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"In my opinion," said Lord Vetinari, "it's so has hired a wizard A little local difficulty"

"Could be linked to all this strange thieving, sir," volunteered Wonse

"But there's the footprints, sir," said Viedly

"We're close to the river," said the Patrician "Possibly it was, perhaps, a wading bird of some sort A mere coincidence," he added, "but I should cover the idea and ju to silly conclusions, do we?" he added sharply

Vi at his sandals

The Patrician patted him on the shoulder

"Never mind," he said "Carry on Good show of initiative, thatin the Shades, too Well done"

He turned, and almost walked into the wall of chain mail that was Carrot

To his horror, Captain Vimes saw his newest recruit point politely to the Patrician's coach Around it, fully-arhtened up and took a wary interest Vimes disliked them intensely They had pluuard

He heard Carrot say "Excuse me, sir, is this your coach, sir?" and the Patrician looked hi man?"

Carrot saluted "Lance-constable Carrot, sir"

"Carrot, Carrot That nas a bell"

Lupine Wonse, who had been hovering behind hihtened' 'Ah, the young thief-taker A little error there, I think, but commendable No person is above the law, eh?"

"No, sir," said Carrot

"Coentleedly, "I couldn't help noticing that the front offside wheel, contrary to the-"

He's going to arrest the Patrician, Vih his brain like an icy rivulet He's actually going to arrest the Patrician The supre to arrest hi to do The boy doesn't know the ood idea if he knew the et my jaw muscles to move

We're all dead Or worse, we're all detained at the Patrician's pleasure And as we all know, he's seldom that pleased

It was at this precise eant Colon earned himself a metaphorical medal

"Lance-constable Carrot!" he shouted "Attention! Lance-constable Carrot, abou-uta turna! Lance-constable Carrot, qui-uck ht hiht ahead with a ferocious expression of acute obedience

"Well done, that htfully, as Carrot strode stiffly away "Carry on, Captain And do coht?"

"Yes, sir," said Captain Vimes

"Good alongside

Behind hieant yelling at the retreating Carrot to stop

He was thinking

He looked at the prints in the ulation pike, which he kneas exactly seven feet long, to measure their size and the distance between them He whistled under his breath Then, with considerable caution, he followed the alley around the corner; it led to a small, padlocked and dirt-encrusted door in the back of a ti, he thought

The prints coo in And we don't often get any wading birds in the Ankh, s away and anyway, it's easier for them to walk on the surface

He looked up A le of the sky as efficiently as a net

So, he thought, so and fiery came out of this alley but didn't come into it

And the Patrician is very worried about it

I've been told to forget about it

He noticed so else at the side of the alley, and bent down and picked up a fresh, empty peanut shell

He tossed it froht now, he needed a drink But perhaps it ought to wait

The Librarian knuckled his way urgently along the dark aisles between the slu bookshelves

The rooftops of the city belonged to hiht o found the forest of chioyles and weathervanes a convenient and so alternative to the streets

At least, up until now

It had see and instructive to follow the Watch into the Shades, an urban jungle which held no fears for a 300-lb ape But now the night across a dark alley would, if he had been human, have made him doubt the evidence of his own eyes

As an ape, he had no doubts whatsoever about his eyes and believed theht noanted to concentrate theht hold a clue It was in a section no-one bothered with ical Dust lay accusingly on the floor

Dust with footprints in it

"Oook?" said the Librarian, in the war with a sense of inevitability that the footprints seemed to have the same destination in mind as he did