Drogg placed a footpaw on the back of their fallen foe. "Trouble? How so?"
Broggle, who had come down from his peak of anger, explained, "If Cregga or Mhera finds out, we'll be in for the lecture of our lives. Endangering the Abbey by unbolting a wallgate and almost letting in the vermin. Then it'll be why didn't we let them know, so that the thing could be planned properly, instead of running off in haste on spur of the moment madcap schemes? You know the sort of thing they'd say."
"Aye, I know exactly, young feller." Hoarg stared down at the stricken Tagg. "Ugly-looking great beast, ain't he? With all them tattoos it's impossible to tell what kind of creature he be. So, what do we do with him now, slay him?"
His companions shook their heads vehemently.
"How could any Redwaller murder a fallen beast, vermin or not?"
"None of us have ever taken a life, and I don't think we're about to now. Huh, we've got ourselves into a right mess here."
Drogg decided to take charge. "We can't just leave him lyin' here. Does that ole wheelbarrow by the orchard still work, Broggle?"
The squirrel nodded. "I think so. What's your plan?"
For no apparent reason, Drogg dropped his voice to a whisper. "Go an' get it. There's a little cellar door, where I brings in wood for barrels an' tools. It leads through to my cellars. We'll take him through there an' lock him up in my supply room. Then we can make up a story about how we caught the rogue. I think Cregga an' Mhera will be glad to have a hostage to bargain off against the rest o' the vermin."
Tagg regained consciousness in complete darkness. At first he thought he had gone blind. Lying on a hard stone floor, he brought his paw up in front of his eyes, but he could not see it. Panic set in and despite the abominable aching inside his skull, he sat up. Relief flooded through him when the sight of a pale thin strip of light from beneath a door assured him his eyesight was not gone. With extreme caution he stood upright and began to investigate his prison cell. Holding both paws high, he leaped in the air and barely touched the beam of a ceiling. He landed, sending an agonizing jolt through his head. Stone floors and stone walls, with a single door that felt as solid as the rest of the place and would not budge a fraction. Then he bumped into something and went sprawling. He felt it gingerly, and made out a huge barrel-shaped structure. Putting his weight against it, he shoved. It moved fractionally, and a swishing sound came from within. It was a barrel, and almost full to its brim. He felt around it for some kind of stopper, and found a wooden bung. However, it had been firmly hammered home and was immovable. Dizzy with the effort, he felt the back of his head, where there was a sizable lump and a minute dampness of blood. Pain enveloped him, and he slumped down on the floor and allowed his body to drift into a half stunned sleep in the silent gloom.
Eefera and Vallug crouched in the ditch across the path from the main outer gate. Gruven, Dagrab and Rawback had made slings and collected heaps of pebbles. Vallug had an arrow laid across his bowstring, and several more were stuck point down in the ditchbed, close to paw. Eefera gave the orders.
"You three just keep slingin' stones over the wall, I'll tell ye when t'stop. Vallug, keep yore bow at the ready. Righto, me buckos, get slingin'!"
Nimbalo lay to one side, still out to the world, but breathing.
Egburt came marching into the infirmary, where Cregga and Mhera were drinking medicine beakers of cordial with Fwirl and chuckling over some private joke. The young hedgehog saluted smartly and proceeded to make his report in hare style.
"Ahem, sorry to intrude like this, marms, but the jolly old door was open, so I tootled in, wot!"
Cregga turned her face to him. "Young Egburt, eh? Well you can just tootle out again and get on with commanding the wallguard."
Egburt put on his sternest face, which was wasted on Cregga. "It's about the wallguard I've come, marm. Confounded vermin are slingin' stones over like spring rain. So I've ordered the guards to stand down an' get themselves inside under cover, wot!"
Mhera threw up her paws in dismay. "You've left the walls unguarded, Egburt? That's an excee"
Her speech was cut short by the sound of breaking glass from downstairs. An extra long shot had obviously hit one of Great Hall's large stained glass windows.
Mhera bounded for the door, calling back, "Stay there. I'll see what's going on down below!"
Cregga shuffled after her. "You two stay here, I'm going down too."
Fwirl tried to hoist herself out of bed, but Egburt shoved her firmly back and gave her his commander's glare. "You're not even walkin' wounded, miz. Best stay put. I'll send Broggle up to sit with you."
Sister Alkanet appeared in the doorway. "You certainly will not. I'll say who comes and goes here!"
Egburt bowed his head and threw six swift salutes. "Er, quite, er, mister sarm, I mean Sister marm, I'll just, er, tootle off, wot!"
Alkanet stood, paws akimbo, blocking his way. "Why are you talking in that silly manner? You're not a hare."
Egburt kept saluting and trying to squirm by the Sister. "Only temporarily, marm, sort of harehog, or a hedgehare y'may say..."
The severe Sister placed a paw against Egburt's snout. "Hmm, dry and quite hot, probably with dashing up and down those wallstairs all the time. A good physick should cure that!"
Nimbalo came awake suddenly. He lay in the ditch, unmoving, his eyes riveted on the battle-axe that stood leaning against the ditchside next to Dagrab. She turned and saw him.
"The mouse 'as come 'round! Look, 'e's awake!"
Vallug drew back the shaft upon his bowstring and leaned forward. The arrowpoint was less than a pawslength from Nimbalo's face.
"Move jus' a whisker an' yore dead, mouse. I couldn't miss from 'ere if'n I wanted to. Eefera, tie 'im up."
As Eefera bound Nimbalo's paws behind him, the harvest mouse's eyes shifted from the battle-axe to Dagrab. His voice was calm but deadly cold as he addressed the rat.
"Is that yore axe?"
Dagrab fitted another stone to her sling. "Aye, 'tis. D'yer like it, mousey, eh?"
Vallug stamped on Dagrab's tail. "Less o' the jawin' an' more o' the slingin'!"
Dagrab began whirling her sling as Nimbalo spoke again. "I'm goin' to slay you with that axe, rat!"
The stone clacked sharply against Dagrab's paw. She had forgotten to throw it in astonishment at the harvest mouse's flat statement. Vallug stamped harder on her tail. "Keep slingin', I said! I want these Redwallers to think we got a pile o' clanbeasts out 'ere, not just you dozy loafers!"
Eefera checked Nimbalo's bonds to make sure they were tight. "So then, bucko, wot do they call you?"
Nimbalo looked at him as if he were dirt. "My name's Nimbalo the Slayer, as that there rat's soon goin' to find out. Wot do they call you, maggot breath?"
Vallug threw back his head and laughed. "Hoho, we got a feisty one 'ere. Tell me, mousey, wot d'ye know about an otter they call the Taggerung?"
Nimbalo directed his scorn at the Bowbeast. "A lot more'n you do, slobberchops, but I ain't tellin' ye!"
Eefera dealt Nimbalo a stinging blow to the face. "Yore insolent. We don't like that. You'd better tell 'im wot we want ter know, or it'll be the worse for yer, me liddle 'un!"
Nimbalo licked blood from where the blow had knocked his teeth against his lip. He winked at Eefera.
"If'n I was yore liddle 'un I'd have killed meself from shame long ago. An' wot could be worse than sittin' lookin' at yore face, yer great shamble-toothed snotnosed excuse for an idiot!"
Vallug had to throw his paws around Eefera to stop him from leaping upon the harvest mouse. "Leave 'im be fer now. 'E ain't much use to us dead!"
When Eefera was released he took his spleen out on Gruven, slapping him repeatedly about the face and ears. "Who do ye think yore smilin' at? I'll wipe the grin off'n yore face. Ye don't laugh at me an' get away with it!"