and she was soon asleep.
Martin sat up, thinking of many things as he felt the night hours slip slowly by.
42
Ballaw was wakened by a shake from Martin. It was still dark, though the night was on the wane.
"Come on, it's time!"
The camp was stirring quietly into life. Grurrun had taken off with Pallum and Rose and a lot of others; they travelled in a wide semi circle, round to the back walls of Marshank. Boldred and the Warden stood ready, the big kelp net clutched tight between them.
Queen Amballa and her pigmy shrews grouped with the big hedgehogs on one side, while Starwort and his otters mingled with the Gawtrybe squirrels. Martin, Ballaw and Rowanoak inspected the cart. It was flimsy in the extreme and wobbly on its wheels, piled high with grass, driftwood and brush.
Buckler patted it fondly. "Hurr, she'll do a gurt last run, oi'll stake moi name on et."
Amballa raised her paw to Gulba and their joint forces moved off.
Starwort gave the squirrels a stern nod to set them on their way. Now there were only fifty archers under Martin's command left in camp. At his signal, Buckler set flint to tinder and Rowanoak braced herself in the fire blackened shafts.
"Nearly curtain time, chaps," Ballaw whispered. "Here we go!"
Gruzzle was dreaming. In his dream he was back on board his old ship. Someone had lit a fire on the deck and creatures were dancing around it shouting. The searat felt drowsily happy. He wanted to join in with them and dance around the flickering flames. He moaned luxuriously and shifted. Slipping off his spear handle, Gruzzle cracked his chin hard on the battlement, thrusting him into wakefulness and horrifying reality. The blazing cart plunged madly over the shore towards the fortress gates.
"Owch! Wha, er, 'ey, y'can't do that! Fire, fire, 'elp!" In seconds all was chaos and mad confusion. Most of the soldiers on the walltops were sound asleep. They came awake tripping and bumping into each other. The longhouse door flew open and Badrang dashed out with his Captains stumbling behind. Hearing the shouts and seeing the bright glow against the darkness, the Tyrant drew his sword and yelled mightily, "Front wall! The gates! Hurry!"
He raced up the wall ladder, with Clogg's voice ringing over the alarm shouts. "Haharr, 'tis the ghost of me burned ship come back to take revenge on ye, Evil One. You should 'ave listened t' me, Badrang!"
The heat of the roaring conflagration scorched Rowan oak's cheeks as she pushed the blazing cart along. Martin and the others ran after her, having been driven from the sides of the cart by the searing flames. At a sharp shout from Rowanoak they halted, notching arrows to their bows. The badger continued running with the cart. Putting her every last ounce of strength into the act, she gave one mighty final push and fell flat. Crackling and hissing with tails of flame like a massive comet, the cart careered madly into the gates of Marshank.
Whoom! Crumph!
It struck the gates, blossoming like a monstrous fiery flower as the whole thing burst on the timbers, sending showers and cascades of angry red sparks upwards in a mushroom of smoke.
Ballaw already had the archers in three lines. He was in his element, ears quivering as he rapped out smart commands.
"First rank, shoot and drop!"
A volley of shafts hissed through the night.
"First rank, reload! Second rank, shoot and drop!"
Another hail of death followed in the wake of the first.
"Second rank, reload! Third rank, shoot and drop! Ready, first rank!"
Unable to see because of the bright light burning in their eyes, the walltop troops were hit hard. Amid it all Badrang was knocking the bows from fighters' paws. "Slopheads! Never mind shooting arrows, the doors are burning. Get sand, get water, put that blaze out!" He grabbed hold of Rotnose. "Did you hear me, muckears. Put the fi-"
The weasel slumped forward with a barbed arrow in his skull.
Boldred and the Warden released the net. It fell accurately, draping one end over three battlements while the rest of it trailed down the wall. Queen Amballa gave it a quick tug to make sure it was secure.
"Allbeast gonow, upupupupup!"
Gulba and Trung were alongside her as the net suddenly became alive with hedgehogs and pigmy shrews.
Ten Gawtrybe squirrels had made it to the top of the south wall. Six stood by on the narrow catwalk, fighting off hordebeasts as the other four let down ropes with sticks tied across them ladder fashion.
Starwort wound his sling about his waist and grabbed one of the ropes. "Come on, mates, just like climbin' up the riggin'!"
Grumm and the moles waited until they heard screams and shouts of combat on the other side of the wall.
"Roight, molers. Show'm 'ow to go a tunellen!"
Powerful digging claws tore at rock, sand, earth and grass as the hole began to sink deep and wide.
Pallum stood close to Rose. "I never was in a war, is it always this complicated?"
Rose shrugged as she twirled a sling. "Your guess is as good as mine, Pallum. I was never in one either!"
Standing on the darkened beach, Martin could see the confused figures in the light of the gates. He fired off his arrow, seeing a searat fall with it in his throat, as Ballaw bade his rank drop and reload their bows.
The firecart had done its work well. Despite copious doses of sand and inaccurately thrown water, the flames licked hungrily up the woodwork, eating into the timber until they were well established.
Rowarxoak came crawling, belly down, across the sand to Martin and Ballaw, joining them in time to see a ferret on the walltop beating wildly at his burning cloak.