Chapter Four: A Strange Ally

Towards the late afternoon, the vermin began to catch up to Beechtail and Maplefur. Maplefur was the first to notice that they could hear shouts in the distance. The squirrels increased their speed, but the vermin still gained on them. They reached the shore of the lake just as the vermin came into view farther up the riverbed.

Maplefur fitted an arrow to her bow, and loosed it at the approaching trackers. Another followed it a second later. Most of the vermin dove out of the way of the arrows, but an unlucky weasel took both in the chest. The vermin struggled to get out of the exposed riverbed. Two ferrets, however, charged at the squirrels.

Beechtail's sword was out in a flash and Maplefur fitted another arrow to her bow. The lead ferret stabbed at Beechtail with a dirk, but the squirrel parried, and ran him through. Maplefur waited until the other was almost on top of her, and then shot it at point-blank range, it was impossible to miss.

Beechtail wiped his sword off on the grass and watched the vermin scrambling behind trees and rocks. "We can't run or hide now, we'll have to stand and fight."

Maplefur readied another arrow, "Aye, They'll charge as soon as they realize there are only two of us."

"Three of us, if you count me, old chap," said a voice behind them.

Both squirrels jumped in the air and spun around. An otter was standing on a raft on the lakeshore. At least, Beechtail thought he was an otter; it looked like an otter, and the creature had a rudder-like tail, but something that resembled two long ears was attached to its head.

The otter-hare-creature bowed elegantly, "Lutrantis Cogiter Elepus at your service, call me Lutran, I noticed that you seemed to be having some sort of difficulties with the vermin yonder. I would be honored to render some assistance, I would advise coming on to the raft, wot wot."

After their initial shock, the squirrels clambered aboard the raft, and not a moment too soon. Blackskull had seen them turn, gathered his trackers, and charged them. Lutran used a long pole to push the raft out into the lake, and rap a particularly brave stoat, who tried to wade out after it, on the head.

Blackskull shouted orders to the vermin. "Use your slings; kill them before they get away." But the raft moved swiftly, propelled by the strange creature. Most of the stones fell short, but all three of the raft's occupants had to lie flat as a few passed overhead.

Once they were a good ways off from the shore the stranger mounted the pole upright in the center of the raft, and fixed a sail to it. "Now then, where might you two bold warriors be headed off to, eh?"

Beechtail hesitated before answering, "Redwall Abbey, and just wondering, sir, why do you speak like a hare?"

"I am a bally hare, you don't expect me to speak like a bloomin' mole, do you, wot?" exclaimed Lutran. "If you're bound for Redwall, you should head up the lake's outlet stream, mind you, be sure to get off before the big waterfall. Say chaps, your quite far from Redwall, where are you from?"

"Angdelve," replied Maplefur, "The village got overran by vermin. We're bringing the news back to Redwall."

Lutran seemed to consider this for a moment. "Well I'd better head that way too, got to alert the jolly old Long Patrol, doncha know. Righto then, got to put us on a course for the stream." He turned to move the tiller, and Beechtail got a good view of the back of his head. A massive scar stretched across his entire head, evidence of a major head injury.

"Ouch," Maplefur whispered to Beechtail, "whatever did that to him must have addled his brain. He's crazy."

"Maybe, but he has a raft, and he did help us escape from the vermin."

Lutran turned the raft until they were a good ways out from shore, but still close enough to avoid missing the stream. "Those blighters don't seem to want to give up, do they, jolly persistent for vermin."

Blackskull had got the trackers marching along the lake shore to keep up with the raft.

Beechtail looked worried. "Can we beat them to the stream?"

Lutran laughed, "If this wind holds, we could be there by midday tomorrow." He suddenly frowned, "But I'm not sure that it will. You two get some sleep. I'll keep us on course."

The exhausted squirrels didn't need to be told twice. A few seconds later and they were asleep.