"Watch him, Mara. Remember Sergeant Sapwooddodge and weave. Don't try a paw to paw with this rascal. He's too big!"
Mara was still moving forward.
"Urthwyte, what have we taught you?" The old squirrel chattered angrily. "Kill the creature! Ooooh! Loambudd, kick his tail for him, good 'n' hard!"
As Mara advanced, the older badger, Loambudd, gave Urthwyte a hefty shove in the back.
"Go on, you big lump. Fight!"
The white badger stumbled forward into Mara, accidentally catching her off guard. He closed his eyes, averting his head as he grabbed her. The breath left Mara's body in a great whoosh, two enormous vicelike paws lifted her clear off the ground, and she was pinned helpless in midair, with the great white badger shouting, "Look, just leave me alone, will you? I don't want to fight. Let me be, or I'll squeeze you hard!"
Mara felt as though her whole body was trapped in a mighty press. Her eyes bulged and she fought for breath. Pikkle pushed Tubgutt aside as the shrew ran forward, drawing
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his rapier. The young hare set his jaw grimly as he thwacked down a loaded sling viciously on the white badger's footpaw.
"Enough of this, y' great bully. Put that maid down this instant!"
It worked like a charm. The big, simple badger dropped Mara in a heap as he hopped about on one leg, rubbing his smarting footpaw. Urthwyte's lower lip jutted resentfully as he muttered, "I'm not a bully. She's the bully. Anyway, why are they always trying to make me fight?"
Pikkle patted his head. "There there, old lad. It's not your fault."
The squirrel rushed in, chattering. "You leave him alone, hare. Who asked you to come to our island in the first place? Go away and leave us in peace!"
Loambudd, the old female badger, went to attend to Mara, rubbing her ribs and patting her back until the badger maid regained her breath. She was very motherly and considerate.
"Stay there, Mara. Lie back and take deep breaths. There's nothing broken. Ashnin, I don't think these creatures mean us any harm."
"Well, they had me surrounded and captured!" The squirrel folded her paws stubbornly.
Pikkle gave her a playful shove. "Oh, go on with you, Granny. You started it by invadin' me with bloomin' cherry stones."
Ashnin gave a cackling laugh. "Good shot, aren't I? Never missed ye once!"
Urthwyte tugged Ashnin's tail, complaining aloud just like a small badger babe, "I'm thirsty. Is it al! right to have a drink?"
The old squirrel threw up her paws in mock despair. "Oh go on, you great white tripehound, but don't go drainin' the pond. Leave some for others."
They all sat at the edge of the pool as Urthwyte sucked in great noisy gulps of water like,a thirsty babe.
Loambudd shook her head. "Look at him, the son of one of the greatest badger warriors ever to put paw on grass. Ah, but it's not all his fault."
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Urthwyte raised his dripping white snout from the water. "I'm hungry. It's well past lunchtime, Nin."
The old squirrel tugged his ear sharply. "Tell me a time when you're not hungry, you big scoffbag."
She turned to the three friends. "I suppose you're all hungry too? D'you want lunch?"
Pikkle bowed gracefully and kissed her wrinkled paw. "Feed us, O beautiful one, and we're yours forever!"
"Oh go on with you longshanks." She cuffed the young hare's ear lightly. "I can see you'd take more feedin' than a whole army, just by lookin' at yeh."
Loambudd stood up and beckoned them. "Follow me. You'll have to put a move on, though. I put a leek and mushroom pastie in the oven before Ashnin called. I just hope it hasn't burned."
The two badgers and the squirrel lived a short distance from the pool in a beautiful natural cave. Mara looked about admiringly. It was spacious and well ventilated; two long windows had been carved through the rock, which stood like a hump in the forest. Flowers and trailing plants decorated the windowsills, woven rush matting carpeted the cave and there were several large seats carved from dead logs. These were spread with soft barkcloth covers. The rock had been carved in one corner to form a fireplace and a wide oven. In the center of the cave was a fine table of rock slab adorned with bowls of fruit.
They washed their paws in a trough by the entrance and sat round the table as Urthwyte and Loambudd brought the food. Pikkle's eyes lit up and Tubgutt gave a small growl of anticipation. A crisp salad of fennel, hazelnuts, young dandelions and scallions was placed on the table, followed by a giant-sized leek and mushroom pastie, its steaming golden crust adorned with watercress. A large pitcher of cherry cordial and beakers came next, with cold mint-flavored spring-water standing by in another jug. Apples baked in honey with dollops of yellow kingcup cream topped the whole thing off, with a wide, flat, sugared plumcake standing by as an extra.
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Ashnin and Loambudd ate sparingly, encouraging the younger creatures to have as much as they likedthough little encouragement was needed. Mara ate steadily, but Pikkle, Tubgutt and Urthwyte went at it as though they were facing a ten-season famine.
While they were enjoying the food, Mara noticed a black stone on a leather thong hanging over the fireplace. She nudged Tubgutt.
"Is that Log-a-log's famous Blackstone?"
Tubgutt rose from the table. Going over to the stone, he touched it and bowed low reverently. "Aye, this is the Black-stone of all the South Stream shrews."
Urthwyte leaned back and stretched out. Unlooping the stone and its thong, he swung it back and forth, a mischievous grin hovering on his big face.
"Oh, this? I took it from a shrew who trespassed on our island a long time ago. The little rascal took off like a shot. He must've thought I looked like some kind of ghost in the dark. Ha ha, most creatures do y'know. I used to play with this stonedreary-looking old thing, isn't it? You can have it if you like, Mara."
He passed the Blackstone over, noting with a smile the gratitude on her face.
The badger maid accepted the stone, winding the thong around her paw. "Thank you very much, Urthwyte. This stone means a lot to the tribe of Tubgutt, and to the father of the shrew you took it from."
Loambudd served Pikkle a great chunk of pastie. '' So that's what two boatloads of shrews came all this way for, a simple black pebble on a string. Well I never. We thought they'd come to settle herethat's why we got Urthwyte to sound his ghost cries last night. I hoped it'd frighten them off."
Ashnin nibbled a fennel leaf, watching Mara with shrewd eyes. "But you never came here just for a piece of stone, missie?"
Mara took a drink of the cool mintwater. "No, I came because Log-a-log the shrew leader wanted me to. Once he gets the Blackstone back, his authority as Guosssom leader
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will be complete. Then he will take me and Pikkle to the sea in his logboats to help Urthstripe in his fight against Fer-ahgo."
"Ferahgo the Assassin?"
Urthwyte's voice roared out like thunder as he threw back his big chair and reared up, a picture of massive ferocity, all traces of his former gentleness gone as fury blazed from hot angry eyes set above savagely bared teeth.
Ashnin and Loambudd rushed round the table. They clung to the white badger's paws, trying to pull him back down into his chair. He was yelling at the top of his voice, "Ferahgo the Assassin! Ferahgo the Assassin!"