Song hoped that her friends had heard. She stood up silently behind the broad trunk of a sycamore and held her breath. Within a hairsbreadth she sensed one of the weasels stalking by. She stepped out behind the dark shape and hit out with the greenstone-topped stick, slamming it square between the weasel’s scraggy ears. He fell without a sound. Song placed her paw on his chest; he was stunned, but still alive. She hauled him into a sitting position, binding his paws behind him to the trunk of an ash with his own thonged sling. Then she undid the vermin’s broad belt and gagged him with that.

Dippler lived by the code of the Guosim shrews, who seldom took prisoners. The weasel who had gone to the right met his end at the point of the young shrew’s rapier.

Dann backtracked slightly, then stepped out in front of the stoat and took him completely by surprise. But the stoat was quick. He leapt to one side and began whining and pleading with the hard-eyed warrior with the deadly sword.

“’Twas nought but a joke, mate. Can’t yer take a joke? We was jus’ ’avin a bit o’ fun wid youse . . .”

Dann saw the stoat’s dagger coming and dodged sideways. Then he leapt forward, striking down with the blade of Martin. The stoat fell with a shriek as Song and Dippler came charging through the trees.

“Dann, are you hurt, did you get him?”

Dann stayed the writhing stoat on the ground with his footpaw. “I’m all right. Unfortunately my aim was bad in the darkness, or this scum would’ve been dead now.”

The stoat groaned, then spat viciously at Dann. “You wounded me bad, y’stupid young fool. Couldn’t yer see ’twas only a joke? We wasn’t goin’ to ’urt yer!”

Dann placed his sword edge on the side of the stoat’s neck. “One more word out o’ yore lyin’ mouth an’ yore head’ll be talkin’ to y’tail. How’s that for a joke, eh?”

Song nodded back into the woodland. “Knocked my vermin cold and left him gagged an’ bound to a tree. How did you fare, Dipp?”

Dippler wiped his rapier with a pawful of grass. “Ole Guosim proverb, a dead enemy ain’t an enemy no more!” Sheathing his blade he went to the boat, calling aloud, “Burb, ’tis me, Dipp. Y’can bring ’er inshore now, mate.”

Dann took Song to one side. “What do we do with the stoat?” he said quietly. “I couldn’t bring myself to kill him, and we can’t just leave him here.”

The squirrelmaid watched the writhing, groaning beast as she sought for a solution. “Go and get some rivermud. Leave this to me.”