Ringpatch eyed him contemptuously. "Huh, what d'you know about it, spindleshanks? Those two mice looked like warriors to me. I wonder why they turned back an' ran off?"
"Said it was some kind o' insects, least that's wot I thought I 'eard one of 'em say," replied one of the patrol vermin.
"Huh, insects," Willag sneered. "They can't 'ave been much as warriors if'n they ran from insects!"
Suddenly, one of the patrol leaped upright, hitting himself left and right with both paws and dancing wildly. "Yaaaagh! Insec's! I'm covered in 'em! Yeegh!"
Tiny moist brown slugs from the surrounding bushes were all over the patrol, writhing and crawling, sticking to any patch of fur they came in contact with. The vermin thrashed about in the bushes, beating at themselves.
"Yuuurk! Gerrem offa me, I can't stand insec's!"
"Uuugh! Filthy slimy liddle worms!"
"Yowch! They sting, too. Owowow!"
"Sputt! One got in me mouth. Oooogh!"
Ringpatch dashed off uphill. "Patrol, retreat. Let's get out 6' here afore they eats us alive!"
Stumbling and crashing through the bushes, they retreated over the summit, driven by the sticky slugs to seek a saltwater bath.
Vurg had just finished scouring his paws in the channel shallows when he cocked an ear upward. "Listen, did you hear something? Like a kind of high-pitched squealin' noise? Came from up near the hilltop there."
Luke stood still, cupping both paws about his ears. "Aye, I heard it, mate, though I couldn't imagine anythin' but insects wantin' to live on this forsaken place. Prob'ly some seabirds, feedin' off those horrible grubs."
Vurg dried his paws in the coarse grass. "Well let's 'ope they eat 'em all. I detest squigglies!"
It was noon by the time they got back to the ship. Denno was atop the mast, binding the last bit tight with greased line, and he saw them approaching.
"Aiioy, crew, looks like Luke'n'Vurg found us a jib sp-\r\" Willing paws helped the pair carry a long stout L'mb of some unidentifiable wood aboard the vessel.
Coll inspected it, nodding his approval. "Tough oily-lookin' wood. Let's strip the bark off an' measure it agin the broken jib for size."
It proved an ideal replacement for the old spar. By midday they had it fixed. Rigging and fresh-patched sails were hauled, and Luke paced the deck, checking all was shipshape.
"Good as new the ole tub looks, mates. I'm famished. What happened to that lunch Cardo was supposed t'be cookin'?"
Cardo popped his head around the galley door. "Go an' seat yoreselves in the cabin. 'Tis about ready."
The Sayna's cook had triumphed again. Cardo had used most of the dried fruit to make a hefty steamed pudding, covered with a sauce made of pureed plums and arrowroot, and there were beakers of old amber cider to drink with it. Luke voted the meal so delicious that he proposed Cardo be made Ship's Cook for life. Ladle clutched to his chest, Cardo bowed proudly as the crew applauded.
"Hoho, good ole Cardo. More power to yore paw, mate!"
"Any second 'elpings there, cooky me darlin'?"
"Aye, an' keep them scones comin' for brekkist every day!"
"Wot's for supper tonight, matey, any thin' tasty?"
Knowing he had a new-found power to wield, Cardo laid the law down to them, shaking his ladle officiously. "So I'm Ship's Cook now, eh? Then cook it is! But I ain't washin' dishes an' scourin' pots'n'pans, so there!"
To appease his touchy cook, Luke sided with Cardo. "Agreed! From now on everybeast washes their own dishes. We'll take turns with the pots'n'pans. I'll do first duty!"
A splatter of heavy drops pattering on the bulkheads announced the arrival of rain. Vurg opened the cabin door and slid his plate and beaker out onto the deck. "I vote that the rain washes our dishes tonight, buckoes!"
Soon, raindrops could be heard pinging merrily off the crew's dishes scattered across the deck. Through the open door Luke watched a distant lightning flash, and he heard the far-off rumble of thunder.
