Brian Jacques - Redwall #20 - Eulalia!

They left the cavern, emerging into the calm summer morn. Maudie listened to the distant trill of birds, the murmur of the nearby stream, and the swish of dew-laden grass underpaw. She kept her wits about her, and her eyes focused into the surrounding woodland. This was not at all an easy task, as she was trying to eat breakfast, a fine yellow pear, some shrewbread and a small amount of hard cheese.

Adding to her difficulties was the shrewbabe, a tiny pestilence named Yik. He had elected to ride on Maudie's shoulders, simply by climbing up there and refusing to come down. The haremaid could not really protest, as it was she who had initiated the idea, so she bore her burden stoically. For awhile, at least, until Yik started to make his presence felt. "Yowch, I say, old lad, don't pull my flippin' ears!"

"I norra hole'ad, jus' makin' ya go fasterer."

"Well, I don't wish to go fasterer, er, faster, so stop tug-gin' on my ears, and don't keep kicking me with your confounded footpaws!"

"No kickin' ya, me paws gettin' itchy, I h'only scratchin' 'em on ya."

"Well, kindly chuck it, or go an' scratch y'paws someplace else. Whoops! What are you up to now, pestilential little bounder?"

"I savin' some breffkist for laterer!"

"Not down the back of my blinkin' tunic you're not. Eat

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it up now, or I'll tell 'em not to jolly well serve you any lunch!"

Osbil dropped back to walk alongside Maudie. "Well, miss, are ye enjoyin' yoreself?"

Maudie treated the young shrew to an icy glance. "Are you blinkin' well jokin', enjoyin' myself, with this bloomin' miniature cad torturing me! Who does he belong to, where's his ma an' pa?"

Osbil took a closer glance at the shrewbabe. "That 'un's little Yik, he don't belong to anybeast in particular, miz, he just turned up one day, didn't ye, mate?"

Yik bounced up and down on Maudie's shoulders, gripping her ears for balance as he squeaked aloud. "Blinkin' flippin' jolly well bloomin'!"

Osbil tried to hide a smile. "That's very nice language to be teachin' a babe!"

This seemed to encourage Yik, who redoubled his efforts. "Blinkblink flipflip jolly jolly bloomers. Heeheehee!"

A low, cautionary whistle came from the flank Barbowla was patrolling. Everybeast halted, Maudie reached up and clamped a paw across Yik's mouth. The travellers stood stock-still, not daring to move. The big otter signalled twice with both paws, pointing off to the left. Barbowla balanced a short otter javelin, watching the four Brownrats, who were barely visible twixt the shafts of light and shade cast by the trees. The vermin moved slowly away, stooping with the mud and marsh ooze plastered thickly on their bodies.

Luglug came from the other side of the marchers. Both he and Barbowla, with weapons at the ready, stole noiselessly through the tree cover toward the Brownrats. They were gone a short time, whilst everybeast kept total silence, not moving a single muscle.

After awhile, the otter and the shrew chieftain returned. Luglug kept his voice low. "Relax, mates, they've gone, the opposite way to where we're goin', thank the seasons. Are you alright, Miz?"

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As soon as Maudie had clamped her paw over Yik's mouth, the indignant babe had bitten into it. She could not shout out, or wriggle to free herself, but was forced to stand there, transfixed by the tiny, sharp teeth.

Luglug assessed the situation at a glance. "Pass the liddle scamp down 'ere t'me, Miz Maudie."

Still attached to the shrewbabe, the haremaid allowed Luglug to hold Yik. Pinching the babe's nostrils firmly, Luglug cut off his air supply, forcing him to open his mouth to breathe. Maudie withdrew her paw smartly.

Kachooch gathered a few dock leaves. "Put these on it, miz, 'twill stop the bleedin'. I'll fix ye up with a proper dressin' when we stops for a rest."

Barbowla interrupted, "I say we stops now, 'tis not far off'n noon. Once we're rested we'll carry straight on for the Abbey, widout any more halts."

They sat to rest in the covering shade of an ash grove. Kahooch put some salve on Maudie's paw, whilst Yik looked on with great interest. "I bited you 'cos you nearly chokered me, I cuddent breeve."

