But before the badger could move any further, Jess Squirrel was past him like a reddish streak. She flew into the bushes with a mighty leap and engaged the watcher. The foliage shook and trembled as the bushes thrashed noisily with the vigor of Jess’s attack, and there were panicked cries from the shrubbery.

“Lemmego, lemmego! Ow ouch! Eek gurgh! You’re hurting me!”

Jess emerged from the bushes, dragging Scurl the great frilled newt by his comb. “Oho, don’t you worry, sloppyskin, I’ll hurt you! I’ll tear you in pieces and feed you to the Stump family if you don’t tell me where you got my champion climber’s tailring from.”

She threw Scurl roughly to the ground. Completely surrounded, the cheating reptile stared wide-eyed at Orlando, Jabez, Basil and Matthias. Using all his agility, he tried to make a swift escape, but the sword that buried itself in the ground at his nosetip and the immense war axe that thudded to earth a fraction from his tail warned him in no uncertain way that these creatures were warriors, not young woodland captives, and they meant business.

Scurl swallowed hard. “I can ’splain. I’ll tell you everything!”

Matthias flicked the swordpoint against the frightened newt’s pulsating throat.

“That’s my son’s habit cord you’re wearing. I think you had better tell us everything. Now!”

18

Baby Rollo was singing again.

“Seeker Flounder inner stones, oho,

I know where da lickle folks go.”

Cornflower was searching along the ramparts of the eastern wall. The old redstone was warmed by the sun and shaded by the quiet green heights of Mossflower. She looked around distractedly.

“Baby Rollo, hush! We won’t find anything with you singing aloud like that, it’s very distracting.”

Rollo gave her a winsome smile. He held a paw to his chubby face. “Ssshhhh, ’stracting!” he echoed.

Cornflower could not help laughing at the infant vole. “Go on with you, you rascal. Why don’t you pop down and see Mr. Spike in the cellars and lend him a paw? He’ll probably give you a drink of nice cold strawberry cordial.”

Rollo sang lustily as he made his way down the wallsteps.

“Seeker Flounder inner stones,

I catch a rat an’ break his bones,

Give Mr. Spike a good hard strike,

For good ol’ strawhawhaw beherreeee corjullllll!”

He tottered momentarily on the bottom step but was caught firmly by Winifred the Otter, who happened to be passing by in the nick of time.

“Gotcha, you villain. Oof! You’re a great lump of a baby bankvole. Hi, Cornflower. No luck? I think we’re all in the same boat. Come down off there. It’s getting too hot to be searching now. Let’s go and have lunch. They’ve put out a picnic spread on the grass.”

*   *   *

As Cornflower and Winifred sat with their backs against the Abbey wall, they were joined by Foremole.