"Looks like we're in for heavy weather, mates. Best batten down an' lay up in this channel 'til it's over."
Rain continued into the late evening, but the crew were snug and dry in the cabin, glad of the respite from sailing. Cardo sat apart from the rest, his face gloomy.
Vurg tweaked the cook's ear. "C'mon, wot's up now, y'great misery guts?"
Cardo shrugged. "Don't know, Vurg, just got a bad feelin' an' I can't explain it. Somethin' seems wrong."
Denno nudged Vurg, pulling a wry face at the unhappy cook. "Oh dearie me, just like the ole farm mouse, nothin's right."
Coll winked at him. "Which farm mouse was that, matey?"
Denno began tapping a beat on the tabletop.
"There was an ole farm mouse, lived in an ole
farmhouse,
Who always thought of a reason,
To rant an' complain, again an' again,
Whatever the weather or season.
If rain came down, he'd scowl an' frown,
Shake a paw at the sky an' say,
'Rains like these are good for the peas,
But they ain't much use for me hay!'
Then if wind came along, he'd change his song,
Cryin' out 'Oh woe lackaday,
'Tis all I need, a wind indeed,
To blow all me apples away!'
He'd gnash his teeth about shaded wheat,
At the sign of a cloud in the skies,
An' the very sight o' cloudless sunlight,
Would bring tears to both his eyes.
He'd simmer'n'boil, as he pawed the soil,
An' got himself worried an' fussed,
'Lookit that sunlight, 'tis far too bright,
'Twill turn all me soil to dust!'
Oh botheration trouble an' toil,
Life don't get peaceful or calmer,
If I'd gone to sea, a sailor I'd be,
Instead of an ole mouse farmer."
The crew were all laughing heartily when Cardo said, "What's so funny? We were all farmers once."
The laughter died on their lips. Luke patted Cardo. "Aye, yore right there, mate. Farmers we were, fightin' the weather an' seasons to put food on the table. We didn't have much, but we were happy with our wives an' families until Vilu Daskar an' his red ship showed up. Now we're seamice, rovers, fightin' evil an' ill fortune. Though I tell you this: one day, when 'tis all over, we'll return home an' pick up the threads of our old lives again."
Outside the elements increased their fury. Thunder reverberated overhead, rain lashed the heaving seas and flaming webs of chain lightning threatened to rip the darkened skies with their ferocity. The crew of the Sayna, without guard or watch on the galeswept decks, allowed sleep to close their weary eyes.
Most of the night the storm prevailed. Three hours before dawn a strong warm wind blew up from the south. Driving the tempest before it like a rumbling cattle herd, it hurtled on northward. Peace and calm was restored to the seas in its wake. Humidity returned, bringing with it a dense foggy bank, which hung over the Twin Islands and their channel like a pall.
The Goreleech put out to sea, then Vilu Daskar ordered her turned about, a league out, to face the channel. An hour before dawn he gave the command.
"Bullflay, tell your drummer to beat out full speed. Don't spare the whips. I want this ship to run up that channel as if hellhounds were chasing it. Stand ready, my scurvy Sea Rogues, there's slaves to be taken!"
Chapter 29
Vurg woke with a raging thirst. He got up quietly, so as not to disturb his sleeping crewmates, and picked his way through the darkened cabin to the door. It was foggy on deck, silent and damp. Vurg padded to the galley, dipped a ladle into the water barrel and drank deeply. A second measure of water he tipped over his head to waken himself properly. He was about to start lighting the galley fire from last night's glowing embers, so that Cardo would have a good fire to cook breakfast, when he heard the sounds.
It was like a steady drumbeat and a deep swishing noise which grew louder by the moment. The noises seemed to be coming from somewhere farther up the channel. Vurg made his way to the forepeak. Leaning out, he strained his eyes against the blanket of milky white mist. The sounds increased in volume, and the Sayna began to bob gently up and down on some kind of swell. That was when the world turned red!