The Lutra - Jacques, Brian - Redwall 09 - The Pearls Of Lutra

A faint glow, accompanied by a wisp of smoke, had the hungry hare chortling happily. "Ohohoho, I say, pals, never mind the dangers an' flippin' perils besettin' us, who's for a good hot scoff, wot wot?"

Everybeast in the crew contributed their cooking skills, to make what for cold and famished creatures was an epic feast. Martin and Viola chopped carrots, mushrooms and any vegetables they could find among the packs; Clecky and Grath boiled water in an iron pot, adding herbs, dried watershrimp and hot-root. Plogg and Welko toasted shrewbread and warmed some damson wine.

Soon they were tucking into tasty bowls of soup, followed by hot shrewbread spread with cherry preserve and small beakers of damson wine, warm from the fire.

Welko patted his stomach. "Eat up, mates, there's nought like good vittles to keep yore spirits high!"

"Aye, make the best of it," Plogg responded, a little gloomily, "there's little enough left. Over half our supplies were lost along with that searat in the other logboat. Dunno where the next good meal's comin' from."

Viola leaned across and dabbed some cherry preserve onto the pessimistic shrew's nose. "Thank you for those few cheery words, sir, you little fat misery! Aren't you glad t'be alive?"

Welko tugged his brother's ear heartily. "C'mon, smile, you sulky liddle toad, smile!"

Plogg pulled a long face, at which Martin burst out laughing. "If only your father could see you now. I vote, as captain of this craft, that if Plogg doesn't start smiling and singing straightaway, we toss him into the water and let him turn into an ice lump!"

There was a loud cry of agreement. Grath seized the shrew by his belt, winking at Clecky. "Good idea. I ain't sittin' in the same boat as a shrew with a gob on 'im like a flattened ferret!"

Immediately Plogg grinned from ear to ear and broke into song.

"Oh, I'm 'appy as the day is long,

I'm cheery, merry, bright,

From early morn I sings me song,

Until last thing at night.

Chop off me paws, slice off me tail,

An' my pore neck start wringin',

You'll never 'ear me cry or wail,

Because I'll still be singin'!

Ooooo, flugga dugga dugga chugchugchug,

With a smile like a duck upon me mug!"

Plogg's song was greeted by laughter and cheers, merriment that would have soon ceased had the friends known that keen dark eyes, scores of them, were watching through the mists as heavy damp forms slid wet and silent towards the little logboat lying on the broad watery ice ledge.

Chapter 33

Powder-blue and cloudless, the morning sky hung hot and still over Redwall Abbey. Dewdrops evaporating from leaf and grass left orchard and lawn a soft summer green; trilling birdsong resounded from Mossflower Wood beyond the ancient sandstone walls. Summer was blossoming into long hot days and still-warm evenings.

Hogwife Teasel sat at breakfast between Auma and Tansy. She rapped the table impatiently with her ladle, glancing from one to the other as she remonstrated with them.

"Sittinere a frettin' ain't doin' you a smidge o' good. I tell you, Auma, those three Dibbuns will show up when they've a mind to, and those others will soon find Viola; we can be sure of that. An' as for you, missie Tansy, great seasons, just lookit yoreself, a mopin' an' a floppin' about like a fish on a bank, what 'elp is that to anybeast?

"Now you lissen t'me, friends, this Abbey'll be searched from attic to orchard today an' those three babes will be found and that's an end to it! Now I needs somebeast t'lend a paw sortin' through the fruit an' veggies from the spring crop. Seein' as I don't 'ave Abbot Durral to 'elp me, I'll need you, Mother Auma.

“ Tansy, take yore liddle friends an' old Rollo and get search-in'lands sakes, we may need those pearls to get our Abbot back! Leave the Dibbun searchin' to Brother Dormal, Skipper an' Sister Cicelythey've got every Abbeybeast organized for a day-long Dibbun hunt."

The badger pushed away her half-empty platter and gave a huge sigh. Smiling, she patted Teasel's workworn paw. "Right! Lead me to those fruit and vegetables. Tansy, you heard our good hogwife, back to your search, miss!"

Piknim, Craklyn and Rollo were trying to pry Gerul loose from the breakfast table. The greedy owl was hurriedly stuffing the last of a batch of bilberry scones into his beak and washing them down with cold mint tea.

"Arr now, don't be rushin' me, y'dreadful creatures, or I'll get indigestions in me ould stummick an' I won't be able to think."

Tansy folded the scones into a serviette and gave them to him. "Here, faminebeak, take these with you. Who ever heard of an owl thinking with his stomach?"

Gerul hopped ahead of them to the attics, still protesting. "Any sensible owl thinks with his stummick, shows how much you know, miss spike'ead. Me ould mother always used t'say t'me that my head was so full of nonsense that I'd have t'think with me stummick an' that way if I fell on me head I wouldn't hurt me brain. So y'see I've got to have plenty o' packin' round me stummick to protect it in case I need t'do some serious thinkin'."

When they reached Fermald's attic, Gerul took the house martin's empty nest and placed a glittering fragment of crystal in it.

"Here now, Craklyn, yore young'n'spry, attach this nest to the fishin' rod and place it back down on that ledge where y'found it."

As the squirrelmaid carried out Genii's instructions, Rollo realized what the owl's plan was.

“ Oh, I see. Now we wait for the jackdaw to return and steal the piece of crystal, then we follow it. Good idea!"

Gerul perched on the armchair and unwrapped his scones. "Aye, I'm not just feathers an' a beak, y'know, us owls are supposed t'be very wise. Now, Tansy, you take Piknim an' Craklyn, stay below on the south walltop an' watch the nest from there. When y'see the ould jackdaw, you'll have to move sharp-like t'keep up with 'im, 'cos y'don't want to lose the bird, do yer? Now hurry along, young misses. Me an' Rollo will watch from up here."

About mid-morning Friar Higgle Stump came waddling along the walltop with a laden sack upon his back. He stopped by the three Abbeymaids and nodded to them. "Good day t'you, misses, ain't you joinin' the search for those missin' Dibbuns?"

Still staring up at the nest on the high ledge of the Abbey building, Piknim shook her head. "Oh, g'day, Friar, no, we're not searching."

Higgle set the heavy sack down. "Hmm, I see. So what areyou doin', pray tellwatchin' our Abbey t'see if it grows any taller?"

Without taking her eyes from the nest, Tansy replied, "No, we're just watching that house martin's nest, Friar."

Higgle nodded understandingly. "Oh, I see. Good hobby, nest-watchin'. Per'aps you'd like to shell these chestnuts, they're good'n'dry enough for shellin' right now."

Craklyn looked at the Friar, taking her eyes from the nest momentarily. "Tch! Do we have to?" she said.

Higgle nodded, smiling affably at the squirrelmaid. "Aye, 'fraid y'do, miss, that's if y'want strawberry flan an' meadowcream for lunch. No work, no food. Can't 'ave idle paws around Redwall an' chestnuts don't shell themselves, y'know."

Automatically the three friends began shelling nuts, still gazing upward at the nest as they talked.

" 'Tain't fair, we're already doing one job, watching the nest."

"Hmm, now we're doing two jobs, watching and shelling."

"Maybe if we waggled our tails a bit we could sweep the walltop, then we'd be doing three jobs."

"Aye, and who knows, if we started singing a song together that'd keep those down below happy, and that'd be four jobs we'd be doing."

“ But just think, if Sister Cicely saw us, watching the nest, shelling nuts, sweeping the walltop with our tails and singing, you know what would happen, don't you?"