Martin felt much better knowing that his friend was at least somewhat safer. He himself felt reassured to be in a larger company. He wasn't the only one who enjoyed the larger group. Mlira and Topra seemed to be getting along quite nicely with Drakk and Wyst. He watched now as the four otters merrily set about making breakfast together. They were all having a wonderful time, laughing merrily with and at each other.

As Martin observed the friendships developing between them and everyone in the new group, he firmly hoped that they would all come out safe in whatever lay ahead. At the moment what lay ahead of them was a mouth-watering breakfast. The otters had been appointed official chefs of the group. Gonff had tried to make himself the official dish-taster, but without success.

Martin laughed as Gonff walked over to the otters, than stared hard at something in the distance. The four otters turned to look at what Gonff was staring at, and the mousethief quickly grabbed a bowl, and topped it up with a generous helping of skilly-'n-duff. He then set it behind a bush and then turned back to the confused otters. A more innocent-looking face could not have been picked out by vermin from five score of newborn woodland creatures. Gonff acted casual as he gestured over to one direction, shaking his head and telling the otters that whatever he claimed had been there had vanished. Still looking puzzled, the otters turned back to their cooking as Gonff leaned over the bush, rescued his bowl of stolen food, and strolled away to sit behind a tree.

Martin walked up to his friend and said in feigned surprise, "Oh, so they're serving breakfast already. Funny, I thought they weren't going to call us for a while." He winked at Gonff. "Well, perhaps an honest mouse like yourself would be so kind as to offer your matey a meager portion."

Gonff groaned good-naturedly. "You blackmailer!" He laughed, then offered Martin the bowl. Martin took a taste and passed it back, sighing contentedly. "Good old skilly-'n duff. I always did like that dish. Of course, whenever we have it at the Abbey, it somehow walks off all by itself, usually accompanied by a few pies and puddings."

Gonff pretended to look concerned. "That's not good. Some villain is out stealing our vittles and depriving good, honest, half-fed creatures such as myself of the nourishment we growing creatures need!"

Martin laughed. "Imagine that. Although I must say, part of your information is incorrect. You're not growing much anymore, my good, honest, half-fed friend, unless you count sideways!"

Gonff flung himself on his friend in mock fury, carefully setting the bowl aside before doing so. "How dare you! I challenge you, matey, to a race down to the bank!"

Martin considered. "I'll take you up on that, matey!" He sprang up, pushed Gonff over, and headed for the bank. He was nearly there when Gonff shoved him from behind, sent him sprawling into the river, and ducked him under.

"You're the one who'll have to be growing, mate. You'll need to grow yourself some gills if you can't get above water soon!"

Martin was saved as the otters yelled out that it was time for breakfast. Forgetting his threat, Gonff sprang up, charged up the bank, and then slowed down to a calm, dignified pace as he stood first in line. The otters served their friends, then filled up their own bowls and joined their friends underneath a large tree. It was a fun breakfast, and everyone laughed merrily.

Everyone seemed fine, but Martin noticed that every once in a while Gonff would stop talking and laughing to stare out at the river. Martin realized that although Gonff acted like his old self, he would not be the happy-go-lucky Prince of Mousethieves everyone loved until he had his wife and son back. Looking at Gonff's face, the warrior mouse knew he would do anything it took to get his Columbine and Gonflet back. Martin decided then that he would help Gonff do what he needed to do, no matter what. Whether Gonff wanted it or not, Martin was going to be at his side throughout the whole journey. Gonff was going to get his family back.

When Columbine woke that morning, her mind felt sharper and clearer than it had felt in quite a while. She got out of bed, careful not to disturb Gonflet, and walked over to the door. All was silent. Columbine sat back down on the bed and waited. She needed noise for her plan to work.

Some time later the mouse lifted her head as she heard the sound of a coil of rope fall to the deck with a thud. She heard the harsh voices of vermin talking and laughing and knew it was time to get to work. Columbine reached under the bed and removed a small bundle wrapped in some ragged cloth. Opening it, she looked at the tools Delpa had brought her the night before. There were several knives, most of them dull and bent. There was an assortment of utensils meant to be used for cutting and slicing food, as well as some forks, spoons, and miscellaneous items Delpa had smuggled with her on the off chance that they would be of any use.

