Rekaby tweaked Swiffo’s rudder. “Beg y’pardon, but yore supposed t’be reporting t’me, not chattin’ away to them two. Now, tell me all that went on, an’ any good new words ye’ve heard.”
Swiffo took a great gulp from a gourd of pennycloud cordial, then took up the tale.
“Big ship out to sea. Saw our friends here make their dive from it. Great ole green-sailed tub it is, packed with searats an’ corsairs. I thought these two weren’t goin’ t’make the shore, ’specially when somebeast aboard fired a big arrow at ’em. Coloshuss it was, like a pine tree with flights, but it missed ’em. So, next thing the Whoomers comes t’the rescue, puts the ’edgehogs on land, safe’n’sound. Then after slayin’ a few vermin, those Whoomers starts tormentin’ the big ship, haulin’ it to’n’fro, hurlin’ the vermins’ weapons back at ’em. I tell ye, Whoomers knows ’ow to enjoy theirselves!”
Swiffo broke off to dip another parsnip into the honey, but Rekaby chivvied him on.
“So, what happened then—an’ did ye hear any new words?”
The young otter munched away reflectively. “I heard those vermin usin’ lots o’ new words when they was shoutin’ at the Whoomers, but I ain’t about to repeat ’em with maids present. Though there was two—bottlenosed an’ pestilential.’Ow do they sound to ye?”
Rekaby repeated them slowly, then nodded. “Better’n nothin’, I suppose. Well, is that all, ye lackadaisical rip?”
Swiffo licked honey from his paws, winking at the old one. “Oh, no. I was savin’ the best for last. Here’s wot’appened. The Whoomers left off playin’ with the ship an’ went off after a herrin’ shoal. Then a one-eyed uglymugged beast came on deck an’ ordered the ship t’sail for shore.”
Uggo interrupted. “That’ll be Razzid Wearat. He’s the cap’n.”
Swiffo prodded him with a sticky parsnip. “Ahoy, d’ye mind? I’m tellin’ this story. Anyhow, ye’ll never guess wot’appened next!”
Rekaby gave the young otter a long-suffering glance. “No, Swiffo, I’ll never guess what ’appened next, but I’d be pleased to hear it from ye.”
Swiffo covered his mouth, emitting a muffled giggle. “I wouldn’t ’ave believed it if I didn’t see it with me own two eyes, but that ship came sailin’ right up t’the beach, then rolled out o’ the sea an’ along the shore like a big wagon with sails—”
Rekaby’s paw shot up. “Stop right there, young un! The ship came out o’ the sea an’ went along the shore. How?”
Swiffo shrugged. “It’s got wheels, y’see, four of ’em. If’n ye don’t believe me, then go an’ take a look!”
For an old squirrel, Rekaby rose nimbly. “Foober, you an’ Laka gather up the babes! The rest of ye, douse the fire, pack up camp an’ make ready to travel. Uggo, Posy, Swiffo, Fiddy an’ Frudd, come with me!”
Swiffo led the way as the others followed. Posy trotted alongside Fiddy and Frudd, two hairy vole brothers. She could not help noticing they were unarmed.
“Don’t you carry weapons?”
Fiddy shook his head. “None of us Fortunate Freepaw tribe do. We avoid violence an’ offer it to none.”
Leading them along a tortuous path through the dunes, Swiffo came to his former vantage point on a high, reeded sandhill. He pointed upshore triumphantly.
“See for yoreselves!”
16
Mowlag judged the distance between the flat shoreline and the dunetops. “Don’t see ’ow we’ll catch ’em if’n they’ve gone up there, Cap’n.”
Razzid wiped at his weeping eye, answering caustically, “I didn’t think ye would. D’ye recall who got us atop o’ the dunes by the stripedog mountain?”
Jiboree wagged his head admiringly. “That was you, Cap’n!”
The Wearat nodded. “Right, an’ here’s how ye do it. First we find the easiest of these dunes, the smallest. Then ’tis just like steerin’ a ship at sea. Get the wind behind ye, then tack an’ weave from a distance away. Get the crew standin’ by to punt with the oars on both sides. We gets up speed on the flat, then goes full sail at the smallest hill. Soon as we hit it, the crew start helpin’ her up by pushin’ with the oars. Remember now, mudbrain?”
Mowlag tugged his snout meekly. “Aye, Cap’n, ’twas yore idea. Once we’re up, it’s like sailin’ up an’ down the waves.”
Swiffo and the others watched Greenshroud from where they crouched in the dunetop reeds.
Frudd scratched his bushy head. “Wot are they up to? Maybe they’re goin’ back to sea, eh?”
Rekaby, who had been eyeing the vessel keenly, shook his head. “I don’t think so. Look, she’s caught the breeze on the turn to get up a fair lick along the hard sand.”
Swiffo gasped. “Lookit the speed it’s goin’ now, good gosh!”
With a stiff breeze bellying out all sails, Greenshroud really whipped along below the tideline. Suddenly the big craft changed course, thundering at an angle toward the lowest dune. Excited shouts could be heard from the vermin as their ship hit the reeded slope. Oarpoles shot out, port and starboard, digging into the sand to keep up the momentum. The wheels scarce had time to settle on the duneside. It was an amazing sight.
Gaining the dunetop, Greenshroud careered off across the hilly summits, skilfully steered by corsairs heaving and slacking the rigging and ratlines under Razzid Wearat’s command.
Rekaby kept his head low, muttering to his companions, “I think ’tis time we weren’t here!” The small party made a hasty retreat, though as they surmounted the next dune, a hoarse cry rang out from Greenshroud’s lookout at the mainmast peak.
“Ahoy, Cap’n, there they go, the two ’ogs an’ four otherbeasts. Straight ahead, an’ a point starboard. See ’em, Cap’n? Atop o’ that dune, crouchin’ down!”
Old Rekaby shook his head woefully. “D’ye hear that, the bottlenosed curs have spotted us. I wonder how they managed that.”
Young Swiffo knew. “It’s that ole tail o’your’n. Sticks up like a curly silver flag. We’d best make ourselves scarce!”
Rekaby sighed. “Aye, but don’t take the trail back to our Fortunate Freepaws, or they’ll be huntin’ us all down.”
Fiddy pointed northeast. “We’ll lead ’em away from our tribe first. Then try to lose the villains somehow.”
Posy looked doubtfully at the suggested route. “But we’ll be leaving the dunes for the heathland. Surely they’ll overtake us easily on the flat.”
Swiffo grinned mischievously. “Hah, but you don’t know this country like we do, miz!”
Greenshroud was rolling along smoothly under Razzid’s command. Driven by the breeze under full sail, the ship glided uphill and down dale without a hitch.
The Wearat yelled up to his lookout, “Where away are they now, Redtail?”
The keen-sighted stoat laughed aloud, pointing. “Haharrharr! The fools are makin’ fer the flatlands, Cap’n. We’ll run ’em down wid no trouble!”
Jiboree grinned wickedly. “We kin keep the liddle ’ogs’til they tell us where Redwall is. But wot d’ye say we does wid the rest, Cap’n?”
Razzid twirled his trident, imitating a spit. “Been a while since we ’ad somethin’ that wasn’t bird or fish. Some roast red meat would cheer us all up, eh!”
Now the fugitives were on the heathland, which apart from some scrub, was level ground. Uggo managed to run up front with Swiffo.
“I hope ye know wot yore doin’, mate.”
The young otter glanced back over his shoulder. “Save yore breath, friend. That wheely boat’ll soon be out o’ the dunes. Lissen, wot can ye hear?”
Uggo listened carefully. “Nothin’ much. Wot d’ye want me to hear, Swiffo?”