14

The onset of night in the dungeons of Castle Floret weighed deeply on Mariel and Dandin. They sat on the wide window ledge, tired, hungry, and sore, watching the moon hanging like a buttered disc over the valley. Mariel was using the rope that had bound their footpaws to fash-ion a new Gullwhacker. As she worked, she wondered dolefully if she would ever get a chance to use it.

Dandin, half awake and half asleep, was imagining himself back at his beloved Redwall, strolling through the moonlit orchard with his friend Saxtus after supper, as the great Joseph bell softly boomed out the quarter; hearing the distant voice of Mother Mellus from the dormitory windows as she shooed Dibbuns off to bed; sensing the odors of apple, plum, strawberry, and pear on the still, fragrant air. He was roused from his reverie by Mariels voice.

“How does he do it? That old Field Marshal will sleep through anythinglook at him.

Meldrum the Magnificent was lying full stretch, his weighty stomach rising and falling to each snore. Dandin watched him, envious of the hares capacity to recede into slumber at the wink of an eye.

Mariel stared up at the moon, speaking her thoughts aloud. “That same moon will be shining over the Abbey now. Ill bet my dad has taken himself off to bed; hes another one who can sleep anytime, night or day, it makes no difference to him.

Dandin looked away from the window to the stark, hostile interior of their cell, “Makes you wonder if we11 ever see Redwall again, he said, his voice wistful. “Though at the moment a beaker of water and a crust of bread would be a welcome sight.

To take her friends mind off food, Mariel climbed down from the window ledge and said, “We havent explored this cell yet. Come onlets see if we can find a weak spot to escape from.

Dandin slid from the window ledge to join her. “It all looks pretty solid and secure to me; they didnt build this place with a view to letting anyone break out.

Together they inspected the dungeon. Walls and floor alike were heavy, close-jointed stone. Dandin tried probing the narrow cracks with his paws but soon gave up. “Hammer and chiseld help. Know anywhere we could borrow em? he said.

Mariel was staring upward. “Hmm, ceilings the same, rock solid. Lets take a look at the window bars.

Meldmm was lying in their way, and they had to move him. The old hare opened one eye and muttered, “Whatn the name of flattened frogs are you chaps up to? Distur-bin my nocturnal repose, wot. No respect for age at all, thats the trouble with this young generation!

“Were sounding the place out, looking for ways of escape, said Mariel suppressing a smile. “Dyou mind moving away from the bars, sir?

Meldrum moved, rather huffily. “Whatcha goin tdo, rip the bars out an fly away?

Dandin was kicking the bars with his footpaws. “A chance is a chance, no matter how slim. Huh, its no chance here thoughcreature who put these bars in knew what he was doing. Theyre bedded tight, set in the stone with molten lead; deep, too, I imagine.

Meldrum sat up. He stretched and yawned. “Ah well, no rest for the righteous, I spose. So then, escape ysay, lets see. How did we get into this lockup?

“How did we get in here? said Mariel, looking at him quizzically. “Obviously by way of the door!

The hare wiggled his ears so that they rubbed together. “Full marks, young mouseygel. Now youre startin to think properly, wot! Stands to reason, dont it, if the door is the entrance its also the bally exit. Doors were made to close ... and open, so lets inspect the jolly old portal!

Together the three captives moved to the door. Mariel and Dandin, bowing to Meldrums seniority, let him take over. “Righty ho, young Dandin, bang loudly on this door, please.

Without question Dandin started thumping as hard as he could. Nothing happened for a moment, then there was a sound of footpaws and a drowsy, irritable guards voice rasped out, “Stop that bangin in there, prisoners!

Meldrum adopted a whimpering tone. “Please, sir, we want a drink of water.

His plea was followed by a harsh laugh from the guard.

“Water? You three aint allowed no water. Huh, only water youll get is when they fling yer dead bodies inter the moat, now be quiet or youll get a taste of me spear-point. Shurrup, dyer ear?

This was followed by footpaws receding along the outside corridor. Meldrum winked, signaling them to keep their voices low. “Number one, weve established that theres a sentry on duty, out there night an day if Im not mistaken. Two, the villains armed with a spear; thatll come in useful when the time comes.

“What time, and how can a guard with a spear be useful to us? said Dandin.

The hare frowned. “Dont interrupt, laddie, unless yve got somethin useful tsay. Now, about this door ... Im willin to wager its got a simple dungeon lock; see if you can take a quick peek.

