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"It just pays to think things through first, that's all I'on?''

"Oh, coeant Colon

"No, seriously What's the alternative?"

"A hu, for a start!"

"Please yourself," said the little ood compared to sogling Lord Seon?"

There was a certain aot a point" variety

"But they got overthrown!" said Colon

"No they didn't They were assassinated"

"Sa to assassinate the dragon It'd take ht and a sharp knife to see it off, I know that''

I can see what the captain ht No wonder he always has a drink after he thinks about things We always beat ourselves before we even start Give any Ankh-Morporkhimself to death

"Look here, youup the little one by his collar and curling his free hand into a fist, "I happen to have three daughters, and I happen to not want any of them et, thank you very much"

"Yes, and the people unitedwillneverbe "

Colon's voice faltered He realised that the rest of the croere all staring upward

The bugger, he thought, as rationality began to drain away It on shifted its position on the ridge of the nearest house, flapped its wings once or twice, yawned, and then stretched its neck down into the street

The hters stood, with his fist upraised, in the centre of a rapidly expanding circle of bare cobbles The little rasp and darted into the shadows

It suddenly seemed that no man in the entire world was so lonely and without friends

"I see," he said quietly He scowled up at the inquisitive reptile In fact it didn't see at hi interest

"I don't care!" he shouted, his voice echoing from wall to wall in the silence "We defy you! If you kill ht as well kill all of us!"

There was sost those sections of the croho didn't feel that this was absolutely axiorowled theunited, Sergeant?"

"Er," said Colon, feeling his spine turn to ice

"I warn you, dragon, the human spirit is-"

They never found out what it was, or at least what he thought it was, although possibly in the dark hours of a sleepless night soht have reut-churning insight, to whit, that one of the things sootten about the huht conditions, noble and brave and wonderful, it is also, when you get right down to it, only huht him full on the chest For a moment he was visible as a white-hot outline before the neat, black re cobbles

The flame vanished

The crowd stood like statues, not knowing if it was staying put or running that would attract on stared down, curious to see what they were going to do next

Colon felt that, as the only civic official present, it was up to hihed

"Right, then," he said, trying to keep the squeak out of his voice "If you would just , now Move along Let's be having you, please"

He waved his aresture of authority as the people shuffled nervously away Out of the corner of his eye he saw red fla in the sky

"Haven't you got any hoo to?" he croaked

The Librarian knuckled out into the Library of the here and now Every hair on his body bristled with rage

He pushed open the door and swung out into the stricken city

Sohte

The dragon swooped leisurely back and forth over the night-tis It didn't need to The ther it the lift it needed

There were fires all over Ankh-Morpork So many bucket chains had fors that buckets were getting misdirected and hijacked Not that you really needed a bucket to pick up the turbid waters of the river Ankh- a net was good enough

Downstream, teae, corroded gates under the Brass Bridge They were Ankh-Morpork's last defence against fire, since then the Ankh had no outlet and gradually, oozingly, filled the space between the walls A man could suffocate under it

The workers on the bridge were the ones who couldn't or wouldn't run Many others were tee out across the chilly, on, looping and curving gracefully above the devastation, glided out over the walls After a few seconds the guards saw actinic fire stab down through the on hovering over it like a sheepdog The fires of the stricken city glowed redly off the underside of its wings

"Got any suggestions about e do next, Sergeant?" said Nobby

Colon didn't reply I wish Captain Viht He wouldn't have knohat to do either, but he's got a much better vocabulary to be baffled in

So waters and the confused tangle of fire chains did their work The dragon didn't appear to be inclined to start any more It had made its point

"I wonder who it'll be," said Nobby

"What?" said Carrot