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

The old mouse could stand it no longer. "Who's there, who is it?" he cried out.

Krrrakkk!

An entire panel burst and the huge reptilian head of Lask Frildur was thrust through the broken aperture.

Chapter 36

From the shelter of the little canvas tent on the ice floe, Viola was first to see the intruders. She gave a shriek of alarm and instantly the sword was in Martin's paw. Shoving the canvas awning away from him, he came upright ready to do battle.

Clecky, who had clapped a paw across Viola's mouth, stared about in astonishment at the mass of creatures surrounding the logboat. "Great seasons of salad, where'd this mob of nautical nightmares come from, wot?"

Snub-nosed, stiff-whiskered and dark-eyed, the huge beasts crowded around, staring curiously at the little logboat and its occupants. Martin raised the sword threateningly to warn them off.

Grath Longfletch moved cautiously to the warrior's side, murmuring, "Put up that sword, Martin, they're the sealfolk. Don't make any sudden moves or they'll bull us into the sea and drown us."

Martin lowered his blade, keeping his eyes fixed on the seal-folk. "What do we do next?" he whispered to Grath.

The otter relinquished her bow and arrows to show she was unarmed. "Leave this to me. Sealfolk used to visit the holt of my kin. They don't speak our language, but I can understand them a bit."

Grath climbed from the logboat and approached the foremost seal. He was a great bull, dark gray in color and mottled with heavy spots. The big beast watched Grath impassively, head held majestically high, round black eyes unblinking.

Grath crouched upon the ice, taking care not to raise her head higher than the lead bull. Holding her paws out level, she clapped them gently together several times and said, "Feryooday, Haaaawm!"

Immediately the seals around began making a sort of coughing barking sound, in surprise that Grath could speak their language.

As the big leader bull silenced them with a haughty glare, Martin joined Grath and murmured to her, "What did you say to the big fellow?"

"I gave him a greeting, feryooday, just like saying good morning, then I called him Hawm, but long, like this Haaaawm. It means great leader or king; the longer you sound it, the greater your respect. Sshh! He's going to say somethin'."

The seal looked regally down his wide flattish nose at them. "Thessez m'hoil, ommin Haaaaaaaawm floooooe!" He moved his head about in a wide circle as if indicating the iceberg where they were standing.

Grath held up her chin and closed both eyes as she answered, "Haaaaaaaaaaawm floe yaaanh!"

It seemed to satisfy the leader. He raised a massive flipper and slapped it loud and wetly once upon his sleek chest.

Grath explained, "I can't unnerstand it all, but best as I c'n make out he said, this is my island, I am king of this ice floe. All I could think of to answer was to tell him he was a mighty king and this surely was his floe."

"Do you know how to say not mine?" Martin asked Grath swiftly.

Grath thought for a moment. "Er, you just say ommino, I think."

Martin stepped forward, aware of the vast number of seals watching him. He spread his paws and brought them together, clapping softly as he had seen Grath do. Then he slapped one paw hard on his chest as the seal king had done.

"Haaaaaaaaawm Martin! Ommino floe. Ommino!'' Martin said.

This seemed to amuse the king greatly. He pointed a powerful flipper at Martin and said, "Ommino! Omminooooo!"

The seals fell about, rolling on the ice, slapping their flippers loudly and emitting great barking merriment.

The great bull seal towered above Martin. Raising his flipper high, he brought it down gently on the mouse warrior's head and patted him. "Haaaaaaaawm Ma'tan Haaaaaaaaawm!" he rumbled.

This caused even greater jollity among the sealfolk; they shook their heads and blinked rapidly as they honked with laughter.

Clecky climbed out of the logboat to join Martin and Grath. "I say, good thing these wallahs have a sense o' humour, wot!" The hare slithered boldly over the watery ice to face the king. Straightening his long ears, Clecky brought them together several times as if clapping. Pursing his lips comically he mimicked a seal. "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawm old chap Haaaaaaaaaaaaawm. Howzat!"

This time the hilarity was unbridled. Even the king rolled his gargantuan bulk over and over, tears streaming from his round dark eyes as he held both flippers to his sides, shaking helplessly with laughter. This drove the hare on to further efforts. Lying stomach down and holding himself up with his front paws, Clecky looked majestically down his nose, bobbed his stubby tail about and let one ear flap down hard across his brow. Then, in a perfect imitation of the seal king, he called out, "Haaaaaaaawm Clecky, that's me chaps, Haaaaawm Clecky!"

Some of the seals were laughing so hard they fell off the iceberg into the sea.

Martin pulled Clecky upright. "You'd better pack it in now, we don't want to be held responsible for any of these creatures laughing themselves to death, especially the great Hawm there, he looks fit to burst."

It took quite a while for the laughter to subside, but it had worked wonders. Some of the little seal pups slid out of the pack and nuzzled up against Clecky. The king pointed a flipper at Grath and looked questioningly at the other seals as he barked out a single word, "Waaylumm!"

There was a moment's silence, then every seal began waving a flipper towards the otter and echoing the word, "Waaylumm! Waaylumm!"

Grath was mystified. She looked at Martin and shrugged. "I dunno wot they mean."

Further discussion was cut short as the friends found themselves lifted up bodily by the seals and tossed back into the logboat. Knowing the sealfolk meant them no harm, they sat in silence, watching the procedure. With a mighty smack from his flipper, the king broke the stake holding the headline of the logboat. Other seals came flapping up with cables made from thick rubbery seaweed. These they proceeded to attach to the vessel from stem to stern until the little craft was festooned with woven seaweed ropes. Half a dozen stout young seals slid the logboat off into the water.

Viola looked over the side. All the seaweed fastenings were held in the jaws of at least three seals to a cable; the king alone held the headrope in his teeth.

He let out a sharp bark. "Gittarra!"

The logboat's crew fell over backward as the craft sped off into the fog, sending up a great bow wave. Plogg and Welko scrambled up to the for'ard bowsprit. They watched, fascinated, as the sleek forms of the seal pack sped their boat through the seas at a breathtaking rate.

Clecky settled back, winking at Viola. "Just the ticket, m'gel. Beats sailin' an' rowin', wot? Absolutely top hole, hope these chaps know where they're jolly well goin'!"

Grath blinked spray from her eyes as they shot out free of the clinging fogbanks. "Oh, they seem t'know where they're bound, all right. Harr! 'tis good t'see clear day an' sunlight again, though!"

Martin agreed wholeheartedly. "It certainly is, friend. Well, at least we're out of trouble with icebergs and I'm sure the sealfolk mean us no harm. Only problem is, they don't know where we want to go and we don't know where they're taking us."

Clecky began rummaging about in the remainder of their supplies. "Well, wherever we're jolly well goin', I ain't travelin' on a bally empty tummy. Let's see what the tuck situation is, wot!"

"Yeeeek, look, look!" Viola was pointing out to sea. All eyes followed her paw.

Martin could not believe his eyes.

"Wh ... What are they?"

Grath had seen them once before in her lifetime. She took a deep breath. "On the far north coast where I was reared we saw those sea creatures once. It was spring an' they swam almost up to the beach. My mother said they were called whales an' no creature in all the seas is as big as 'em. They blow water out o' their heads, straight up like a big fountain. Their tails are like the spread o' two large oaks. See!"