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Acknowledgements

This book is dedicated to Rob Wilkins, who typed h occasionally And to Colin Sement

The chant of the goddess Pedestriana is a parody of the wonderful poem 'Brahma' by Ralph Waldo Emerson, but of course you knew that anyway

It was ht in Ankh-Morpork's Royal Art Museum

It occurred to new e about once every ood idea to tell the Curator about his nyctophobia, his fear of strange noises and, he no, his fear of absolutely every thing he could see (and, co up his back during the endless hours on guard during the night It was no use telling hi in here was dead That didn't help at all It meant that he stood out

And then he heard the sob A screaht have been better At least you are certain when you've heard a screaain, because you can't be sure

He raised his lantern in a shaking hand There shouldn't be anyone in here The place was securely locked; no one could get in Or, now he caht about it

He was in the base the most scary places on his round It was s that were almost, but very definitely not entirely, throay Museus to be throay, in case they turn out to be very important later on

Another sob, and a sound like the scraping of pottery?

A rat, then, somewhere on the rear shelves? Rats didn't sob, did they?

'Look, I don't want to have to co with heartfelt accuracy

And the shelves exploded It seemed to him to happen in slowout as they drifted towards hi overhead crashed into the shelves on the other side of the room, which were demolished

Scattering lay on the floor in the dark, unable toat anyup froination

The day staff found hi, deeply asleep and covered in dust They listened to his garbled explanation, treated hiht suit his temperament They wondered for a while about what he had been up to, night watch people at the best of times, but put it out of their heads because of the find

Mr Scattering then got a job in a pet shop in Pellicool Steps, but left after three days because the way the kittens stared at hihtmares The world can be very cruel to solittering lady holding a large ball over her head who smiled at him before she vanished He did not want people to think he was strange