Marlfox

The blind badger held out her beaker for more rose hip tea. "But she did tell you a few things that you didn't know before?"

Friar Butty rerolled a scroll neatly. "Indeed she did, although at first her story was a bit muddled. She began talking of a white ghost and a lake monster that lived in a great lake until it was slain. Then she said that the white ghost left the hidden island, but she said she didn't remember much about it. I think it was probably some figment of Ellayo's imagination from her young days."

Cregga sat up straight. "Maybe not. I was once Badger Ruler of the hollow mountain by the sea called Salamandastron. Badgers always rule there. I recall seeing some rock carvings in a chamber on the mountain. I never really paid them much attention. Strange how it comes back to one at the mention of certain words. A lake monster means nought to me, but a white ghost, I remember that. You see, those wall carvings told of all the great Badger Lords who had held sway on Salamandastron. Two of these were twins, Urthstripe and Urthwyte. I think the tale goes that they were separated at birth and lost to each other. However, Urthstripe discovered his brother, Urthwyte, on an island in the middle of a vast lake. There, Urthwyte, who was born completely white of fur, became known as the White Ghost. They both traveled from the island to Salamandastron, where Urthstripe was Badger Lord. There was a great battle against vermin hordes and Urthstripe was slain. Urthwyte became Badger Lord in his stead and was often known to the hares that serve the mountain as Whiteghost. That's all I can tell you, but it may prove Ellayo wasn't imagining things."

Cregga stopped talking. Holding up a paw for silence, she listened, and after a while she smiled. "Come out, you two. Blinny and Wugger, if I'm not mistaken."

The two molebabes crawled from behind the sofa.

"Hurr, you'm surrpintly bain't mistaken, 'tis us' 'n's."

"Burr, 'ow did ee knowed 'twas us'n's, mum?"

Cregga judged they were within paw range and swept both Dibbuns up onto her lap. "I just knowed, that's all. Now what are you two after in Friar Butty's gatehouse?"

"We'm horful thursty, marm. Ee sun be 'ot out thurr!"

Song poured them a beaker each of the cool rosehip tea, smiling as she watched them noisily sucking it up.

"Been playing hard, I suppose. Where's your pal got to, that rascally mousebabe Dwopple?"

Blinny drained the last of her drink, wiping a paw across her mouth. "Us'n's never goed on ee walltop, miz, 'onest we'm din't!"

Butty wagged his quill pen at the molebabes. "But Dwopple did, eh? What was he doing up there?"

"Ee'm talkin' to mista Stickybee. We'm tol' 'im not to go oop thurr, but D'opple a likkle naughtybeast, hurr aye."

Friar Butty shook his head wearily. "He certainly is. Song, would you and your friends like to go and get that little wretch down off the ramparts before he does something silly and injures himself? Which wall was it, Blinny?"

"Norff wall, zurr. Ee'm oop thurr a-talkin' wi' mista Stickybee."

Dannflor patted the molebabe's velvety head. "Don't you fret, young 'un, we'll get mister Stickybee down too, whoever he is. Come on, Dipp."

The three chums mounted the walltop by the gatehouse steps and trotted along the north wall. Song searched carefully around the angle of each battlement, while Dippler and Dann covered the east wall adjoining.

"There's no sign of 'im 'ere, Song."

"No, he's not here either, Dipp. What d'you think, Dann?"

"Oh, the little wretch prob'ly got fed up and got down by himself. Perhaps he's by the pond. Let's take a look over that way."

Florian and the troupe were singing a comic song for their audience, who were not just Dibbuns, but many Red wallers who had finished their chores. The onlookers were in pleats laughing at the antics of the Noonvale Companions as they performed funny walks in time to their song, encouraging the Dibbuns to get up and join in with them. The little creatures needed no second urging and paraded joyfully with the troupe.

"Oh come along dearies follow me,

I'll take ye down t'the sycamore tree,

Plum pudden an' turnover, apple pie.

Beneath its spreadin' boughs we'll lie,

With veggible pasty an' damson tart,

We'll wheel it along in a little cart,

The birds will sing 'Give us some do.'

Oh the food's for us an' the crumbs for you,

So empty the cupboard out what d'you see,

A fruitcake for you an' trifle for me,

There's bread'n'cheese an' what d'you think,

A jugful o' raspberry cordial to drink.

A rowtle tee towtle an' toora lie ay,

What do you think our old mother will say,

Riddle dum diddle dum derrydown dare,

When she comes home to find her cupboard all bare?"

Dann caught up with Florian, who leaned against the cart wheezing after the performance.

"My word! Not as young as I was last season, wot!"

"Sir, have you seen baby Dwopple lately?"

Florian mopped his brow with a red spotted kerchief. "That scutterbug! Can't say I have, young laddo, but with a bit o' luck an eagle may've flown off with the blighter!"

Deesum was immediately in the midst of things. "Eagle, what eagle, where? Oh, my poor little treasure, he's been carried off in the talons of a huge eagle!"

The hare rolled his eyes skyward and sighed. "Dwopple was not borne off by an eagle, marm, 'twas merely wishful thinkin' on my part. Huh, pity the poor eagle that had the nerve to try an' make off with that miniature rotter, wot!"

Song reassured her. "I'm sure Dwopple is safe, miz Deesum, somewhere within Redwall, but we can't find him. Blinny and Wugger, the molebabes, were the last to see him, on the north walltop. We've looked, but he's not there."

Deesum snatched the kerchief from Florian and wrung it distractedly. "Then we must search until we find the sweet little mite. Everybeast, stop what you are doing and search the entire place. Look high and low, drag the pond and scour the cellars!"

Florian could not resist a dig at the mouse's dramatics. "Right y'are. I'll turn out m'pockets an' comb my fur!"

He wilted as the tough-looking Rusvul caught him tight by the paw. "A babe is missin'. 'Tis no jokin' matter, an' you'd do well to quit playactin' an' join the search!"

Janglur and Tragglo searched the cellars, Brother Melilot and Foremole Gubbio checked the kitchens. Song and her friends accompanied Sister Sloey through the Infirmary and dormitories. The three otters, Borrakul, Elachim and Skipper, waited until the coast was clear before diving in the Abbey pond and covering every fraction of it carefully. Skipper thwacked his wet rudder on the bank, sending droplets cascading wide. "Thank the seasons the liddle feller ain't in there!"

Runktipp and the two moles, Roop and Muggle, had patrolled the orchard twice. They tried to comfort Deesum, who wept pitifully.

"There there now, miz Deesum, don't go gittin' yoreself all of a tizzy, that mousebabe's bound to be somewheres in the Abbey or the grounds. Stands to reason, don't it?"

"Burr aye, all ee gates be well locked oop, an' ee walls be too 'igh furr maister Dwopple to clamber o'er. Doan't ee fret, marm, us'11 foind 'im afore long."

Evening came and still they searched, finding no trace of the mousebabe. Badgermum Cregga and Friar Butty questioned Wugger and Blinny patiently.

"What time of day was it when you last saw Dwopple?"

"Urr, just afore lunch, zurr, on ee norff walltop."

"Right, now what about this mister Stickybee? Did you see him?"

"Ho no, marm, us'n's din't see 'im!"

"Then how do you know there is such a creature?"

"Ee'm talked to uz an' gived D'opple a candysweet."

Friar Butty scratched his ear distractedly with the quill pen. "But how could he do all that and you still didn't see him?"

" 'Cos ee wurr outside, zurr, back o' ee likkle wallgate. Stickybee slided D'opple a candyfruit unner d'door. Stickybee say ee give us'n's a gurt bag o' candyfruits if'n uz go oop to walltops."