Columbine sighed. It wasn't much, but it was the best she could get. The mouse selected a slightly curved knife with a blade that wasn't as blunt as the others. She placed the bundle and its contents back under the bed, and then took the knife and went to the corner of the room near the door. Her hope was that to anyone who entered the room, this spot was least likely to be noticed. Fervently hoping she was right, she began to work.

Columbine started to pick away at the wall with the knife as quietly as possible. She couldn't dig it in as hard as she would have liked, as someone would have heard it. The mouse scraped away at the wall for hours, stopping when she heard footsteps or voices near her door. It was slow, tedious work, but she was glad to be doing something.

Around the middle of the day, Columbine heard a timid knock at her door. She hastily covered the tool and the scraped wall with a piece of cloth that had been used to wrap the bundle. Then she hurried to the door. "Who is it?" she asked, fairly certain of the answer, but aware of the need for caution.

"It's me, Delpa," came the familiar answer. Columbine opened the door, let her friend in, and closed it again. Delpa brought the bundle she was carrying over to the bed. Columbine was surprised. "Delpa, you brought more? I think I have all the knives I'll need---"

The mouse stopped talking as she saw what her friend had brought. "I wasn't sure if this will work, but I thought that if it blended with the wall, you could use it to disguise the hole," the hedgehog explained, holding up the large square of material she had brought. "The kitchen is in bad shape. This is a piece of the wall that was coming off. No one will notice."

The mouse held the piece up against the wall. It was the exact same shade. Columbine hugged her friend fondly. "This is perfect! It'll match so well I'll have trouble finding it!" she exclaimed happily.

Delpa smiled, then held up the rest of the contents that had been in her new bundle. She was holding several large, heavy-duty pins. "I thought you might be able to hold it in place with these."

"That's a good idea. Thank you," the mouse said as she embraced her friend again. Then she laughed. "This plan just might work!"

Delpa nodded. "I hope it does. How's the hole coming?"

Columbine sighed. "Not great, but at least it's coming," she showed her friend the progress she had been making. "So far, I've only been able to scrape away a layer or so of the wood. I'm hoping to make an actual hole some time today. Then I'll widen it," the pretty mousewife paused. "Of course, there's not much more I can do after that. The rest is up to Gonff."

The group set off down the river again, this time with the two boats together. They had decided that there should be two otters in each boat, since they knew the river and the boats best. Drakk and Mlira took control of one boat, and Wyst and Topra commandeered the other. The two pairs of otters seemed to be hitting it off nicely, talking and laughing as they guided the boats down the river.

Gonff, Martin and Dinny stayed together in Drakk and Mlira's boat, and Wyst and Topra packed all the food and supplies into their boat. It was a good arrangement, except for Gonff being reluctant to be parted from the food, and he good-naturedly accused Wyst and Topra of attempting to keep it all for themselves, claiming that it was a conspiracy. The group was content and full of laughter as they were swept along down the river.

Martin was watching Gonff closely. Although the mousethief was laughing and joking as usual, Martin could see his friend was not quite himself. Still, he did seem to be much better in the company of the others.

As if reading his mind, Gonff winked at him. "Enjoying the trip, matey?"

Martin grinned back. "I could ask you the same," he grew serious. "Really, though, how are you holding up, mate?"

Gonff smiled. "It all seems to be going well. Although it could be better," his eyes got a faraway look.

Martin nodded his head in understanding. "I know. It would be better if Columbine and Gonflet were here."

Gonff pretended to look surprised. "No, matey, I meant if the food was on our boat!" he looked so solemn for a minute that Martin laughed. Then Gonff grew serious.

"To tell you the truth, I wish they were here, but even more I wish they were back at the Abbey, safe and sound. And I wish I was with them." Gonff was quiet as he thought about his wife and son. Then he turned to Martin. "Mate, what are we going to do once we catch up to the ship? I don't have a plan. At least, not one that doesn't endanger the rest of the crew. When I was by myself..." Gonff trailed off, looking embarrassed.

Martin understood. "When you were by yourself, you probably had a dozen plans, all involving you jumping recklessly onto the ship, getting revenge on whoever took Columbine and Gonflet, and then saving them."

Gonff smiled. "Aye, that's pretty much it. I had all these ideas of catching up and just jumping aboard, making the vermin who took them wish they'd never been born, and then just somehow saving them and getting away. It never really occurred to me that it wouldn't work like that. I wouldn't have a chance of even getting near a ship like that, crewed by scores of the sneaky vermin, and getting off alive and with my family would be impossible," he paused. "Of course, I don't think I really thought much about getting myself off. The plans mostly ended with me paying back the scum. But even the first part can't work without a real plan. I've got to think of something, matey." The mousethief's face was fierce with concentration.

