Brian Jacques - Redwall #22 - The Sable Quean

Tura opened one eye. "Warmer teddo, what's that?"

Midda sighed. "He means the watermeadow song."

A molebabe piped up gruffly, "Hoi loikes that un. You'm can sing et furr uz."

The Guosim maid chuckled wearily. "How can I refuse? But don't blame me if'n I falls asleep before I finishes it."

Diggla giggled. "Silly, y'can't sing y'self to sleep."

Midda answered wryly, "Huh, can't I, though!" She began singing the beautiful watermeadow ballad, beloved of all creatures who used streams and waterways.

"Hear that hum in the lazy noontide, that's a bee who'll rest a day or so, all around the summer watermeadow, creatures come and go.

Damselflies on gossamer wings,

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water beetles, funny little things, caddis, stone and mayfly, too, skim and hover all round you.

Let your paw trail in the greeny water.

Paddle in the shallows, wade around, where the bleak and tiny minnows quiver, chub rise up with ne'er a sound.

Mid the bulrush and the reed, sundew cleavers and brookweed, toothwort, comfrey, watercress, water lilies calmly rest.

Watermeadow, rainbow-flow'red, spreading far and wide, shimmering 'neath golden sun, 'til shades of eventide."

The final line trailed off as Midda fell into a doze, which soon deepened into sleep. It was not cold in the captives' cavern, merely gloomy and depressing to the spirit. Everybeast lay slumbering in the feeble glow of two small lanterns. All except Diggla the mousebabe.

The little fellow had decided that sleep was not for him-- he felt active and restless. Crawling out from beneath the limp restraint of the shrewmaid's paw, Diggla toddled off to explore his surroundings, free and unhampered.

Sometime later, the guards hauled food and water in for the prisoners. They were roused by a stoat banging a ladle on the side of the meal cauldron, shouting with heavy-pawed humour, "Sooner sleep than eat, would ye? An' us 'ere with the best o' vittles to tempt ye. Wot a fine life youse lucky lot leads, eh? Nothin' t'do but eat, sleep'n play. Well, if'n yer ain't in line afore I counts three, we'll take this feast out an' toss it in the stream. One ..."

The captives hurried into line, some little ones still half asleep, rubbing paws into eyes as they tottered about.

Midda kept hold of Calla and Urfa, the harebabes, whilst Tura tended to some others. Having been served with the

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thin gruel of leftovers and edible roots, they collected their water ration and sat down to eat.

Tura was feeding a molebabe when she noticed one of their charges was missing. She turned to Midda. "Where's the mousebabe, wotsisname, Diggla?"

The Guosim maid cast a searching glance about. "I don't know. Wasn't he with you?"

Tura shook her head, questioning the others, "Jiddle, have you or Jinty seen little Diggla? Has anybeast caught sight of that rascal? Where in the name o' seasons has the mousebabe gone?" Her voice rose in concern. "We'd best ask the guards. He might've wandered past them when they went to fetch the vittles."

Midda silenced her friend. "Sshh! You'll have them back here upsettin' us all. Jinty, sneak up to the entrance and see if ye can spot Diggla anywhere." The Witherspyk hogmaid was not gone long. She scurried back, whispering, "No sign of him out there--those guards are all sitting round nappin'. Must be time for 'em t'sleep."

Midda nodded. "Give 'em a few moments t'drop off, then you an' Jiddle have a good search about this cave. If Diggla ain't out there, he's got t'be in here."

Tura was in agreement. "Aye, hiding someplace, I shouldn't wonder, an' he's missed his dinner. When he's found, I'm goin' to have a word or two with little Master Diggla!"

After the required time, Jinty went to check on the guards. On her return she reported to Midda and Tura, "They're snorin' up a gale, 'specially that big fat stoat. I peeked out into the passage. The two guards at both ends are still awake."

Midda rose slowly. "Right, you'n'Jiddle search to the left. Me an' Tura will take the right. Do it quietly, though, or we'll have the guards in here yellin' an' shoutin'. They'll be in trouble if'n their Quean knows one of us is missin'."

There was not much to look at--one dusty ledge, a few

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crannies. It was a fairly basic old cave. Midda checked the little ones again on the off chance that Diggla had crept back and mingled in with the rest. She shook her head, baffled at the turn of events.

"If he'd wandered outside, those guards would have him by now. Where in the world has that infant vanished to?"

Jinty came hurrying back--she was all agog. "Found him, the blinkin' liddle rogue!"

Tura and Midda followed her to the far left wall at the back of the cave. Tura glared impatiently at the young hog.

"Well, I don't see him! Where is he?"

Jiddle materialised, as if by magic, out of the solid rock and earth face. "Fast asleep behind here--come'n'see!"

Stepping to one side, he disappeared. It was like some sort of optical illusion. They hurried forward to investigate.

There was a slim space twixt an outcrop of rock and the wall of hard-packed earth and root formation--Jiddle's spikes were almost flattened in the narrow aperture. He pointed down to Diggla, who was lying asleep.

Midda humphed in exasperation. "Get him out o' there, this instant!"

Diggla was wakened as Jiddle tried to lift him. "Waaa-haaah! Ya hurtin' me--I stucked!"

Tura stepped forward, calling advice to the young hedgehog. "Go easy with him, Jiddle, he's only a babe. Here, come out, I'll get him!"

Jiddle lifted the complaining mousebabe with a last effort. "No, it's alright, Tura, I've got him--yowch!"

Diggla had retaliated at the rough treatment he was being dealt by biting Jiddle's snout. The young hedgehog tripped, falling backward. He shot out a paw to save himself. It went right through the earth wall, collapsing a portion of it. All that could be seen was Diggla's tail and Jiddle's footpaws, kicking in the narrow space.

Midda grabbed one of the lanterns and thrust it into the gap. "Jiddle, are you alright? Is Diggla hurt?"

The young Witherspyk hog's voice boomed hollowly

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back. "We're both alright. There's some sort of passage in here, but it's terrible dark!"

The little ones gathered round clamouring. "A passage-- Jiddle found a passage!"

Midda whirled on them fiercely. "Shut up! Not another word from you!"

Such was the ferocity of her voice that they fell instantly silent. It took a little while, but with a deal of gentle exertion, Midda and Tura got Jiddle and Diggla out of their predicament and back into the cavern.

Tura was having trouble keeping herself calm at the possibilities of their new find. She took the lantern from Midda, her voice low and urgent. "Act as if nothin' happened, mate. Take these little uns an' settle 'em down, sing to 'em, anything! Jinty, you keep an eye on the guards. Let's hope they sleep good an' sound. I'm goin' back through that crack--it could be a way out o' this place for us. Wish me luck!"

Midda grasped her friend's paw tight. "Luck an' good fortune go with ye, Tura!"

A moment later, the squirrelmaid had vanished behind the narrow rock screen and through the wall opening.

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18

Zwilt the Shade was not having the best of luck with tracking the four vermin who had deserted from Althier. He had trailed them through the woodlands accurately. Then he came to the spot where the four had parted company the stoat and weasel going one way whilst the foxes went the other. Zwilt chose to keep on the trail of Thwip and Binta, wanting to catch them and teach both a long, painful and ultimately fatal lesson.

But as Sniffy, the Guosim Tracker, had observed, foxes were tricky beasts to follow. Accordingly, it was not long before the trail went cold and the sable and his four Ravagers were lost. Zwilt had never been a great tracker--he was used to employing otherbeasts to do the job. He carried on stubbornly for a while before turning to one of his escort, a thin, one-eyed ferret.