Dwopple whispered something to Wugger, who immediately yelled out, "Runktippo dropped ee pebble onna ground. 'Tis unner 'is footpaw!"
Florian picked up the drumsticks, eyeing Wugger icily. "Any more interruptions, sah, an' I will eject you from the audience! Great Magic Runktippo, are you ready?"
The hedgehog nodded as Blinny announced what Dwopple had told her. "Ee can't talk 'cos 'is mouth be gurtly full o' flags'n'string!"
The final straw came when Florian tried a drumroll, only to find that the drum head merely gave forth a dull sticky thud. "Sabotage! Some rotten cad's poured honey over me drum. Dwopple!"
The mousebabe and his companions sensed the game was up. They took to their paws and fled, with Florian hurling dire threats after them. "Fiends! Show-wreckers! I'll have y'roasted with turnips, I'll chop off y'tails with a rusty saw! I'll. . . I'll. ..!"
Deesum twitched her nose at the furious hare. "Mister Florian, you'll stop this unprofessional behavior in front of your audience and continue with the rehearsal!"
Behind the bushes by the north wallgate, Dwopple sat with the molebabes, wondering what mischief they could accomplish next. He pointed to the battlements. "We go play up onna wall."
But Wugger and Blinny would not hear of it.
"Burr! Nay, zurr, us'n's bain't a-goin' up thurr agin, ho no!"
They contented themselves with banging on an old cooking pot that Blinny kept hidden in the bushes. The molebabes whacked it gleefully with sticks, as Dwopple mimicked the troupe's act.
"I'm a magic Dwoppo, pulla lotsa flags out me nose, heeheehee!"
They marched about behind the shrubbery, banging and yelling.
"Us want cake and st'awbee fizz! Lotsa lotsa cake or we don't gerra wash!"
On the other side of the wallgate the vixen Ziral had no need to press her ear against the wood. She turned to Mokkan. "You were right, the young ones are there. Allag, bring the others round here from the south and east wallgates."
Gelltor winced as Mokkan patted his injured shoulder. "I told you, sooner or later they play by the gates or on the walltops. Now, we only need to snare one and we won't have to worry about thieving. Those Red wallers will give us what we want when they hear what we could do to a little hostage."
Gelltor moved out of range of Mokkan's paw. "Well, let's see you get one of 'em on this side of the wall."
Mokkan loosed the drawstring on a bag he carried beneath his cloak. "Easy, just watch me!"
Dwopple and his friends eventually grew tired of marching and shouting. They were about to run off and see if there was any fun to be had around the gatehouse, when several loud knocks sounded on the wallgate door. The little ones went to the door, listening curiously as the knocking continued. Dwopple picked up a stick and knocked in reply. "Who's derr? Wot you knock for?"
The answer came back in a soothing homely voice. "Who do you think I am, little friend?"
The mousebabe pondered a moment, then made up a fictitious name that he liked the sound of. "Stickabee!"
A slice of preserved apple, thick with crystallized honey, slid under the narrow gap at the bottom of the door. The voice chuckled. "How did you know my name is Stickabee? Well done!"
Dwopple stuffed the delicacy into his mouth. Wugger crouched down and called under the gap, "Summ furr Wugger. Oi wants some Stickybee, zurr!"
"Of course you do, Wugger, but you must open the door so that I can give you the whole bagful."
Mokkan listened to the sound of tiny paws scraping on the door, followed by the voices of disappointed Dibbuns.
"Us can't open d'locks, mista Stickabee, they's too tight!"
Gelltor smiled mockingly at the Marlfox leader. "Oh dear, what are you goin' t'do now, mister Stickabee?"
Mokkan's paw strayed beneath his cloak. "One more word from you and I'll introduce you to mister axhead!" He turned back to the door, his voice cajoling the Dibbuns. "Oh, come on now, I'm sure you can open one little lock?"
Dwopple sounded impatient at the Marlfox's ignorance. "It not one liddle lock, there be's two. One's too stiff an' the nuther one be too far up t'reach. Pusha more candyfruit unner d'door, Stickabee!"
"But I can't, my little friend. The fruit slices are too thick to fit under the door, they'd get all dirty and squashed. Look, why don't you come up to the walltop and we'll think of a way to get the whole bag up to you. Good idea, eh?"
Dwopple jumped up and down with excitement. "Aye, good idea, good idea, we go up onna wall!"
Wugger and Blinny backed off, shaking their heads vigorously.
"Hurr no, us'n's bain't goin' on ee wall!"
"You'm catch gurt trubble if'n ee go up thurr, D'opple!"
The mousebabe headed boldly for the north wallsteps. "Yah, you two 'fraidyfrogs!"
The moles trundled off to the gatehouse. They had learned their lesson about walltops.
Dwopple looked down at the assembly of rats and Marlfoxes below on the ground. "Where mista Stickabee?"
Mokkan held up the bag of crystallized fruit. "Gone to his house to get more candysweets like this. Are you the friend he was telling us about?"
"Aye, my name Dwopple, I mista Stickabee's friend."
"Oh, good. He said I had to give these to you. Here, catch!" Mokkan tossed the bag, which rose only a short way before falling on the ground. The Marlfox shook his head sadly. "I can't throw them high enough for you to catch, little friend."
Dwopple spread his paws expressively. "So whatta we do?"
Mokkan paced back and forth, as if deep in thought. Suddenly he clapped his paws and smiled broadly. "Of course, you can come down and get them, Dwopple!"
"Yah, silly, Dwopple no can climb downa wall!"
Mokkan took off his cloak, gesturing to several rats to get around and hold the edges. They held it high, stretched tight in a great triangle. The Marlfox pointed to it, grinning brightly. "Now you can, Dwopple. It'll be great fun. Just jump and all my friends here will catch you safely!"
The mousebabe clambered onto the battlements and looked down doubtfully, not sure whether he would enjoy the experience. Mokkan leapt onto the cloak, bounced on the taut material once and jumped back off nimbly.
"Hoho! That was great! I wish I were up there with you, Dwopple, I'd really enjoy jumping down onto the cloak. That's unless you don't want the candysweets and you're a 'fraidyfrog!"
That did it. Dwopple swelled his fat little tummy out and scowled. "Me norra 'fraidyfrog, Dwopple jump high, higher'n dat, right offa top o' mister Florian's cart! You watch me. Yeeeeeeeeee!"
Dwopple launched himself off the ramparts. He landed in the center of the cloak, bouncing twice. Mokkan deliberately trod on Gelltor's footpaw as he passed. "What've you got to say for yourself now, mister oafhead?"
The water rats had Dwopple wrapped and bundled in the cloak before he could make another move.
Chapter 8
Cregga Badgermum and Rimrose completed their after-lunch stroll by calling in at the gatehouse. Grandma Ellayo and the owl, Nutwing, sprawled on the old sofa, fast asleep after the amount of food they had eaten. Song, Dann and Dippler had joined Friar Butty at the table, searching through ancient scrolls and dusty volumes of Abbey records. Rimrose guided Cregga to the armchair and seated her.
"Whew, 'tis warm out there today!"
Song filled two beakers with rose hip tea. "This is nice and cool. Where's Dad?"
Cregga sipped her tea, the beaker almost lost within her huge paw. "Taking up a new career, I think. He's with Tragglo and the cellarmoles, learning all about October Ale and such. When your mum and I passed there earlier he seemed t'be enjoying himself."
Rimrose glanced at the books and documents on the table. "And what are you up to, missie?"
Song flicked idly through the pages of a hefty tome. "We're helping Friar Butty to look for more information about Marlfoxes. Grandma told us all she knew, but it's not enough."