After the dubbins had eaten they scattered. Skipper was having a hard enough time. Weaket and the squirrel, who was called Tilly, wandered to the top of the walls. They where doing silly impressions of Abbess Sonsa.

"What is you likkle uns doing in mista Gother's kitchen?"

"You paws is all muckied up"

"You's very bad pinchen all da nuts"

Their play was interrupted when a voice from outside the wall called up. "Hello? Is any one there?"

The two little heads poked over the wall to see who was calling. They saw a great striped creature looking up at them. It called up again. "Hello?"

Tilly was the first to answer, "Who is you? What is you?"

The creature called back "I'm Inka, I'm a badger. Who are you? Are you vermin?"

It was Weaket's turn to speak. "I be no vermints. I be Weaket, a otter, and this be Tilly, she be squiggle"

"There are no vermin there?"

"No vermints. They be bad"

"Do you have food?"

"Yes, lotsa, lotsa food"

"Can I have some?"

Tilly reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of scone she was saving. "Here are a food" She threw it down and Inka caught it.

"Is that all?"

"No, we got bigs cakes and pies and cheeses, but they all to big to fit in pockets"

"Can you get me some?"

"No, mista Gother, he bosses the kitchens, he says we not go in there"

"Please, my family is really hungry and we are running out of food"

"Who be you family?"

"They're badgers, like me, my sister and my brother is about your age and my other brother is a little younger than me"

"You eat lots?"

"Yes"

"Then I get you losta yummy food. Then you eat it all up. Yum, yum. Weaket stay here, I get food"

"Thank you"

"No thank you needs"

Tilly was down the steps and running to the kitchen in no time. When she got to the kitchen Gother stopped her from entering.

"Move away mista Gother, me get vikkles for friend"

"Oh no, you just want to get at those candied nuts again. You and your little friends have eaten enough till dinner"

"This friend not likkle like me. This one big! Bigger than you. The biggerest beast you seed."

"Oh?"

"She has brothers and a sister. I didn't see them but they be bigger than you too"

"And let me guess she had purple fur with green spots"

"No silly, she have black fur and a big white stripe"

Gother suddenly became interested. "And where did you see her?"

"Outside da south wall. Me and Weaket sawed her when we climbed." Tilly stopped talking realising that she was in trouble for going on the wall.

"You went on the wall?"

Tilly nodded dumbly.

"Well, lets get your friend's food"

Tilly was happy once more. They gathered a meal for Inka and went to the south wall gate. Gother unlatched the gate and opened it. There was no one there.

"Where's your friend" asked Gother.

Tilly looked up the wall at Weaket. "Where'd she go?"

Weaket pointed to the woods. "She runned away when yous opens the door"

Gother was starting to get fed up. "Look you two. I don't have time for games"

"This no game. This real. Really" pleaded Tilly.

"Fine, you know what? To prove you wrong I'll leave the food here and when I come back later, if it's gone, I'll believe you. But now I have work to do" Gother placed the tray on the ground and went back to the gate. No sooner than Tilly was in that he latched the gate shut. "Weaket, will you come down from there"

"I wanna say bye to Inka"

"Make it fast"

"Bye, Inka. Say hi to your brothers and sister for I"

"And me to" said Tilly.

Gother decided to play along. "And me to Inka"

What a surprise he had when he heard a voice call back "Thank you friends. I will visit again. I'll tell my siblings your message too" Then there was the sound of a tray clattering to the ground.

Gother quickly pulled back the locks and flung the gate open. But the badger was gone and the only thing left of the food he left was the tray he brought it out on.