Mordalfus turned to the badger. “Constance, tell us all you know of this incident, please.”

“Father Abbot, there’s not a lot to tell, I’m afraid. Yesterday Cornflower and Mrs. Churchmouse were in the bell tower. Rollo must have joined them later. Well, when I called all the creatures in and shut the Abbey door I must’ve locked them out. They probably didn’t hear me calling. There’s no entrance to the Abbey from the bell tower, so they must have tried later to cross the grounds. Those birds caught them in the open. The crow said that they took them to the roofspaces. General Ironbeak wants to see us outside at noon.”

*   *   *

Sitting in a corner of the dimly lit roofspace, Cornflower and Mrs. Churchmouse tried to make themselves as unobtrusive as possible, keeping baby Rollo quiet and still. General Ironbeak and his birds had returned from their dust bath on the path outside Redwall. It had done little good, and in the end they had resorted to wallowing in the brackish ditchwater to rid themselves of the sludge which clung to their feathers. It was not a great improvement; the stench still clung to them.

Ironbeak glared ferociously at his captives. “Yaggah! You and your friends will pay dearly for this insult.”

Cornflower covered baby Rollo with her torn apron. “You great bully, you deserve all you got!”

Mangiz had not been caught by the trap on the stairway, and he stayed slightly apart from his General, turning his beak to avoid the unpleasant odor.

“Kraah! Silence, mouse! At noon you will get all you deserve. You should be pleading with the mighty Ironbeak to spare your miserable lives.”

Mrs. Churchmouse eyed the crow with distaste. “We would never grovel to ruffians like you. Slay us if you want, but you will never conquer Redwall Abbey.”

“Brave words are like empty eggshells. You will beg when the time comes,” Mangiz predicted.

Rollo peered out from under the apron.

“Gen’ral Pongo!” he said, making a face.

“Silence! Keep that small one quiet or we will kill him now.”

“Oh, shut your beak, you coward!” Cornflower called out indignantly. “Killing infants is probably about all you scavengers are good for.”

Mangiz was about to reply when Ironbeak silenced him.

“Mangiz, enough. We do not argue with mousewives.”

Mrs. Churchmouse rummaged in her apron pocket and found some dried fruit she had been using in the kitchens. She gave it to baby Rollo and sat with her paw about him.

“I wish your Matthias were back, he’d know what to do,” she whispered.

“He certainly would, but don’t worry, your John and Constance and the Abbot will see we come to no harm. It’s Rollo I’m concerned about. They can do what they like with me, as long as they don’t harm a hair on that baby’s head.”