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‘Don’t look like that!’ whispered Dustfinger, seeing Farid’s anxious glance ‘We can trust her Quite a few of the women aren’t too fond of Capricorn and his men – many of them didn’t even come here of their own free will But they’re all afraid of him: afraid they’ll lose their job, afraid he’ll burn the roofs over the heads of their faoes on here, or perhaps send Basta to call on them with his knife Resa doesn’t have to worry about that kind of thing She has no family’ Not any rating opened, and Resa’s anxious face appeared behind the bars It looked pale beneath her dark blonde hair

‘How are you?’ Dustfinger went over to the grating and put his hand through the bars S, Resa pressed it, and nodded at the boy

‘This is Farid’ Dustfinger lowered his voice ‘You could say he’s adopted me But you can trust him He doesn’t care for Capricorn any more than we do’

Resa nodded, looked at him reproachfully and shook her head

‘Yes, I knoasn’t sensible to coer couldn’t prevent soht I’d put up with anything, but they rong There’s still one copy of the book left, and I’et my hands on it Don’t look at me like that Do you knohere Capricorn keeps it?’

Resa shook her head There was a rustling behind the over the quiet yard Resa took a pencil and a piece of paper out of her dressing-gown pocket She wrote slowly and neatly, knowing that Dustfinger found it easier to read capital letters She had taught him to read and write so that they could communicate with one another

As usual, it took soer He felt a fresh sense of pride every tiether into words and he could prise their secret out of them ‘I’ll look around,’ he read softly ‘Good But be careful I don’t want you risking your pretty neck’ He bent over the paper again ‘What do you ave her the note back Farid watched Resa writing, as spellbound as if he atching soic ‘I think you’ll have to teach hih the bars ‘See how he’s staring at you?’

Resa looked up and smiled at Farid Aardly, he looked away Resa passed her finger round her face

‘You think he’s a nice boy?’ Dustfinger twisted hissmile, while Farid felt so embarrassed he didn’t knohere to look ‘And what about me? Beautiful as the moon, am I? Hmm, what am I to make of that as a compliment? You mean I have almost as many craters?’

Resa pressed her hand over her lips It was easy to airl That was the only tiht Resa clung to the bars, and Farid, terrified, crouched down at the foot of the wall Dustfinger pulled hiuards taking pot-shots at cats They always do that when they’re bored’

The boy looked at hi ‘She took the keys away to punish hier read ‘Basta won’t like that at all The way he acted with those keys, you’d have thought he was looking after Capricorn’sa knife frohed out loud He quickly glanced around, but the yard was silent as the grave between its high walls ‘Oh yes, I can well iine that Basta’s furious,’ he whispered ‘In thatto please Capricorn – slit throats, gash faces open, anything’