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The figure stared at him in astonishon"

"Have another drink, not-Corporal Nobby?" said Sergeant Colon unsteadily

"I do not t Colon," said Nobby

They were taking inconspicuosity seriously That ruled out most of the taverns on the Morpork side of the river, where they were very well known Now they were in a rather elegant one in don Ankh, where they were being as unobtrusive as they kne The other drinkers thought they were sot Colon

"What?"

"If we bought a bottle or te could go hoave this soot to keep our ears open," he said "We're supposed to, what he said, detect anything"

"We can do that at ht, really hard"

"Tha's a good point," said Nobby In fact, it sounded better and better the ht about it

"But first," he announced, "I got to pay a visit"

"Me too," said the sergeant "This detecting business gets to you after a while, doesn't it"

They stumbled out into the alley behind the tavern There was a fullacross it The pair inconspicuously bumped into one another in the darkness

"Is that you, Detector Sergeant Colon?" said Nobby

"Tha's right! Now, can you detect the door to the privy, Detector Corporal Nobbs? We're looking for a short, dark door of mean appearance, ahahaha"

There were a couple of clanks and a ered across the alley, followed by a yohen one of Ankh-Morpork's enors

"Who loves you, pussycat?" said Nobby under his breath

"Needs t Colon, and faced a handy corner

His private runt frot?"

"Detector Sergeant to you, Nobby," said Sgt Colon pleasantly

Nobby's tone was urgent and suddenly very sober "Don't piss about, Sergeant, I just saw a dragon fly over!"

"I've seen a horsefly," said Sgt Colon, hiccuping gently "And I've seen a housefly I've even seen a greenfly But I ain't never seen a dragon fly"

"Of course you have, you pillock," said Nobby urgently "Look, I'reat big wings!"

Sergeant Colon turned one so white that it showed up in the darkness

"Honest, Sergeant!"

Sgt Colon turned his eyes to the daht," he said, "shownoise behind him, and a couple of roof tiles smashed on to the street

He turned And there, on the roof, was the dragon

"There's a dragon on the roof!" he warbled "Nobby, it's a dragon on the roof! What shall I do, Nobby? There's a dragon on the roof! It's looking right at me, Nobby!"

"For a start, you could do your trousers up," said Nobby, from behind the nearest wall

Even shorn of her layers of protective clothing, Lady Sybil Ra Vireat chain- maidens ooped down on battlefields and carried off dead warriors on their cropper to a glorious roistering afterlife, while singing in a pleasing mezzo-soprano Lady Ramkin could have been one of them She could have led them She could have carried off a battalion When she spoke, every as like a hearty slap on the back and clanged with the aristocratic self-assurance of the totally well-bred The vowel sounds alone would have cut teak

Vied forebears were used to voices like that, usually fro thee the enes wanted to stand to attention

Prehistoric ed to carve lifelike statues of her thousands of years ago She had a , Vions kept their own hair for long

She also had a dragon on her shoulder It had been introduced as Talonthrust Vincent Wonderkind of Quire contribution to the unusual chemical s Even the generous slice of cake she offered him tasted of it

"The, er, shoulderit looksvery nice," he said, desperate to make conversation