Brian Jacques - Redwall #20 - Eulalia!

Luglug looked crestfallen, but he made no further mention of the subject.

Maudie was wakened at the crack of dawn next morning. Still yawning, she was thrust into the prow end of the lead logboat, alongside a young shrew named Osbil. The vessel lurched off from the bank, powered by fourteen Guosim, all paddling energetically. The haremaid nodded to her companion. "G'morning, I say, aren't we supposed t'be paddlin', or something like that, wot?"

Osbil replied, without taking his eyes off the stream ahead, "Have ye ever paddled a logboat afore, marm, do ye own yore own paddle?"

Maudie shook her head. "First time I've been in a bloomin' boat, old lad, jolly good, isn't it, 'fraid I don't have a perishin' paddle. S'pose I might borrow yours, wot?"

Osbil continued peering upstream. "Huh, s'pose ye might not borrow my paddle, marm, nobeast in this tribe touches another 'un's paddle, faint done. If'n it's the first time ye've been in a logboat, then ye'd be hopeless as a paddlebeast. Takes at least four seasons f train a Guosim paddler. Them's our rules, marm!"

The haremaid sniffed. "Oh, golly gracious now, can't have me breakin' the flippin' rules, can we. But why aren't you paddlin'?"

Osbil answered without looking at her. "'Cos I'm first

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prowspot, got t'keep me glims on the course ahead, especially as this is the lead logboat."

Maudie gestured upstream. "Well, don't let me stop you, old chap, you keep your eye ... glims peeled, if that's a prowspotter's job. Er, pardon me askin', but what's my purpose aboard this jolly old logboat, wot?"

Osbil winked, and gave Maudie a swift grin. "Prowspot-ter's mate's supposed to sing, so the paddlers can keep in stroke. Just like when yore marchin'."

The sun broke through the foliage which formed a canopy over the crookstream, causing a lacy effect of light and shadow. Dragonflies hovered on the reed-fringed banks, watching the logboat flotilla as it passed by. Crookstream was aptly named, it was a real switchback, with more twists and turns than a corkscrew. Looking back, Maudie marvelled at the skill of the Guosim paddlers. She could see Luglug, standing in the stern of the last logboat, enveloped in a rainbow of spray. As they pushed upstream against the playful, gurgling waters, Maudie broke out into an old Long Patrol barrack-room song, hardly a march, she thought, but quite a good tune. The haremaid had a strong voice, which rang out loud and clear.

"Oh, soldier, I'm askin' ye, where would ye like to be, all on a winter's day?

As onward you push, through the snow-driven slush, on your cold an' weary way, with dew on your nose an' your ears solid froze, an' ice from scut to eyes.

Tell me, tell me, give me a big surprise!

"March on! Left, right! One, two an' a-three!

At last I've found an officer, who's like a mother to me!

"Oh, Sergeant Maclain, I don't wish to complain, it ain't like me to moan, but on this winter day, I'd just love you to say,

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that I should've stayed at home, with a mug of hot soup, an' me ears all a-droop, in an armchair by the fire,

O Sergeant, Sergeant, that's my heart's desire!

"Eyes front! Ears up! Whiskers stiff'n'straight!

one more word from you y'wretch, an' yore through the guardhouse gate!"

The Guosim laughed aloud. Like anybeast who had to obey rules and orders, they appreciated the sentiment of Maudie's song. One bold, young shrew even shouted out, "Yore Sergeant sounds just like our Log a Log, miss!"

He was silenced by Luglug's stern voice from the rear. "Aye, an' one more word from you, mate, an' ye can get out an' push. Now dig those paddles deep!"

As they progressed further upstream, the shrewbabes began to get restless and disobedient. Two of them even leapt into the stream. They were hauled in immediately, and scolded by their family members.

"You liddle rogue, you might've been drowned!"

"Aye, either that or eaten by a big fish!"

