A wail of protest arose from the young ones, but the Abbess silenced them with a wave of her paw as she continued, ' Tomorrow the weather will most likely be fine, so the games can be held outdoors all day. Is that a satisfactory solution?"
The wailing was quickly replaced by shouts of joy.
Thrugg slapped his rudderlike tail upon the floor. "Righto, me 'earties. Off to your bunks an' get snorin'!"
Brother Hal felt the furrow on his head that Samkim's arrow had made some time before. He smiled ruefully and caught Samkim and Arula as they passed on their way upstairs. "You young rogues! Never mind, I'll clear up all this mystery for you. I'm going straightaway to my study to take
a delve into my records, and I'll work through the night if I have to. Don't worry now. Those ancient scrolls should provide an answer by morning, then you can concentrate on the Nameday games tomorrow. How's that?"
"Thanks, Brother Hal, you're a sport!" Samkim shook him energetically by the paw.
"Aye, thankee, zurr. Et'll stop Bremm'n a-shouten at us'ns."
Brother Hal smiled at them as they scampered off to the dormitory. "Good night, young uns!"
Dingeye woke shortly before dawn. He was pleasantly surprised to find himself feeling quite chipper. Leaning over, he shook Thura. "Hoi, mucker. Are you all right?"
Thura sat up and felt his stomach, then checked his head. : "By the 'ellteeth, mucker, I feels like a newborn stoat!"
Brother Hollyberry muttered in slumber and settled deeper into his armchair. Dingeye held up a cautionary paw. "Ssshh! We don't want ter wake ol' sleepychops up. Come on, let's get out o' this Affirmary."
, Silently the two stoats padded out and latched the door carefully. It was quite dark as they descended the stairs. Ding-eye was still struck with wonderment at their well-being. "I tell yer, mucker, that fizzick stuff tasted rotten but it's made vine feel great. I can't wait till brekkfist to eat some more. That 01* 'Ollyberry sure knows 'is stuff!"
Thura kept a paw on the wall to guide himself down. "Aye, an' 'e tells the truth too. I'm sorry now that I called 'im a ttjadwallopin' ol' fibber when 'e said to take the fizzick 'cos ;il was for our own good. 'E was right." ~*_ From the passage at the stair bottom they could see the .lights of Great Hall shining through. Dingeye giggled. "Come !«, mucker. We got the place all to ourselves while that lot's ;*bed. Let's get us some vittles."
The gluttonish duo invaded the nut and honey dip left out young ones, swigged down the strawberry cordial and
a plate of scones they had found. This'll 'ave ter do us till brekkfist. Y'd think they'd leave
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more'n this out. No consideration somebeasts got."
"Yeh, where's all the Redhall cake an' Octember ale?"
"You wolfed it all, pigbrain!"
' 'Pigbrain yerself, stoat. 'Ey, lookit all this sporty stuff lyin' about. Sly villains, they was playin' games while we was sick an' dyin' in the Affirmery."
Dingeye grabbed some hoops and started spinning them at Thura's head. "Hahaha, roll up an' win a prize!"
His companion retaliated, throwing quoit pegs at him.
Brother Hal sat sipping cold mint tea amid a welter of faded parchments and yellowed scrolls. He scratched at the furrow in his headfur as he scanned a barkpaper manuscript from the time when old Abbot Saxtus was a young mouse.
The sword of Martin the Warrior has been returned to its rightful home, Redwall Abbey. Today Rufe Brushtail, our champion climbing squirrel, took the weapon and climbed to the very point of the Abbey roof. There he has secured the sword to the north pointer of the weathervane. So will Martin's sword rest there in peace as his spirit guides our Abbey. It is my fervent hope that Redwall lead a calm and tranquil existence and that the sword never has to be brought down within my life's seasons.
Hal sat musing as he pondered over the text. "Hmm, dark night, thunder, rain, storm.... That's it!" He leaped up, spilling mint tea over his habit. "The big lightning bolt: Samkim said that it struck the weathervane shortly before he found the sword. Of course, the lightning blasted the sword from the weathervane, it slid down the roof and fell point first. By the fur! From what that young un says, it's a good thing he never moved a pace to the right. Falling from that height, the blade would have cleaved him in two!"
The two stoats had found the archery equipment. Disdaining the rounded targets, they took a bow apiece and began firing
arrows upward at the high beamed ceiling of Great Hall. Neither was very good at archery.
"Yah, boggleyes, you can't even hit the ceilin'!" "That's 'cos I was brought up in poverty, mucker. My ol' mum never could afford bows 'n' arrers!"
"Ho, shut up, snotnose. If you ever 'ad a mum she should've tried to shoot yer with a bow 'n' arrer for winjin' an scrinjin'."
"Wowee! Lookit that'n go. Betcher that gets the ceilin'!" "Never! Look out, it's comin' down on us!" They leapt out of the way, and the arrow landed quivering in the tabletop. Dingeye loosed off an arrow that barely missed Thura's ear, and he hid beneath the table. "Wot was that for? 'Twas only an accident!" ^ "I'll accident you, muckmouth. I was nearly killed then!" .'-. "That's 'cos we never 'ad proper weapons afore, mucker. Huh, we only 'ad a rusty knife apiece when we was with Ferahgo... "
"Belt up, loosegob. Wot've I told yer about mentionin' that hellspawn's name? Come 'ere, I'll show yer 'ow ter fire one lo' these weapons proper."
Dingeye bent the bow with both paws, Thura notched a .'$baft to the string and heaved back with all his might, and /between them they stretched the yew-wood bow to its capac-^iry.
;lt;gt; "This is the way ter do it mucker," Dingeye breathed ex-i;»tedly. "Now lerrit go straight. It should go right across this *all, over the passage an' right up the stairs. Ready . . . fire!"
| Brother Hal came racing down the stairs, waving the parch-jooent as he muttered to himself triumphantly, "Ha, solved. I'll :i*iSfaow old Bremmun that swords don't fall out of the sky with |!ibe rain. There's an explanation for everything, the records lfHove that. Hoho, just wait until young Samki"
The ill-timed shaft came zipping out of the darkness and itself in Brother Hal's throat. He gave a small gurgling fei| to me flQQ,. jn a [jmp heap.
bow dropped from Dingeye's trembling paws.
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"Gwaw! Look what you've done, you thick idjit!"
Thura let go of the string, and the bow clattered to the floor. "I never done nothin', smartstoat. It was you!"
"Oh, stow the gab. It was both of us then. There! Does that make yer feel any better?' '
"No. Do yer think 'e's dead?"
"Well, 'e don't look very lively lyin' there with an arrer through his gizzard, does 'e? I 'spect that'n's deader'n last autumn's leaves."
Thura found the remnant of a scone and began munching it anxiously as he watched the still form of Brother Hal. "Oooooh! What're we goin' t' do, mucker?"