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"I wonder if I h?" said Captain Viuv," said Nobby reproachfully

"Sir," corrected Sergeant Colon

"My voice is in plain clothes too," said Nobby "Initiative, that is"

Vimes walked slowly around the corporal

"And your plain clothes do not cause old women to faint and small boys to run after you in the street?" he said

Nobby shifted uneasily He wasn't at houv," he said "It's all the go, this style"

This was broadly true There was a current fad in Ankh for big, feathered hats, ruffs, slashed doublets with gold frogging, flared pantaloons and boots with ornamental spurs The trouble was, Vimes reflected, that o between these component bits, whereas all that could be said of Corporal Nobbs was that he was in there soeous After all, absolutely no-one would ever believe, when they saw hi down the street, that here was ato look inconspicuous

It occurred to Vi about Nobbs outside working hours He couldn't even remember where the man lived All these years he'd known the man and he'd never realised that, in his secret private life, Corporal Nobbs was a bit of a peacock A very short peacock, it was true, a peacock that had been hit repeatedly with so heavy, perhaps, but a peacock nonetheless It just went to show, you never could tell

He brought his attention back to the business in hand

"I want you two," he said to Nobbs and Colon, "to le unobtrusively, or obtrusively in your case, Corporal Nobbs, with people tonight and, er, see if you can detect anything unusual"

"Unusual like what?" said the sergeant

Vi," he said, " pertinent''

"Ah" The sergeant nodded wisely "Pertinent Right"

There was an aard silence

"Maybe people have seen weird things," said Captain Vimes "Or perhaps there have been unexplained fires Or footprints You know," he finished, desperately, "signs of dragons"

"You old what have been slept on," said the sergeant

"And virgins being chained to rocks," said Nobbs, knowingly

"I can see you're experts," sighed Vi," said Sergeant Colon delicately, "it would involve going into taverns and drinking and similar, would it?"

"To a certain extent," said Vieant, happily

"In ht you are, sir"

"And at your own expense"

"Oh"

"But before you go," said the captain, "do either of you know anyone who old and the bit with the young women, I mean"

"Wizards would," volunteered Nobby

"Apart from wizards," said Viuard knew you couldn't trust wizards They were even worse than civilians

Colon thought about it "There's always Lady Raons You know, the little buggers people keep as pets?"

"Oh, her," said Viloomily "I think I've seen her around The one with the 'Whinny If You Love Dragons' sticker on the back of her carriage?"

"That's her She's eant Colon

"What do you want me to do, sir?" said Carrot

"Er You have the most important job," said Vimes hurriedly "I want you to stay here and watch the office"

Carrot's face broadened in a slow, unbelieving grin

"You e, sir?" he said

"In a ," said Vimes "But you're not allowed to arrest anyone, understand?" he added quickly

"Not even if they're breaking the law, sir?"

"Not even then Just make a note of it"

"I'll read my book, then," said Carrot "And polish my helmet''

"Good boy," said the captain It should be safe enough, he thought No-one ever co No-one ever thinks about the Watch You'd have to be really out of touch to go to the Watch for help, he thought bitterly

Scoone Avenue was a wide, tree-lined, and incredibly select part of Ankh, high enough above the river to be away fro smell People in Scoone Avenue had old money, which was supposed to be h Captain Vih of either to spot the difference People in Scoone Avenue had their own personal bodyguards People in Scoone Avenue were said to be so aloof they wouldn't even talk to the gods This was a slight slander They would talk to gods, if they ell-bred gods of decent family

Lady Ramkin's house was not hard to find It conificent view of the city, if that was your idea of a good tiardens had an unkeone looreenery Most of them had swords and were covered in ivy up to the neck

Viarden's oas too poor to do anything about it, but rather that the garden's owner thought there were s than ancestors, which was a pretty unusual point of view for an aristocrat

They also apparently thought that there werethe bell of the rather pleasant old house itself, in therhododendron forest, several bits of the plaster facade fell off

That see round the back of the house started to howl Soain After a while Vied around the building, keeping well back in case anything else collapsed