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PS I hope Minty is keeping well

He folded the paper carefully and shoved it into the envelope

"Sun's going down," said Sergeant Colon

Carrot looked up froht soon," Colon went on, accurately

"Yes, Sergeant"

Colon ran a finger round his collar His skin was i, but people were still staying at a respectful distance

Some people are born to command Some people achieve coeant was now included in this category and wasn't very happy about it

Anyto have to say that it was tio out on patrol He wanted to find a nice sub-basee, he had to do it

It wasn't the loneliness of co-fried-alive of co him problems

He was also pretty sure that unless they caon very soon then the Patrician was going to be unhappy And when the Patrician was unhappy, he became very de that un-happiness as far as possible Responsibility, the sergeant thought, was a terrible thing So was being horribly tortured As far as he could see, the two facts were rapidly heading towards one another

And thus he was terribly relieved when a small coach pulled up outside the Yard It was very old, and battered There was a faded coat of arms on the door Painted on the back, and rather neas the little ons

Out of it, wincing as he got down, stepped Captain Vieant as Mad Sybil Ra down obediently on the end of its lead, was a seant was too nervous to take account of actual size

"Well, I'll be ht it!"

Nobby looked up fro to learn that it is alainst an opponent who se of the diversion to help himself to a couple of cards off the bottom of the pack

"Don't be daft That's just a swaht, is Lady Sybil A real lady"

The other two guards turned and stared at hi

"You two can bloody well stop that," he said "Why shouldn't I know a lady when I sees one? She give me a cup of tea in a cup fin as paper and a silver spoon in it," he said, speaking as one who had peeped over the plateau of social distinction "And I give it back to her, so you can stop looking at me like that!"

"What is it you actually do on your evenings off?" said Colon

"No business of yourn"

"Did you really give the spoon back?" said Carrot

"Yes I bloody well did!" said Nobby hotly

"Attention, lads," said the sergeant, flooded with relief

The other two entered the rooned dismay "My squad," he mumbled

"Fine body of ood old rank and file, eh?"

"The rank, anyway," said Vily This led to a strange shuffling aed to htened up fro, hands thrust straight down by his sides, thueon chest inflated so round

' 'I always think we can all sleep safer inover us," said Lady Raalleon running ahead of a mild breeze "And who is this?"

It is difficult for an orangutan to stand to attention Its body can eneral idea, but its skin can't The Librarian was doing his best, however, standing in a sort of respectful heap at the end of the line andthe kind of complex salute you can only achieve with a four-foot arm

" 'E's plain clothes, ma'am," said Nobby s Very enterprising indeed," said Lady Ra have you been an ape, my man?"

"Oook"

"Well done" She turned to Vi incredulous

"A credit to you," she said "A fine body of men-"

"Oook"

"-anthropoids," corrected Lady Ramkin, with barely a break in the flow

For a h they had just returned fro a distant province They felt, in fact, tremendously bucked-up, which was how Lady Ramkin would almost certainly have put it and which was definitely several letters of the alphabet away from how they normally felt Even the Librarian felt favoured, and for once had let the phrase ' noise and a strong chemical smell prompted them to look around

Goodboy Bindle Featherstone was squatting with an air of sheepish innocence alongside as not so much a stain on the carpet as a hole in the floor A feisps of ses

Lady Rahed

"Don't you worry, ma'am," volunteered Nobby cheerfully "Soon have that cleaned up"

"I'm afraid they're often like that when they're excited," she said