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

Arven wriggled his way through and stood facing the tapestry. "Well, wherra purl, Tansy pansy?"

Tansy tweaked the little squirrel's bushy tail. "We'll tell you when we find it, nosy!"

Auma's huge voice boomed around the hall. "Stand back, everybeast back, please! Make room for Rollo and those maids to do their job. Move yourselves, please!"

Reluctantly the Redwallers shuffled back a pace. Auma joined Rollo. "I don't like intruding, but perhaps we can all help. How did you know the pearl is in the tapestry?"

Rollo unfolded the parchment scrap, and spreading it on the floor, he demonstrated how they had solved the puzzle of the poem lines and letters to make up the word tapestry.

"That's as much as we know at present, but we're convinced the fifth Tear of all Oceans is hidden somewhere in this tapestry."

All eyes were on the mighty needlework hanging from the wall.

It depicted Martin the Warrior in the bottom right hand corner, armored and leaning both paws on his swordhilt. The warrior had a reckless smile upon his handsome features, and all around him was a woodland scene showing vermin, some lying slain, others fleeing in all directions from the Hero of Redwall.

Auma read the rhyme aloud:

"There is a warrior,

Where is a sword?

Peace did he bring,

The fighting Lord.

Shed for him is my fifth tear,

Find it in the title here,

Written in but a single word,

An eye is an eye, until it is heard."

Foremole scratched his dark-furred head. "Hurr, 'tis a gurt puzzlement, if'n ee purler be 'idden in um tarpesty oi doan't see et. 'Ow do ee foind the h'objeck?"

Craklyn picked up the parchment and strode back and forth in front of the tapestry. "Here's how, we dismantle the poem bit by bit, eliminating the pieces we don't need until we find the vital line. Right... There is a warrior." She pointed at the figure of Martin, continuing, “Where is a sword?''

Foremole indicated the blade that Martin leaned on. “Thurr! Wot do et say nex', missie?"

"Peace did he bring."

Tansy pondered for a moment. "Doesn't sound like a clue. Carry on, Craklyn."

"The fighting Lord."

"No, that's not much help. What's next?"

"Shed for him is my fifth tear."

"That means Fermald gave the fifth pearl to Martin," Rollo interrupted. "Continue."

"Find it in the title here."

Skipper thumped his tail thoughtfully. "Title, wot title?"

Arven snorted impatiently. Marching up to the tapestry, he gestured. "There, that'sa tykle, there!"

Embroidered on the bottom border of the work, right beneath the figure of the mouse, was a word. "Martin."

Craklyn could not conceal her excitement. "Aye, that's it, listen to the next line. Written in but a single word. A single word, and that's it. Martin!"

A buzz of conversation arose from the onlookers; everybeast seemed to be speculating and arguing with one another.

Skipper was forced to roar over the hubbub to restore order.

"Quiet now, silence! Stow the gab an' let these maids git on with it. Oh, sorry, Rollo sir, an' you too. Wot d'you think?"

Rollo polished his spectacles carefully. "I think we should hear the last line. Craklyn?"

The squirrelmaid read out the poem's final line: "An eye is an eye, until it is heard."

The silence which had fallen over Great Hall deepened. Everybeast stood looking at the tapestry, mentally repeating the line.

Gerul limped forward from the table, where he had sat through it all, staunchly chomping away at every morsel in sight. He waved a slice of heavy fruitcake at Craklyn and Tansy.

"Sure aren't none of yer lissenin'? As me ould mother used t'say, 'tis as plain as the paw behind yer back in a fog."

Tansy folded her paws resignedly. "Oh, that's a great help. I thought you were going to tell us all something intelligent for a moment there!"

The owl pecked a few crumbs from his wing feathers. "Faith, an' so I am, missie. Will ye think of the line for a moment. An eye is an eye, until it is heard. Does it not tell you any thin'?"

Tansy shook her head. "Not a thing!"

Gerul pointed at one of his eyes. "What pray is this?"

Tansy's reply was swift. "An eye, it's your eye!"

The owl chuckled. "Ah, the brains of the young are surely marvelous. Now tell me, what's this?" He pointed at Tansy's right eye.

The hedgehog maid gave a long sigh of impatience. "It's an eye, my eye! What are you getting at?"

Gerul went to a nearby table and took up a knife. "Me ould mother always used t'say, if y'can't see with yore own two eyes what's in front of them, then y'better off closinem an' goin' t'sleep, 'tis far more restful!"

As he was speaking, the owl was scratching something on the floorstones with his knifepoint. He pointed at it. “Now, what would y'say that was?"

Tansy studied it for a moment. "It looks like the letter I to me..."

Gerul smiled. He had made his point. "Right, you just said it, the letter I, at least that's wot I heard y'say. See, I point to me eye, that's the eye y'can see, but you just said I, that's the I y'can hear!"

Arven was first to the tapestry. He ran his paw quickly over the name Martin embroidered on the hem and, thrusting his other paw behind the hem, he ripped something away from behind the dot of the letter I in the warrior's name.

"It d'purl!" he yelled.

The fifth pearl fell to the floor, bounced twice on the stones and rolled a little way, coming to a halt in front of Auma. The badger picked up the pretty rose-colored orb. It glowed softly in the lamplight as she presented it to Tansy, saying, ' T believe Gerul deserves a vote of thanks for his help."

Shamefaced, Tansy shook the owl's talon gently. "Gerul, friend, forgive me for getting so snippy with you."

The friendly bird blinked his great eyes. “Ah sure, cut us an ould slice of fruit cake an' yer forgiven!"

Craklyn swept the half-cake that was left from the table. "You deserve it all, and I'd bake your mother one twice this size if she were here!"

Arven had been gradually sidling away until he was at the foot of the stairs. Suddenly Tansy caught sight of him and shouted, "The sixth clue! Arven, bring it here this instant!"

The squirrelbabe did a little dance, wobbling his head comically. "Tansy pansy toogle doo! I foun' it, d'paper's mine!"

Waving the scrap of parchment, which had been stitch-tacked lightly behind the tapestry to hold the pearl, Arven fled upstairs giggling.

Rollo threw up his paws. "You two run and catch him. I'm too old for this sort of game. Well, go on, last one to catch Arven is a something or other, shall we say a baggy-bottomed beetle?"

But Tansy and Craklyn were not listening. They were dashing headlong for the stairs to catch the squirrelbabe.

Arven stood on a dormitory window sill, hidden by the drape of the curtain. He wriggled in anticipation as the door slowly creaked open. Tansy popped her head in. "Aaaaarven, are you theeeere?" she called in a singsong tone.

A small giggle sounded as Tansy and Craklyn tip-pawed into the dormitory. Craklyn pointed silently to the moving curtain as it wriggled and flapped against the sill. Tansy smiled, and called out in the same singsong voice, "Aaaarven, you're hiding on the window siiiiiill!"

A small giggly reply came from behind the curtain. "Tee-heehee! Nooohooo, Arven not heeeeeeyer!"

Craklyn whipped the curtain aside, revealing the squirrelbabe grinning mischievously, the crumpled scrap of parchment held tight to his small fat stomach.

Tansy injected a note of serious authority into her demand. "Give me that paper, sir, immediately!"

"Kyeeheehee! No, it mine, I foun' it!"

Craklyn launched herself at Arven, but he was too quick. Grabbing the curtain he swung outward, let go and somersaulted onto a bed. Tansy jumped upon Arven, and immediately he stuffed the parchment into his mouth and shut it tight.