Amethyst and Tammo walked along the beach, with packs on their backs. Tammo also had a flashlight strapped to his belt, and Amethyst carried the whip that served as her weapon. They headed south along the coast for a few miles, but suddenly Amethyst turned sharply and started walking east.

"Why are we going this way?" Tammo inquired as he ran to catch up with her. "I thought that mountain was due south."

"It is," said Amethyst, "but if we travel straight south along the seashore the whole way down, it'll make it too easy for Garnet and Pearl to track us. They could realize we're gone any minute, and then they'll wanna go after us and fetch us back home."

Tammo nodded his head. "Should've thought of that myself."

"So, we've gotta confuse 'em," Amethyst said. "We'll take a route deep into Mossflower Woods, then when we get closer to Salamandastron we'll circle back toward the ocean."

"Righto. Lead on, old pal!"

They left the beach behind and headed into the forest. They walked for the rest of the night and all through the next morning.

By midday, Tammo was getting tired. Amethyst wasn't, because Gems don't get tired, but Tammo was only half-Gem.

Tammo yawned. "Not too blinkin' chipper, marm. Need water, somethin' to eat, and sleep. Give anythin' for a jolly good snooze!"

"Don't call me marm, please," said Amethyst. "It makes me feel old. But sure, we can stop and rest. I think we've got enough of a head start now. We'll make camp on top of that hill over there."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They were standing on top of the hill now. Tammo looked down and saw a little stream in the valley below. He wiped a paw across his mouth at the sight of fresh water. He saluted smartly at Amethyst and said, "Permission t'go down an' chuck m'self in yonder cool water!"

Amethyst shrugged. "Suit yourself, if that's what y'feel like doin'."

The young hare let out a joyful whoop and sped off downward.

He discovered that there was a long privet hedge between the hill and the stream. It was too high for him to climb over it, so he skirted the length of the hedge, trying to find a way around. At last, he reached the end of the hedge and peered around the corner.

On the bank, he saw another hare sitting on a log next to a fire. This hare sported a flamboyant blue and white striped robe. He had a book in his paws, and there was a plate of food lying beside him on the log, a kind of food Tammo had never seen before. A backpack lay on the ground nearby.

The hare was reciting a piece of poetry to himself.

"We'll dance a merry saraband from here to drowsy Samarcand.

Along the sea, across the land, the birds are flying South,

And you, my sweet Penelope, out there somewhere you wait for me,

With buds of roses in your hair and kisses on your mouth."

The words took hold of Tammo. Like a sweet incense which induces pleasant daydreams they were wafted in upon him through the rich, mellow voice of the solitary camper, and the lilt of the meter entered his blood.

He was about to go up to the other hare and introduce himself when two ferrets, a male and a female, stepped out of the woods and sat down on either side of the hare. The ferrets wore black leather jackets, jeans, and tennis shoes. "Afternoon, bo," said the male ferret.

The hare looked ill at ease, but he answered politely. "Good afternoon, sir. Welcome to my humble home. Have you dined yet today?"

"Naw," replied the ferret. "We ain't, but we're goin' to." He seized the hare's plate of food. The other ferret grabbed the hare's backpack and started rifling through it.

The hare jumped to his feet. "I say, those are my provisions, wot wot!"

"Can da chatter an' duck," the first ferret told him. "Dere ain't enough for one here, let alone three. Now beat it!"

The hare regarded him silently for a moment. "You pain me," he said at last. "You induce within me a severe an' highly localized pain, an' furthermore I don't like your whiskers!"

With which words he swung the book in his paw and hit the ferret in the mouth. Several of the ferret's teeth fell out, and he toppled to the ground.

The hare looked at the book sadly. He had hit the ferret so hard that the ferret's teeth had left an indentation in the book's surface. "Unforgivable! That was one of my favorite books, an' now whenever I read it I'll be reminded of your oafish face."

The female ferret was dancing up and down with rage. "You had no right ta hit Gaduss like dat! I'll fix ya!" She made a rush at the hare.

Tammo decided it was time for him to step in. He didn't have a weapon, but maybe he could scare the ferrets off with a bluff.

He jumped out from behind the bushes, unfastened the flashlight from his belt, and brandished it at the ferretmaid. "Halt right there, marm! Step away from that hare!"

The ferret turned and sneered at Tammo. "An' who's gonna make me? You? Don't make me laugh!"