Maudie remarked to Osbil, "It's just as well they were on harnesses and leads."

The prowspotter pointed to a long, silvery gleam under the surface. He yelled out a warning. "Ahoy, pike inna water!"

The haremaid saw the pike as it headed for the reeds, avoiding a salvo of slingstones from the Guosim. "Great seasons, look at the size of that villain, wot!"

The great fish's green-gold bulk slid silently off and was lost among the reeds. Osbil commented, "That thing'd take a full-growed Guosim afore ye could wink. As for the little 'uns, huh, they wouldn't make much more'n a snack for a monster like that!"

Throughout the morning Maudie came to realise that besides being a thing of beauty and wonder, the crook

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stream could conceal a host of dangers. Osbil pointed out more pike, a great eel and a number of hunting barbels, all lurking beneath the smooth surface, savage predators in their own domain.

At midday the logboats pulled into a shaded inl^t. Maudie joined Luglug in a stroll along the bank, to stretch their limbs. A shout from around the bend heralded the return of the scouting coracle. Rigril and Teagle came ashore to make their report. "We made it up as far as the ripples, they look a bit lively today, Chief."

Luglug shrugged. "I never knew a time when those ripples wasn't lively. Teagle, wot are ye chewin' yore lip for?"

Teagle was a good scout, well-versed in woodland ways. She explained her concern to the Guosim chieftain. "Two bends up, by the big rock, where it's shallow an' pebbly, we saw a lot of woodpigeon fly overhead, doves, too, an' a few thrush an' blackbird."

Rigril nodded in agreement. "Aye, Chief, an' there ain't no great wind, or signs o' storm. Somethin' scared those birds. Drivin' 'em south, we figgered."

Luglug looked from one to the other. "Vermin, d'ye reckon?"

Teagle stopped gnawing at her lip. "Brownrats, I think. We spotted two of their scouts, but I think they saw us first. Anyhow, we got out o' there fast!"

Maudie took note of Luglug's anxious frown. "Tell me what's on your mind, sah, perhaps I can help. Member of the Long Patrol y'know, an' all that, wot?"

The Guosim chieftain patted her paw, smiling tightly. "Mayhaps ye can, if yore as good at tactics as ye are at cookin'. Let's talk about it over lunch."

The meal was not a cooked one, since they could not risk a fire. As an apology for some of their previous culinary atrocities, the younger shrews put together a very tasty woodland salad, with cheese, hazelnuts and oatbread. While they ate, Luglug explained the position to Maudie.

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"There's a horde o' Brownrats been roamin' this neck o' the woods for a few seasons now, an' I tell ye, they're a bad lot! Their chief is a big 'un called Gruntan Kurdly, he's a born killer, an' he ain't no fool. Ole Gruntan's got a mind sharper'n a dagger."

Maudie helped herself to more salad. "Indeed, an' what d'you think the blinkin' rascal's up to, may I ask?"

Luglug spread his paws meaningly. "Nothin', if'n his scouts ain't seen our scouts. But, if'n they did spot Rigril'n'Teagle, then we're in the soup, an' here's the reason why, miss. That place by where the big rock sticks up, 'tis a perfect spot for an ambush. The stream runs shallow o'er the pebble bed, an' 'tis slow goin' paddlin' a logboat. So, if'n Gruntan knows we've got to pass by there, he'll be layin' in wait for us, take my word!"

Maudie let her ears flop to half-mast (a thing she often did when pondering a problem). "Hmm, I see. Tell me, d'you think he'll have both banks covered, or will he just have his scoundrels waiting on one bank, wot?"

The shrew chieftain scratched his tail. "ProbTy both banks. Don't get me wrong, Miz Maudie, I ain't scared o' fightin' those rats, but we got liddle 'uns along with us, wot do I do about the babes? We could chance makin' a run for it, 'cos when we reach the ripples, the current runs the other way, downhill. Nobeast would catch us once we was on the ripples."