Marlfox [Redwall 11] by Brian Jacques

Author:Brian Jacques
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fantasy, Juvenile Fiction, General, Action & Adventure, Fiction
ISBN: 9781407050102
Publisher: RHCB
Published: 2010-06-02T01:04:51+00:00

Chapter 19

Martin the Warrior strode through Dannflor's dream. He pricked the young squirrel's footpaw with his swordtip, uttering only one word. "Awake!"

Dannflor woke and sat up. The sword he had been holding loosely in his sleep had slipped free and nicked his footpaw.

The first thing he saw was a big scraggy ferret, with a raven's feather braided to his tail, brandishing a scimitar, as he and a band of about twenty other ferrets crept up on the four friends. Dann shouted a warning to his companions. "Look out, ambush!"

Dann had never been so frightened in his life. The ferrets had them outnumbered by five to one. Moreover, they were a savage, murderous-looking bunch, yellow-fanged, heavily armed and red-eyed with blood lust. He heard Song yelling, "Run for it!"

Dann plunged off into the trees, pounding along as fast as his paws would go. He briefly saw the others begin to run. Song was fleet of paw. She ducked two of the vermin and fled into the thickets, but Dippler and Burble were not so lucky. Still sleepy-eyed, they were cut off and brought down by a group of the fastest ferret runners. Sobbing with fear, Dann ran as he had never run before, dodging around trees, dashing through nettlebeds, stumbling and tripping through roots hidden beneath deep, damp loam. Behind him he could hear the wild barbarous screeches of the ferrets, and their swords slashing at the undergrowth as they came after him. Chest burning, heart pounding, breath torn from him in ragged gasps, Dann blundered onward, still clutching the sword of Martin. They were getting closer, shouting now.

"Roundaround tharraway, we's gorrim nowsoon. Kye arrrrr!"

Desperately Dann looked about as he ran, then he saw it. A four-topped oak with thick limbs and an impenetrable profusion of leaves. Dann shinned up it, scraping his paws and barking his shins. Thrusting the sword between his teeth, he swung up through the thick boughs and stowed himself amid a clump of leafy twigs. Moments later his pursuers grouped below the oak, brandishing an ugly array of bladed weapons. They slashed at the bushes, hunting this way and that.

"Whereda squirl gotoo, you'va seed 'im?"

"Karrabah! Twoda squirls gerraway. Quickyquick, dose squirlers!"

"Gorra voler ander shrewbeast. Key arr, goodyerr!"

Scarcely daring to breathe, Dann lay flat on a limb, surrounded by oak foliage. He watched the jabbering ferrets, arguing and thrashing at fern and bush alike with their curved scimitars. When they had searched around awhile, one of them bared his stained fangs and pointed in the direction of the creekbank. "Wego backnow back-now, lotsafun, voler, shrewbeast.

Rabbagakk!" Screeching and whooping excitedly, they dashed off.

Half sliding, half scrambling, Dann came down from the oak onto the ground. Burying the sword deep in the soft earth, the young squirrel sank into a crouch, lowering his head into both paws and letting hot tears of shame flood down his face.

Coward! His father had been right. He had run like a frightened Dibbun, leaving his friends to the enemy.

It was the sound of his fitful sobbing that led Song to find Dann.

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