Then after a while he came up with a fiendishly simple idea. He ordered that the room be cleared: he wished to be alone so that he could rest. When he was quite sure that he would not be disturbed, Cluny took a quill and parchment from the bedside table. He drew a diagram, complete with pointing arrows, horde positions, lines of attack and defence, together with written instructions. It was a plan for the second full-scale invasion of Redwall Abbey. Cluny made it clear that the success of the attack depended solely on the battering ram breaking through the main gate.

  When he had finished writing, Cluny pushed the parchment under his pillow, taking care to leave just a small corner of it jutting out. His officers would be too slow and dull to notice it – a tiny scrap of parchment showing from beneath the pillow. Even if they should, they would attach no importance to it.

  But Sela the fox would!

  Cluny settled down to wait.

  Redtooth and Fangburn returned with their captive guest an hour later. Cluny stretched himself luxuriously and yawned aloud.

  ‘Aaaah, I had a nice peaceful nap without you three clattering about the room and creating a noise. How’s that tree-felling coming along?’

  Redtooth leaned upon his spear. ‘Shouldn’t t
ake much longer now, Chief. I’ve ordered some of them to get a good blaze going so that the trunk can be fired and hardened.’

  Cluny flexed his injured tail slowly. ‘Good, make sure that all the large branches are cut off close to the trunk. It’ll make it easier to carry. Now, fox, how about changing these bandages and giving me something to make me sleep tonight. That stuff you gave me yesterday wasn’t much use. I was tossing and turning for hours before I got any rest.’

  Sela made a sweeping servile curtsey. ‘Now that my son has brought my new ingredients I can certainly give you medicine to make you sleep, sir. I guarantee you’ll go off like a bug in a blanket, if you’ll pardon the expression, sir.’

  ‘Just as long as it gets me to sleep,’ said Cluny, smiling inwardly.

  That night, Cluny allowed Redtooth and Fangburn to guzzle their fill from a cask of barley wine that had been found in the church cellars. He gave Sela permission to drink also. Cluny watched as the fox pretended to drink as much of the barley wine as the rat Captains. While she was doing this, Cluny also pretended to take his sleeping medicine. Cluny and Sela continued with their pantomime, neither letting a drop pass their lips.

  It was late night. Cluny joined in the snores of his drunken officers. The room was comfortably warm. A lone candle flickered in its socket. Cluny felt the pillow move slightly.

  Sela was taking the bait!

  Cluny gave a big imitation snore and smacked his lips contentedly. Some day he must learn to play chess. He betted himself that he would be unbeatable.

  Cluny also made a wager with himself that the plans would be back, safely tucked under the pillow, by morning, and that Sela would have an accurate copy of them hidden away somewhere. Now he could catch a few hours’ sleep.

  No doubt the mice would be interested to learn of his scheme to attack the main gate with a battering ram. They would strengthen the gatehouse and deploy the main body of defenders in the immediate area. Cluny could have laughed out aloud.

  While they were defending the gate, he would be tunnelling under the south-western angle of the Abbey Wall!