Martin patted his friend on the shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll think of something, mate. We'll talk to the others the next time we're all on land."

Gonff sat, lost in thought. Then an idea worked its way into his head. He sat up, encouraged by the beginnings of a rescue attempt.

Columbine was beginning to despair. She had been working from the day before all through the night, and it was now past early morning. She still had not made notable success with the hole she was trying to make in the side of the great ship. She had scraped away several layers of wood, but it was slow work, and at times she didn't seem to be making any progress at all. In frustration she slammed her knife into the wall. She was surprised at how deep it had gone in. She grabbed the handle and pulled. It came free with a jerk, and Columbine sat on the floor staring. She wasn't staring at the knife she had pulled out, but at the area she had pulled it out from. She looked closely, and her thoughts were confirmed. Overjoyed, she began to cry happily, nearly jumping up and down with excitement.

There was a hole in the wall! It was a very small hole, of course, but it was there! Where the knife had been pulled out, a thin beam of light came through the wall and landed at Columbine's feet. The mouse was filled with hope. There was a way out! Filled with a new determination, Columbine scraped vigorously at the narrow gap in the wall. As she scraped harder and harder, the gap began to widen, just a sliver at a time.

A few hours later, she stopped and examined her work. There was just enough space for Columbine to look through with both eyes. There she saw a welcome sight. The river meandered along behind her, and she saw the welcome banks and trees of Mossflower. With a soft cry of delight, she quickly boarded up the area with the tacks and piece of material Delpa had given to her. The mouse put her tools away. She would show Delpa when the hedgehog came in a couple hours to deliver the lunch to her and Gonflet.

Gonflet! Remembering her son, she looked up at the bed where her son lay asleep. He slept a lot these days, as there wasn't much else for him to do. Columbine decided to play a few games with her little son, now that she had both the time and the energy. She crept to the bed and suddenly began tickling her son. Gonflet awoke and began laughing and squirming playfully, welcome sounds and sights to Columbine's ears and eyes.

Martin knew Gonff had thought of something, but when he asked, the mousethief had said nothing, only that he would tell them what he was thinking once they stopped for lunch. Martin continued to watch Gonff as his friend stared thoughtfully at the river, mulling over his idea.

Dinny was curious as well. "Burr aye, what be's Gonffen thinkin' bout?"

Martin shook his head. "I don't know, Dinny, but he had better tell us soon!"

Martin was bursting with curiosity by the time the group finally hauled their boats ashore. The otters began to prepare lunch, and Dinny and Martin began to pester Gonff. As the mole and the mouse asked their friend for the tenth time what he was planning, he gave them a wink. "Nothing definite, mateys, not yet, anyway. I'll tell you all when we sit down to lunch."

Once the group sat down for lunch, they all looked expectantly at Gonff. The mouse looked back at his friends, then began. "Mateys, I think I have a few ideas about what we should do once we catch up to the ship. First of all, we need to know what course this river takes. Drakk, you know this river well, don't you, matey?"

Drakk nodded. "Sure do, mate, I was born 'n raised on this river."

"Good. Would you be able to sketch out a map of what this river starts to look like from here and forwards? Any bends, turns, and that sort of thing. Could you do it?"

Drakk grinned. "With my eyes closed, mate!"

Gonff grinned back. "Luckily, that won't be necessary. But it will have to be pretty descriptive. As specific as you can get. Wyst, Topra and Mlira, would you be able to help him?"

The other otters nodded. "Course we can, we grew up 'round these parts!"

"Be glad to help out."

"Not a problem in the least, mate."

Gonff smiled. "Good. If you need to wander around for a while, you can do that, if you need to get a better idea of what you're mapping out."

Wyst shook his head. "No need for that, mate. We're otters. I know this river better than the back o' my own paw. We'll do it."

Martin interrupted. "But Gonff, how will a map of the river help us?"

Gonff explained. "Because for my plan to work, we'll need to find a large bend in the river, and it'll have to be a spot where we can go faster cutting across the land than we can by water. Most importantly, it has to be a spot a fair good distance ahead, because it's no use if the ship's passed it already."

Martin was still mystified. "Why do we have to cut across land?"

Gonff winked. "Because we're going to catch 'em by surprise, matey!"
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