Dandin boosted Mariel up to the spyhole. By pushing her face hard sideways into it she strained her eye downward and was able to view the contrivance. “Youre right, sir, she said. “Its just a long bolt that pushes through a staple driven into the side wall, no real locks or keys. “Good, good, exactly as I thought! Meldrum snorted with satisfaction.

Dandin let Mariel down quietly. She shrugged saying, “Its a very strong bolt though, and weve no chance at all of reaching it.

Meldrum was busily scanning the other side of the door. “Why should we want treach it? Locks probly the strongest part of the door; were lookin for the weakest.

“And what part is that, sir? Mariel inquired.

The hare smiled craftily. “The hinges, of course! This is bettern I thought. Just look at these hinges, stupid things! The buffer who erected this door placed the hinges on the inside. Weakest part of a door, hinges, yknow, and these are no exception. Simple pin flattened both ends is the only thing holding this top one together; bottoms the same. Half rusted, too, I shouldnt wonder. There ygo, young warriors, remove two hingepins an the door can be shoved outward!

Dandin rubbed his paws delightedly. “Aye, and if we shove hard enough, the staple holding the bolt will be torn out of the wall by a big heavy door like this. The whole thing will fall flat into the corridor!

“I hate to put a damper on things, said Mariel, interrupting his jubilation, “but how are we going to cut through the hingepins with no tools?

Meldrum stroked his twirling mustachio thoughtfully. “Good question, good question. Ah well, a chaps got to make sacrifices, only one thing for it.

He inspected the medals left on his tunicsome of them had been lost as they were dragged along. Choosing carefully, he selected a huge, silver-colored orb with serrated edges. “See this? Order of the shining sun. Presented tme by molescant recall exactly what it was forjolly pretty though, doncha think. Very hard metal, made by mole craftbeasts, should do the job.

Mariel tore a strip from the edge of her tunic and wound it around the bar that held the medal. “Dandin, work on the hingepins together. Meldrum, sir, keep ;jm eye to the spyhole in case the guard comes.

Dandin took first try. Grunting with exertion, he and sawed with the medal. He rewound the strip of cloth around it often, as his paws got scratched and tender.

A quarter of the way through the bottom hingepin, Marie! relieved him, hacking and sawing busily. “Were not making too much noise, are we, sir? Can you see the guard?

Meldrum kept his eye glued to the spyhole. “No, not really, but I think the blighters kippin. I can hear him snore every now an then. Hows it goin?

“Its hard, but Im making good progress, said Mar-iel, groaning as she changed position. “Just a bit more on this one. Dandin, shove your footpaw against my back so I can lean harder on the medal. Thats it! A moment later she straightened up, holding a small length of rusty iron in her paw. “There it is, the bottom hingepin!

Heartened by the sight, Meldrum spat on his paws and took the medal from them. “You two take turns at the spyhole, leave the top hinge tme, wot?

Using his considerable weight and strength the hare went at the hingepin with a good deal of brute force. His sizeable stomach wobbled back and forth as he sawed, talking all the time to the remaining pin. “Hah! Think ycan stand against the strongest hare alive, eh? Let me tell you, mlittle feller, Ive picked bigger than you out o me molars after a good dinner!

Gritting his teeth, Meldrum braced long hindpaws against the floor as he worried and tugged the hingepin. “Come out! Out, I say, sir! Gotcha, you rusty blighter! The door stood free of its hinges, held only by the bolt staple. Meldrum the Magnificent winked at his comrades. “Stage one completed! Stage two, how to proceed with a simple escape. Lissen carefully in the ranks than!

The rat on guard was rudely awakened by panicked cries from the new prisoners.

“Guard, help, help! Aagh! Look whats in our cell! Help!

Grumbling to himself, he shouldered his spear and lurched dozily along the corridor. “Wot is it now? Will you three in there give your gobs a rest! Soon as I can, Im goin to ave yous gagged! He appeared at the spyhole waving his spear. “Shut that noise up, wots the matter ... ?

Dashing from the far side of the cell the three prisoners hurled themselves bodily at the door.

Crash!

The staple holding the bolt flew from the wall as the door thudded flat into the corridor with the guard beneath it. Reaching under the door, Meldrum retrieved the guards spear and unfastened the keys from his belt. Marie! twirled her new Gullwhacker.

Dandin motioned them to be silent. “Sshh! Lets wait a moment to see if the noise has alerted anybeast ...

