The big otter’s logic was so strong and straightforward that he received a hearty round of applause. Everybeast was in agreement, Thrugg was the otter for the job; in fact, the questing light in Thrugg’s eye discouraged any fainthearted disagreement.

*   *   *

Being a beast of his word and a creature of action, Thrugg set out without delay, taking with him his throwing sling and pebbles and a large haversack of food. Night had long fallen when he was waved off along the north path from the Abbey gates by a contingent of his Redwall friends.

“Goodbye and good luck, Thrugg!”

“Ho urr, you’m taken good care of ’ee’self.”

“Hurry back with the flowers, matey!”

“Do be careful, Mr. Thrugg!”

The gates shut behind him as the otter strode out boldly along the dusty brown path to the north.

*   *   *

Thrugg had not been walking long when he began hearing sounds from the woodlands on his right. He tied a big pebble into his sling. Whoever was trailing him would be called sharply to account if they tried anything. A pale sliver of moon illuminated the path and woodlands dimly as the otter watched the small bushes and shrubs moving not far from where he trod; his hidden follower was trying hard to keep pace with him. Smiling grimly to himself, he twirled his sling meaningfully and stopped. The other stopped too. Suddenly a juniper bush began shaking and thrashing madly and a squeaky little voice cut through the night silence.

“Elpelpelp! Mista Thugg, it’s a serpink, a serpink got me!” The voice could belong to only one creature: Baby Dumble.

Thrugg hurled himself into the woodland and pounced upon the bush, ripping leaves and branches as he shouted, “Belay, matey. Don’t be afrighted—Thrugg’s ’ere!”

The infant dormouse was trapped in the coils of a fully grown grass snake. Though not poisonous, the creature was trying to squeeze the life from Dumble. Thrugg gripped it by the throat and dealt it a powerful blow with his loaded sling. It was knocked senseless in a trice. Baby Dumble’s face had an unhealthy bluish pallor and his cheeks were puffed out as he tried to breathe. Sudden shock had paralyzed him.

The big otter turned the tiny dormouse upside down and dealt him a hefty whack on his bottom. It was a drastic but surefire remedy. Dumble let out a yell that resounded through the woodlands, “Waaaahoooooh!”

A short while later he was seated happily on a fallen tree, eating a candied chestnut from the otter’s haversack as he watched Thrugg tying the snake in an intricate knot around a sapling.

“You stringy ol’ rascal, ’ow dare you try ter choke my liddle matey? Y’can stay there till you learn some manners!”

Dumble chuckled. “Thatsa way, Mista Thugg. Tie d’serpink up!”