Stout hearts they walk with me
Over hill and plain and back again
To the shores of the wide blue sea.
Through mud and mire to a warm campfire,
I’ll trek with you, old friend,
O’er lea and dale in a roaring gale,
Right to our journey’s end.
Aye, the hares of the Long Patrol, my lads,
Love friendship more than gold.
We’ll share long days and tread hard ways,
Good comrades, brave and bold!”
Rubbadub completed the anthem with a long drumroll and a double boom as Tammo and Russa thumped out their
applause on the tree trunk.
The terrible twins, Tare and Turry, called out to Tammo, “Come on, come on, you’ve got to jolly well sing us one
back!”
“Aye, so y’have, sing up, Tamm, you look as if y’could belt out a good ditty!”
Russa Nodrey noted the horrified look on Tammo’s face, and smiled wryly at Perigord. “Hah! Look at ’im, that’n
would sooner be boiled in the soup than sing wid yore pretty Pasque sittin’ next to ’im!”
She spared Tammo further embarrassment by volunteering herself. “Ye can’t expect that hare t’sing whilst ’e’s
recoverin’ from an injury. I’ll do my anthem for you, ’tis called ‘The Song of the Stick.’ Though I usually sings it
when I’m alone.”
Leaping up, Russa began twirling her small hardwood staff, tossing it in the air, catching it on her tail, flicking it
back overhead into her paws, and spinning it until it became a blur as she sang:
“This ain’t a sword, it ain’t a spear,
An arrow, nor a bow,
‘Tis just a thing I carries ’round
With me where e’er I go.
It cannot talk or grumble,
And never answers back,
But it can sniff out vermin
An’ land ’em such a crack!
O my liddle stick o’ wood, my liddle stick o’ wood,
Whacks here’n’there an’ everywhere,
No weapon’s half so good,
An’ I am tellin’ you,
My friend so stout’n’true,
This liddle piece o’ timber
Has always seen me through.
It’ll wallop a weasel, sock a stoat,
Or fling a ferret from ’is coat,
‘Twould knock a fox clean out his socks,
My liddle stick o’ wood!”
The hares gathered ’round, applauding Russa, who was still performing tricks with the hardwood, which seemed as
though it had a life of its own.
Tammo waved at her. “Thanks, matey, that was great!”
Russa came over to whisper in his ear. “I wouldn’t do it fer any otherbeast, Tamm, performin’ in public ain’t my
thing. So remember, you owe me one, pal.”
When the meal and the entertainment were over, Major Perigord gave out his orders.
“Heads down now, chaps, we move out at dawn. Rockjaw, take first watch. Riffle, Midge, reeky ’round a bit, see if
y’can pick up the vermin trail for the mornin’. Compliments an’ g’night, troop.”
Russa and Perigord sat by the fire, long after the rest were asleep, conversing in low tones.
“What brings you an’ the Patrol over thisways, friend?”
“Rapscallions an’ Lady Cregga Rose Eyes’s commands. We travel on her orders, Russa. Last winter we did battle
with old Gormad Tunn an’ his army, never seen so many vermin in me life, wot! Well, we gave ’em the drubbin’ they
richly deserved an’ sent the scum packin’. Great loss o’ life on both sides, but Rapscallions got the worst of it, by
m’left paw they did! Our Badger Lady was like a pack o’ wolves rolled into onebeast when the Bloodwrath came upon
her. They took off like scalded crabs an’ we pursued ’em almost into deep water, hackin’ an’ smashin’ at their fleet,
did a fair part of damage to it. Hah, off they sailed, screamin’ an’ cursin’ something dreadful!”
Russa stared into the fire. “Evil murderin’ beasts, ’twas all they deserved!”
The elegant Major stroked his mustachios reflectively. “Trouble is, nobeast seems t’know where the blighters went.
We know Rapscallions don’t sail out on the open seas, they hug the coasts an’ make raids from their ships. So we’re
certain they can’t have had their fleet sunk out at sea an’ got themselves drowned, worst luck. Lady Rose Eyes is
extremely worried, y’see they’ve dropped completely out of sight, over a thousand Rapscallions, with Gormad Tunn
and those two evil sons of his, Damug an’ Byral. Our Badger Lady figures that the cads are layin’ up someplace,
plannin’ a major comeback. Huh, they won’t come near Salamandastron again, but she’s of the opinion, an’ rightly so,
that the great Rapscallion army’11 find a target easier than our mountain. Russa, I tell you, with a mob o’ that
magnitude they could create a veritable bloodbath anyplace!”
Russa nodded her agreement. “So she sent you an’ yore troop out to track ’em down?”
Perigord stirred the embers with his sabertip. “That she did, old friend, and we searched most o’ the winter until
we located today’s gang. But they’re only a blinkin’ fraction of the main band, must’ve had their ship blown off
course an’ wrecked. I think they’re travelin’ overland to join up with the others, that’s why we’re trailin”em. Pity we
had to show our paws by attackin’ them today, but I couldn’t let you an’ young Tammo be slain by those
foul
blackguards.”
Russa patted the Major’s left paw gratefully. “Thanks, Perigord. I wasn’t greatly bothered, but it’d be a shame
t’see a fine young hare like Tammo butchered by vermin. I brought him along with me because ’tis his life’s ambition
to join the Long Patrol. ’E idolizes you lot.”
The hare squinted along the length of his saberblade. “I could see that. Bear in mind, both Tammo’s mater’n’pater
ran with the Patrol once. He comes of good fightin’ stock, that young ’un. Officer material, I shouldn’t wonder, wot?”
Both beasts sat silently, watching the flames die to embers. Russa finally stretched out in the shelter of the beech
log and said, “If you take him with yer I’ll come along for the trip. Promised his ma I’d look out fer ’im. Wot’s yore
next move?”
The Major unbuttoned his tunic and lay down. “Sleep what’s left o’ the night, I s’pose, then carry on trailin’ the
vermin an’ see where they go. Though if they persist in trav-elin’ south I’ll have to stop ’em permanent—can’t have
those killers wanderin’ up the path to Redwall Abbey. Lady Cregga’d have an absolute fit if she knew we’d let a gang
o’ bloodthirsty thieves anywhere near the Abbey.”
Russa rolled over so that her back was warmed by the embers. “Fits right in with my plans. I was plannin’ on
visitin’ ole Abbess Tansy, an’ of course there’s always the famous Redwall kitchens, no grub better in the land!”
Major Perigord Habile Sinistra licked his lips dreamily. “I’m right with you there, old sport!”
14
Arven was jerked into wakefulness by Shad the otter Gatekeeper. The burly creature was cloaked and carrying a
lantern. “All paws on deck, mate, yore needed at the wall!”
Wordlessly, the squirrel donned his tunic and grabbed a cloak, then the pair stole out of the dormitory silently,
loath to waken young Redwallers still sleeping.
Descending the spiral stairs to the ground floor, Shad explained what had taken place. “I was asleep in the
gatehouse not an hour back when Skipper an’ his otter crew arrived. Funny, I sez, I was comin’ over t’see you today,
messmate. Was you now, sez ’e t’me, well that is funny, Shad, ’cos I couldn’t sleep fer dreamin’ that summat was
amiss at the Abbey, so I roused the crew an’ set course for ’ere right away! Well, there’s a stroke o’ luck, sez I to ’im,