Bloodwake, now renamed Woodship, was sailing down the River Moss. It was hard going, because they were sailing against the current.

All paws manned the oars. Gonff was sitting by Columbine, the pretty mouse from Loamhedge.

"Phew! I never realized rowing was such heavy work," Gonff groaned.

"Pull, my friend, pull. It's twice as bad when you have to do it on half-rations with a sea rat's whip cracking about your ears and you chained to the oar," said Columbine.

"I guess you're right."

"What's your name again?" she asked.

"Gonff."

"That's an interesting name."

"Yeah, it comes from gonif, the Yiddish word for thief."

Bugs was sitting on Columbine's other side. "Watch out for that fella, Columbine. He's not one of your Loamhedge order. If ya don't watch Gonff, he'll steal the whiskers out from under your nose."

Columbine's eyes went wide. "Would he really?"

Gonff held up two thin strands. "What do you think these are?"

Columbine's mouth fell open. "But, I didn't feel a thing."

Bugs chuckled. "I bet ya didn't! Those aren't your whiskers, they're Gonff's! That's how come ya never felt anythin'."

Speedy had been scouting ahead. Now he came running back down the bank and hopped back aboard. "I found a bunch of shrews camping up ahead," he said.

One of the freed slaves, a shrew named Banksnout, jumped up in excitement. "That must be the Guosim, my old tribe!"

"Let's go meet them," said Martin.

As the ship rounded a bend in the river, the camp of the Guerilla Union of Shrews in Mossflower came into view. Banksnout cupped his paws over his mouth and shouted, "Logalogalogalooog!"

"Logalogalogalooog!" an old fat shrew on the bank responded. He was the Log-a-Log, chief of the tribe.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Delight awaited them at the shrew camp as families were reunited amidst cheering and shouting.

"Daddy, daddy, it's me, Emily, your baby shrewlet!"

"Ho-ho, look at you. You're bigger than your madre."

"Sharptail, you said you were going for acorns. That was four seasons ago! Where have you been?"

"Lo siento. Sea rats, y'know."

"What's this, grandshrew babies?"

"Si, you're an abuelo now."

"By the fur! Aqui, give me a hold of that little fat fella."

"Gluggabuggaluggoo!"

"Ha-ha. See, he knows me already."

Log-a-Log was grateful to Martin and his friends for saving his fellow shrews from captivity. He promised that he and the rest of the Guosim would journey back to Mossflower and help fight Tsarmina.

They spent the night with the shrews, and next morning, the Woodship set off again, this time followed by a platoon of Guosim longboats.