of his mission, she would press doggedly on. She had to find Marguerite and the Woodstock to save her family and friends.
Supposing she ran into any grey squirrels? But Marguerite’s last message had said that they were all gone. She sniffed at the wind coming from the west. Could that be Grey’s scent? It was faint if it was, but it certainly smelt like it. She trembled but pressed on.
Tansy was hungry and tired when she came to a Man-drey, outside which chickens picked at grains of wheat and maize on the ground. A goose in the next field honked a warning as she approached, snaking her long neck through the wire at the squirrel and hissing ominously, but Tansy could see that the great bird could not get through the fence to harm her. She joined the chickens, enjoying the unfamiliar mealy taste of the dry yellow seeds, then, suddenly sensing the presence of a human dangerously near, turned to leap away.
She was too late to avoid the man’s long-handled net.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Crag dragged a rusted bolt to the New Temple in the Lightning Tree. He had found the remains of an old wooden haywain and had set Rusty and Chip to gnaw at the partially rotted timbers in order to free the bolts. He carried them, one by one, up inside the Temple and placed them in nooks and crannies of the hollow branches, along with nails, screws and old cartridge cases that he had sniffed out in the undergrowth.
Coming back down the tree he stopped, peered below and rubbed his eyes. Clustered about the base of the trunk was a group of squirrel-like creatures with silvery-grey fur, looking up at him expectantly.
‘Greetings to you, sir,’ one of them called up. ‘Your friends at the Blue Pool sent us over here, but did not tell us that any other squirrel would meet us. I am named Hickory, and this is my second-in-command, Sitka. And your name, sir?’
‘You are squirrels?’ Crag asked.
‘Why, yes, we thought all of the red kind knew about us by now. Had you not heard?’
‘No! Until recently my family lived in isolation and we have only just come to the Mainland. Who are you?’
Crag came down to the ground and stood in front of the Greys.
‘We are silver squirrels from over the sea to the west,’ Hickory told him. ‘Our ancestors were brought to this country, which we call New America, by humans and we have been setting up colonies here. Unfortunately, some silver squirrels got over-zealous and upset you natives. Then we suffered from a plague we called the Grey Death. Now our instructions are to work alongside you all and to learn your ways. So here we are!’ He spread his paws wide.
‘Did you say that you were sent here by the squirrels over at the pool?’ Crag asked.
‘Yes. They said we were to spend the winter here, but did not tell us that you would meet us. They were polite to us, but understandably suspicious. Well, here we are, sir.’ He waited expectantly.
Crag surveyed the Greys. They looked big and powerful, and had strong teeth.
‘Follow me,’ he said, and led them off in the direction of the derelict haywain.
Tansy crouched in the corner of the dark cage. It was daytime, for she could see the winter light under the door, but it was too dark for her to make much sense of her surroundings.
The day before, her captor’s leather-gloved hand had taken her from the net and thrust her into the empty cage that had last been occupied by the pine marten. It was impregnated with his terrifying scent, but even this was submerged by the rank odours rising from the only other occupants of the cages, a pair of ferrets who snuffled and prowled about or slept noisily somewhere below her.
Tansy was still shaking with fright and her mind was going round in circles. She must get out to find Marguerite and the Woodstock to save the Ourlanders from the pine marten, but before she could do that she must get out to find…
The stable door
Supposing she ran into any grey squirrels? But Marguerite’s last message had said that they were all gone. She sniffed at the wind coming from the west. Could that be Grey’s scent? It was faint if it was, but it certainly smelt like it. She trembled but pressed on.
Tansy was hungry and tired when she came to a Man-drey, outside which chickens picked at grains of wheat and maize on the ground. A goose in the next field honked a warning as she approached, snaking her long neck through the wire at the squirrel and hissing ominously, but Tansy could see that the great bird could not get through the fence to harm her. She joined the chickens, enjoying the unfamiliar mealy taste of the dry yellow seeds, then, suddenly sensing the presence of a human dangerously near, turned to leap away.
She was too late to avoid the man’s long-handled net.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Crag dragged a rusted bolt to the New Temple in the Lightning Tree. He had found the remains of an old wooden haywain and had set Rusty and Chip to gnaw at the partially rotted timbers in order to free the bolts. He carried them, one by one, up inside the Temple and placed them in nooks and crannies of the hollow branches, along with nails, screws and old cartridge cases that he had sniffed out in the undergrowth.
Coming back down the tree he stopped, peered below and rubbed his eyes. Clustered about the base of the trunk was a group of squirrel-like creatures with silvery-grey fur, looking up at him expectantly.
‘Greetings to you, sir,’ one of them called up. ‘Your friends at the Blue Pool sent us over here, but did not tell us that any other squirrel would meet us. I am named Hickory, and this is my second-in-command, Sitka. And your name, sir?’
‘You are squirrels?’ Crag asked.
‘Why, yes, we thought all of the red kind knew about us by now. Had you not heard?’
‘No! Until recently my family lived in isolation and we have only just come to the Mainland. Who are you?’
Crag came down to the ground and stood in front of the Greys.
‘We are silver squirrels from over the sea to the west,’ Hickory told him. ‘Our ancestors were brought to this country, which we call New America, by humans and we have been setting up colonies here. Unfortunately, some silver squirrels got over-zealous and upset you natives. Then we suffered from a plague we called the Grey Death. Now our instructions are to work alongside you all and to learn your ways. So here we are!’ He spread his paws wide.
‘Did you say that you were sent here by the squirrels over at the pool?’ Crag asked.
‘Yes. They said we were to spend the winter here, but did not tell us that you would meet us. They were polite to us, but understandably suspicious. Well, here we are, sir.’ He waited expectantly.
Crag surveyed the Greys. They looked big and powerful, and had strong teeth.
‘Follow me,’ he said, and led them off in the direction of the derelict haywain.
Tansy crouched in the corner of the dark cage. It was daytime, for she could see the winter light under the door, but it was too dark for her to make much sense of her surroundings.
The day before, her captor’s leather-gloved hand had taken her from the net and thrust her into the empty cage that had last been occupied by the pine marten. It was impregnated with his terrifying scent, but even this was submerged by the rank odours rising from the only other occupants of the cages, a pair of ferrets who snuffled and prowled about or slept noisily somewhere below her.
Tansy was still shaking with fright and her mind was going round in circles. She must get out to find Marguerite and the Woodstock to save the Ourlanders from the pine marten, but before she could do that she must get out to find…
The stable door
Similar Books
