Matthias finally awakens from his nap around sunset. He curses himself for his laziness while his friends are besieged at the abbey. Although he tries to find his way back, Matthias discovers that he is lost in the forest. Luckily, a baby squirrel arrives and shows him the way home.

Back at the abbey, a lull occurs in the fighting that allows the abbot to have a chat with Methuselah. The latter points out, “Yet like many others that think my senses are failing, you cannot see half the things that my old eyes observe” (115). The old mouse points to a suspicious elm tree by the back wall, whose branches are bending contrary to the direction of the wind.

The abbot calls Constance and her crew to investigate, and they discover the rats’ sneak attack. As Cluny boards the plank, intending to scale the back wall, Constance sends the board flying. Cluny falls to the ground, seriously injured, and many of his followers die. The woodlanders rejoice to see Cluny carried away and his army in retreat. At the same time, Matthias and his squirrel friend, Silent Sam, arrive back safely.

Cluny’s rats carry him back to the church to recuperate.