Tammo did not flinch. "I warn you, madam, I'm extremely dangerous! I'll have you know I'm one-half space alien! This is a Homeworld death-ray! Take one more step toward me and I'll blast you with it! Now, give this hare back his food and leave him be."

The ferret burst out laughing. "Who ya tryin' ta kid? Dat ain't no alien death ray, it's just an ordinary flashlight!"

"Aha, that's where you're wrong, marm," Tammo said. "It looks like an ordinary flashlight, but we Crystal Gems like to take earthly inventions and make some modifications to 'em. You see, we open it up and put a little ogglewop under the battery right here."

"A what? You made dat woid up. Dere ain't any pollywogs or whatever ya called 'em in dere, it's just a flashlight! You must t'ink I'm really stupid!"

"On my honor as a hare, it's true," Tammo said desperately.

The ferret narrowed her eyes. "A hare? I t'ought you were a space alien!"

"Well, as a matter of fact, I'm both. Now after I put in the ogglewop, I unscrewed the lens cap and inserted a himblatt beneath the jolly old lens. An' then I dorfin a humblymama…"

The other ferret, Gaduss, had gotten back to his feet. "Dis is a load a crap," he snarled. "Come on, Skulka, finish 'im!"

Skulka drew a switchblade from her jacket pocket and rushed at Tammo. But just before she got close enough to stab him, Tammo pulled up his shirt, revealing the gemstone in his bellybutton. A giant pink shield projected out of his gem, blocking the ferret's attack. The knife bounced off the shield and fell from Skulka's paw.

She gaped at him. "How did ya do dat?"

"I told ya," said Tammo. "I'm half alien."

Just then, Amethyst came running in with her whip. She cracked Skulka across the face with it, leaving a mark across the ferret's eye. Skulka yowled with pain.

"Leave my friend alone!" Amethyst ordered.

Now Gaduss came running at her with a switchblade of his own, but Amethyst cracked her whip again and tangled it around Gaduss's legs. He fell back to the ground.

By now the hare in the robe had recovered his backpack. He pulled a magic wand from it and shouted, "PETAL DANCE!"

A swarm of razor sharp leaves fell from the sky and landed on the ferrets, covering them in scratches.

"Ow! Ooh! Ooh!" Skulka cried. "Let's get outta here!"

The two ferrets turned and ran, but Gaduss called over his shoulder as he fled, "We'll get youse guys yet!"

Amethyst looked at Tammo and shook her head. "I let you go off by yourself for five minutes, and look at the trouble you get into."

"Those ferrets were attacking that hare," Tammo said. "I couldn't let them hurt him."

"I'm certainly glad you decided to intervene," said the strange hare. "I would have dispatched those two villains myself, but I couldn't get at my blinkin' wand right away. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is William David Truman Joshua Stag Hare an' I'm a wizard. Most folks around here call me Joshy, but you can call me… Joshy."

"Nice to meet ya, Joshy," said Amethyst, shaking his paw. "I'm Amethyst and this is Tammo. We're Crystal Gems."

"Oh, yes, I've heard of you before," said Joshy. "I really appreciate all the work you're doin', keepin' the countryside safe from vermin an' monsters."

"We're heading to Salamandastron," said Tammo, "so I can join the Long Patrol. Are you one of the Long Patrol hares, Joshy?"

Joshy chuckled. "Oh, no. That just isn't for me. In order to be a soldier, you have to take orders an' be prepared to kill people. An' I can't take orders."

"I want to be a hero, like my father," Tammo said.

"What about you, Joshy?" Amethyst asked. "You goin' anywhere in particular?"

"Oh, south or west," replied Joshy. "Nowhere in particular- any place suits me just so it isn't north or east. If neither of you have any objections, I might travel along with you for a while."

"Suits me," Amethyst said. "You okay with this guy tagging along, Tamm?"

"I'm willing to travel with anybeast who can recite poetry as well as Joshy can," said Tammo.

Joshy was gratified. "Oh, you heard that piece I was repeatin' earlier?"

Tammo nodded. "Where d'ye get it? Make it up?"

"Good lord, no," laughed Joshy. "Those verses were written by a poet by the name of Henry Herbert Knibbs."

"Do you know many of his poems, sir?" Tammo asked.

"I should say so! And those of countless other poets, too! If you want, I'll recite for you as we walk along. I often read aloud to my friends when we go on trips together."

Tammo smiled. "Well, this journey will be even more fun than I thought, then."