“Blood ’n’ thunder, chaps! Eulaliaaaaaa!”

Twoscore well-placed shafts thudded into the ambushers as Big Oxeye and twenty others came charging over the sands, their javelins held short for stabbing action. Straight into the fray they plunged, dealing death wherever their lancepoints found the foe. Completely taken by surprise, the vermin scattered, leaping for the safety of the rocks—but not before Ferahgo and Klitch, who hid among the rocks, calling out frantic commands.

“Get them! Don’t let them escape!”

“Finish the badger off!”

Six hares supported the staggering badger Lord. Oxeye and the others backed off swiftly, firing arrows into the rocks to discourage pursuit. Hurrying across the sands toward the mountain, they ducked, returning salvos of arrows and slingstones.

Klitch and Ferahgo laid about them with sword and knife blades.

“Get after them, you lily-livered cowards!”

“Come on, you worthless trash. Charge!”

Oxeye saw them coming and broke his command into three—five shooting arrows, with five behind waiting and another five behind them. As one party fired they fell to the rear, letting the next five loose off their arrows; they fired and went to the rear, leaving the next five to shoot. Urthstripe’s paws dragged twin furrows in the sand as they half carried, half pulled him along.

Big Oxeye was moving slowly backwards with his archers, coolly in command of the situation. “Righto, chaps. Fire! Next five, ready, aim, pick y’ targets now. Fire! Well done, the Long Patrol. Next five, steady in the ranks there, draw strings . . . and fire!”

The deadly shafts hissed through the air as the ambushers advanced reluctantly. Ferahgo sent another contingent out from the rocks to reinforce the half-hearted ambushers.

“Their arrows are nearly used up—look. Get after them!”

Bart Thistledown muttered to Oxeye as the mountain loomed large, “Bad show this. We’ll never get Urthstripe up through that windowspace he climbed out of. What’ll we do, Ox?”

The big hare glanced over his shoulder, sizing up the situation. “You’d better dash back, Barty old lad. Tell Penny and the others to unblock one of the big ground-level openings. Off y’ go now!”

*   *   *

Ferahgo had followed his ambushers, loping a short distance behind them and yelling a mixture of threats and encouragement. Klitch stayed behind. Standing on one of the high rocks, he surveyed the scene before him. Excitement rose within the young weasel as he called the ferret Dragtail to him.

“Dragtail, come here! See that? They’ve unblocked a big space near the entrance to the mountain. Go as fast as you can and muster the rest of the horde. We’ll never get a better chance than this to conquer Salamandastron. Hurry!”

*   *   *

Oxeye, Bart Thistledown and some others were having difficulties with Urthstripe. They had lifted and pushed him halfway through the long unblocked fissure when the badger Lord began shoving backwards. Half demented, he had partially recovered and wanted to return to the battle.