The Second Wave CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN It was Chip who first noticed that Tamarisk was not with them in the cave behind the ivy on the castle wall. The squirrels were preparing to send a foraging party to the human village and Chip was steeling himself for the usual deprecating comments and unkind remarks that Tamarisk whispered to him whenever Tansywistful was not at his side. He looked around the cave in the faint light that filtered in through the leaves and the stems that partly covered the entrance. His antagonist was certainly not there. Perhaps he had gone out before the others? But then, as Chip thought back to when he had last been subjected to Tamarisk’s taunts, he realised that he had not seen him since the last night in the snow-cavern. He spoke to Tansy, trying to sound casual. ‘Have you seen Tamarisk?’Tansy looked about, then called loudly, ‘Has anyone seen Tamarisk the Forthright?’No squirrel could recall seeing him since the night in the snow, but there were pressing things to be done. The youngsters were whimpering with hunger, and food of some kind must be found. Tamarisk was a grown squirrel, with no family responsibilities – he must be left to his own devices, though some of them felt disappointed that he should have deserted them. However, as the Kernel taught them – Each squirrel is FreeTo choose its own route through Life –Guided by Kernels. Tamarisk had evidently chosen his own route, away from Tansy, who must seem unobtainable to him.Rowan was once more left in charge of the youngsters, the Woodstock at his paw in case of any kind of attack, whilst all the other grown squirrels went to scavenge in the village. Tamarisk was heading for Screech Hill, where the barn owls hunted, staying behind the searching Greys, whose coverage of the ground grew ever more sparse as the ring of squirrels spreading out from the Temple Tree got larger and larger. Eventually he was able to slip between the searchers unnoticed and, once ahead of them, hurried in the direction of the hill which rose to dominate the countryside, acting as a beacon for him.Alone, he could travel fast. He was near the base of the hill before the winter dusk drove him to find shelter in a rotten tree, using the abandoned nest-hole of a woodpecker for shelter.In the morning, encouraged by the dawn Sunshine lighting up the summit, he set off in that direction, strangely confident of finding Rusty somewhere near there.And so it was. In the highest tree near the hill-top he found her, trying to get warm in the weak rays of the sun.He went up to her and cuddled her chill form, warming her with his own body, which was glowing from the exertion of his climbing and running through the treetops. When she had thawed a little and her shivering had stopped, Tamarisk said, ‘I’ve come to take you to Chip,’ and was surprised when she said, ‘I shouldn’t have run away. I think it’s my duty to go back to Crag. I fear the Sunless Pit. Chip will be safe with your friends.’ The last word sounded awkward, as though she had never spoken it before.‘Crag has declared you to be something he calls a Squarry,’ he told her. ‘All the Greys are out to kill you.’Rusty shrank back in horror. ‘Me a Squarry?