Luglug flicked the used dock leaves at him. "Be off, ye naughty liddle savage, shame on ye!"

The shrewbabe went off pouting. "I norra naughty samwich, hT'm a Yik, h'an I not like youse anymore!"

Maudie could not help smiling at the aggrieved shrewbabe. "Ain't exactly the type to mince his words, wot!"

Rangval took stock of their surroundings. "By rights we should've pressed on further afore we stopped t'rest. Shure, we'll have t'step up the pace a bit, if'n we want to reach the Abbey tonight."

Luglug stood upright, signalling to the Guosim. "We're ready if'n everybeast else is, how's the paw now, Miz Maud?"

The haremaid went into a fighting stance, shooting off several jabs within a hairsbreadth of the shrew's chin. "Right as rain, old lad, shall we get goin', then? Form up again, chaps, an' let's see you march off smartly. Yik,

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c'mon, up on me shoulders an' see if you can jolly well behave y'self this time. Yik, where's that little terror got to?"

Osbil and Kahooch searched among the Guosim, the otters checked their own babes, to see if Yik was hiding among them. Luglug scratched his head. "That rascal's gone off somewheres, prob'ly found a spot to hide an' sulk, 'cos I spoke sharp to 'im. You lot best carry on t'Redwall, I'll catch up with ye after I've tracked Yik down."

Maudie nodded to Rangval and Barbowla. "You're in charge now, get goin'. I'll stop back an' help Luglug find the little rascal."

Rangval did not bother arguing. "Ah, yore right there, me darlin' commander, we can't hang about all day lookin' for the small villain. Just follow our trail once ye've caught Yik. Should ye get lost, then keep yore eyes peeled fer the two-topped oak, it was riven by lightnin', ye'll recognise it on sight. Right after the oak ye'll come out of the woodlands, Redwall's straight in front of ye then, across a patch of open land. Head for the liddle south wallgate, we'll be waitin' there for ye. Good luck now, an' give that fiend's tail a skelp for me when ye find him!" The main party moved swiftly off, leaving Maudie and Luglug to find the shrewbabe.

The haremaid's first move was to comb the area where they had rested. "He can't have got too far, a tiny babe like him will prob'ly be lurking under some shrubbery."

The Guosim chieftain was not of the same opinion. "Ye'd be surprised just how far some o' these little 'uns can go when they've a mind to, miss. Look 'ere." Away from the tracks where the main party had entered and departed the ash grove, Luglug pointed out some hard cheese crumbs. Maudie inspected them.

"That'll be Yik, he hadn't finished his mornin' meal. Aye, he's headed off this way, see the tiny pawprints." The babe's pawmarks stood out clear on a patch of damp soil. They came across yet more evidence, some blades of grass

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that Yik had knocked awry. Maudie surmised, "Prob'ly swipin' at things, with a twig he's found."

Luglug stepped up the pace. " 'Tis a pretty straight path he's on, let's run 'im down!"

No sooner had they started to run than a bellow of pain rent the air, from somewhere up ahead. "Yaaargh! Gimme that stick, ye liddle murderer!"

Other voices chimed in.

"It's a sh'ew, grab 'im, mates!"

"Cummere, ye likkle maggot.... Yowch, me eye!"

Luglug and Maudie burst through the bushes onto a streambank, straight into trouble.

Yik had come across a half dozen of Gruntan Kurdly's Brownrats. They had been searching for shrews and log-boats along the bankside. Tiring of their task, the vermin lay down in the warm sun, letting it bake their thick mud poultices hard, and catching a much-needed nap. Yik had stumbled upon them, and decided to attack the foebeasts with his stick. The shrewbabe had struck several times, before the vermin were goaded into action. To the bold Yik it was all some kind of a game, he scuttled around the big Brownrats, jabbing and thrusting with his stick, as though it was a Guosim rapier. The rat who had been stuck in the eye by the stick kicked out at his tiny tormentor. He sent Yik headlong into the stream. One of his comrades waded in. Grabbing Yik, he shook him like a rag doll. "Shall we give 'im ter Kurdly, or eat 'im ourselves?" Then Maudie and Luglug arrived on the scene.