They stood stock-still for a short while. There was no response or indication that anyone had heard. Meldrum stole softly down the corridor, spear poised, to see if rats were on their way. As he passed one cell, a hoarse voice called him. “Meldrum the Magnificent, is it really you?

The hare had to look twice through the spyhole before he recognized the cells occupant. “Seasons of slaughter! King Gael!

Swiftly unlocking the door, he hauled forth a squirrel, thin to the point of emaciation. Mariel and Dandin hurried forward to help support the frail figure of the Squirrelking.

A raucous cackle issued from the next cell. “Gwaw! Norra nuff to mayka dinna thirr!

Dandin peered through the spyhole, but withdrew hastily as the tip of a pointed beak sought his eye. Meldrum drew him to one side and, using the speartmtt, the hare rapped the beak sharply until it withdrew. Standing a cautious distance away, he looked through the spyhole.

Mariel was filled with curiosity. “What is it? Whats in there? she said.

“Kchakchakcha! Glokkpod inna hirr! “By the ancient ears of me grandsires, said Meldrum, turning to Mariel and Dandin, “its a shrike! “Whats a shrike? both mice chorused together. The hare pointed to the cell with his spear. “A maniac killer, thats what a shrike is. Butcher Birds some call em! Not as big as some owls, biggern most hawks hereabouts, but more dangerous than the lot of em! Stab yto death with that beak an hang you out on a thombush like some cob o meat, thats why theyre known as Butcher Birds. Very rare, stremely dangerous!

There was a flap on the bottom of the door to allow food to be pushed in. Meldrum held it up to let his friends see the shrike.

Gael sat against the far wall of the corridor breathing heavily.

“Hes called Glokkpod, said the Squirrelking. “He flew in there when they were replacing the old bars, and they blocked the window. Poor birds been living in the darkthey torment it with spears just for ftm.

Mariel and Dandin could see the strange bird. It was indeed a great, red-backed shrike. The mousemaid murmured in a kindly tone to it, “Hello there, dont be afraid of us. Im Mariel and this is Dandin, Meldrum, and Gael.

Obviously crazed through captivity, the shrike laughed. “Kchakchakcha! I Glokkpod, fraida nothin, Glokkpod killa! Watcha me alltime, badbird!

Dandin looked away from the wild glittering eyes. “Whew! Wouldnt like to meet him on a dark night.

Glokkpod inched closer to the flap. “Wouldan like meet me anytime, mousa!

Meldrum shoved the shrike back with his spearbutt, saying, “This is gettin us nowhere, chaps. Weve got to make good our escape an take poor ol Gael with us. I say there, Glukkpuddle, or whatever ycall yself, listen! If you aint with us, youre against us. Fraid I havent time t bandy words with you, understand?

He received a swift reply. “Openna door longears, Glokkpod witcha, killa rats, lotsa rats!

The hare unlocked the cell and, standing to one side, be shoved the door open with his speartip. Glokkpod hopped out, eyes glittering, beak flicking from side to side. “Glokkpod badbird, killa anybist!

Mariel whispered to Dandin, “Looks like weve caught a whirlwind by the tail! Swinging her Gull whacker, she brought it within a hairbreadth of the shrikes eye. “Try killing this bist, and youre a loser!

Completely unafraid, Glokkpod winked one beady eye at her. “Glokkpod make jokah, kchakchakcha! Ony killa rats!

“Help! Help! Murder! Escapin prisoners, rouse the guard! The rat sentry had crawled out from under the fallen doorhe scampered off down the corridor in the opposite direction of the escapers, shrieking full blast. He was too far away to be caughtMeldrums spear bounced harmlessly off the wall, and he threw up his paws in disgust.

“Tchah! Thats blown it; theyll be on us in force soon. Which way now. We cant go down, theyll be comin up!

Mariel shouldered her Gullwhacker. “Like I said yesterday, theres only one way to go. Up!

The sound of masses of hordebeasts dashing toward them clinched the issue. Supporting Gael, the three friends sped along the corridor and up the flight of stairs at the far end. Glokkpod brought up the rear.

It was a stone spiral staircase, and it did not take them long to realize they were in a narrow round tower. The stairs seemed to continue endlessly upward, terminating in a small circular chamber. Sounds of guards pounding their way upward reached them. Dandin shut the door and barred it from the inside. Crossing to a narrow slit window he looked out.

“Were twice as high up as we were before; it makes me dizzy just looking down. Were as high up as anybeast can go in this castle. Lets face it, weve trapped ourselves good and proper this time!

As he spoke, the first spearblades and axeheads came crashing through the door.