Brian Jacques - Redwall #22 - The Sable Quean

Furm broke down weeping; Jango could only stand awkwardly by. Guosim Log a Logs are not supposed to cry, though he did wipe a paw roughly across his eyes.

"Now, now, me ole darlin', don't worry, we'll find 'em sooner or later. You say you lost young uns, marm?"

Marjoram placed a comforting paw around Furm. "A little squirrelmaid called Tassy and a molebabe, Guffy. They've been gone half a day and a night now."

Buckler commented, "Hmm, seven young uns in all just vanished into thin air. There's got to be an explanation. Mother Abbess. Has anything unusual happened round Redwall lately? Have ye spotted any strangebeasts lurkin' about?"

Skipper spoke. "Aye, we caught a vermin, a young stoat, early yesterday. Sittin' as pretty as ye please, stuffin' 'im-self with vittles in Friar Soogum's kitchens."

The good Friar piped up, "Huh, typical vermin, made a right old mess--food scattered everywhere. Skipper caught the villain, though. Gave 'im a right ole pastin' with an oven paddle an' made him clean it all up!"

Diggs heaved himself upright, stifling a belch. "Just as the blighter deserved, wot. Do ye still have the rogue? Me'n Buck should have a word with the blighter."

Marjoram explained, "Alas, no. The Dibbuns went missing, so we all went off to search for them. The stoat escaped and hid himself up in the attics. He was seen, and we went up there to get him. That was when the tragedy occurred. Poor Brother Tollum and the wretched stoat were killed in the attempt to recapture him."

Buckler paced up and down, deliberating. "The vermin

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must've had an accomplice outside the walls. Whoever it was is the one who took your babes!"

Foremole Darbee nodded his velvety head sagely. "Hurr, wee'm figgered that owt already, zurr. But wot do us'ns doos abowt et?"

Abbess Marjoram interrupted. "May I say something? Coming from Salamandastron, no doubt you've heard of our Abbey founder, Martin the Warrior. Now, I know this is hard for you to grasp, Buck, but Martin spoke to me in a dream."

The young hare shrugged. "Nothing new, Mother Abbess. Our Badger Lords have been known to have many visions that can't be explained. What did Martin say?"

Marjoram repeated the words carefully. "Corim Althier--just those two words. I don't know what they mean. However, just before the stoat died, I repeated the words to him. He didn't seem at all familiar with the first word, Corim. But when I mentioned Althier, he looked very frightened. Globby--that was the stoat's name--sat up and pointed to the open attic window. Then he said, 'Althier ... Sable Quean!' That was all. He went limp and died. So that's what we know. Corim, Althier, Sable Quean. What d'you make of it, Buck?"

Buckler stopped pacing. He remained silent awhile, thinking hard. Then he gave his verdict. "Well, I don't know what either Corim or Althier means. You say the vermin looked frightened when you said Althier, then he said Sable Quean. To my mind, Sable Quean must be the title for some vermin ruler. So it follows that she has others in her service. Many others, that's why she's a Quean. The young ones were stolen from three different areas. So for some reason unknown to us, she's stealing small woodlanders. Hedgehogs, shrews, a mole and a squirrelmaid. Right?"

A sudden thought occurred to Diggs. "Right you are, old scout. D'ye recall when we first met young Flib she

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was being attacked by those two vermin bullies? They had a rope round her--the cads were tryin' to jolly well haul her off!"

Buckler picked up his sword. "So they were. You see? That proves there's a whole band of vermin roamin' the countryside, taking young prisoners!"

Granvy the Recorder scratched his chin. "So what can we do, except lock our gates, an' keep close watch on our Dibbuns?"

Skipper thumped his rudder down with such force that he startled the old scribe. "Well, we couldn't do much afore now, but we've got an army o' Guosim an' two warrior hares alongside us. We'll form a band o' fightin' searchers!"

Buckler was in total agreement with the Otter Chieftain. "Aye, that's the right move. We'll leave Redwall during the night, in secret. Then we'll hunt through Mossflower woodlands until we meet up with some o' these vermin. We'll ambush the scum and take some prisoners of our own. I'm sure if we ask 'em nicely, they'll tell us all about Althier and this Sable Quean!"

Diggs fondled his loaded sling lovingly. "Oh, I'll ask the blinkin' bounders nicely, you can jolly well rely on that!"

Oakheart Witherspyk declared stoutly, "Well said, sirrah. Me an' my gallant troupe are with ye!"

Log a Log Jango shook his head. "Sorry, Oakie. Yore lot are actors, not fighters. Ye'd just be in the way out there. Best thing you can do is stay 'ere an' defend Redwall."

Abbess Marjoram noted the crestfallen look on her old friend's face, so she seized his paw anxiously. "Please say you will, Oakie. I can't abide the thought of my Abbey lying undefended!"

Oakheart Witherspyk gave her paw a squeeze. "Fear not, gentle Marjy. My troupe and I will guard Redwall with our very lives. To defend this wondrous place will be my honour and privilege!"

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Baby Dubdub tried, but got the words muddled. "Op-pener rivilege!"

Under cover of darkness that night, the party headed out into the woodlands by the small east wickergate. Skipper and Buckler headed the column, with Sniffy a way out front, scouting the land. Diggs and Jango brought up the rear.

Everybeast was on the alert as they stole through the silent fastness of the woodland depths. A pale half-moon rode the scudding clouds over the breeze-swayed treetops. Behind them, the twin bells of the Abbey boomed the midnight hour.

Diggs could not resist smirking a bit as he nudged Jango. "D'ye hear that, old lad? A marvellous sound, ain't it? Couldn't have been done without the new bellropes y'know. I carried 'em all the way from Salamandastron on me own. Indeed I did! Lord Brang entrusted 'em to me, of course. 'Diggs,' he said, 'Diggs, you make sure that these bellropes reach Redwall safely. You're the only one I can bally well trust with 'em!' "

Jango hissed in the garrulous hare's ear, "An' did yore Lord Brang tell ye to get me killed when we're out huntin' vermin, by chunnerin' on aloud all the time?"

The tubby hare replied huffily, "No, he didn't, actually!"

Jango nudged him sharply in the ribs. "Then shut up, or I'll shut ye up!"

They had been on the go for quite some time when Sniffy came stealing back through a fern bed. He cautioned the leaders, "Somebeast ahead blunderin' about in a stream. I think there's only one, but I can't be sure. Couldn't get close enough without bein' seen."

Buckler's long rapier swished as he drew it from across his shoulder. "Right, Skip. Let's take whoever it is."

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12

Thwip the fox jailer leaned against the door which separated him from the young prisoners in the cavern. Trailing the tip of his whip in the dust, he gnawed at a grimy claw.

His partner, the vixen Binta, saw his furrowed brow. "Wotsa matter with ye? Yer look like you lost a goose an' found a wren. Wot's up? C'mon, tell me."

Thwip nodded at the prison cavern. "Somethin's brewin' in there, I'm sure of it, Binta."

The vixen shrugged. "They seem all right t'me. Huh, always 'ungry or cryin' for their mothers. Same thing as usual. Hah, yore worryin' over no thin', mate!"

The brutal fox shook his head. "No I ain't. There's some-thin' goin' on in there, an' I just can't put me paw on it. Look, I'll show ye."

Drawing Binta close to the door, he whispered, "Ye can always hear those liddle nuisances in there, movin' about, whimperin' an singin' daft songs about their homes an' families. Lissen close--there's not a sound comin' from in there ... right?"