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This was by way of a war off Dibbler's barrow unless it was stamped flat and pushed under the door after teeks on a starvation diet was, by now, remote He looked around conspiratorially – there were always trolls working in the docks – and took the cover off a fresh tray

Now then, as it? Oh, yes

'Dololoanese nodules! Get them while they'reuh,nodule-shaped' He hesitated a bit, and then rallied 'Pumice! Pumice! Tufa a dollar! Roast limestones--'

A few trolls wandered up to stare at hiry,' said Dibbler, grinning widely at the smallest troll 'Why not try our shale on a bun? Mmm-mmm! Taste that alluvial deposit, knohat I mean?'

C M O T Dibbler had a number of bad points, but species prejudice was not one of theardless of the colour and shape of the hand that was proffering it For Dibbler believed in a world where a sapient creature could walk tall, breathe free, pursue life, liberty and happiness, and step out towards the bright nen If they could be persuaded to gobble so off Dibbler's hot-food tray at the saood

The troll inspected the tray suspiciously, and lifted up a bun

'Urrh, yuk,' he said, 'it's got all ammonites in it! Yuk!'

'Pardon?' said Dibbler

'Dis shale,' said the troll, 'is stale'

'Lovely and fresh! Just like mother used to hew!'

'Yeah, and there's bloody quartz all through dis granite,' said another troll, towering over Dibbler 'Clogs the arteries, quartz'

He slammed the rock back on the tray The trolls aive Dibbler a suspicious look

'Stale? Stale! How can it be stale? It's rockl' shouted Dibbler after theood business when to cut your losses

He closed the lid of the tray, and opened another one

'Hole food! Hole food! Rat! Rat! Rat-onna-stick! Rat-in-a-bun! Get them while they're dead! Get chore--'

There was a crash of glass above him, and Lance-Constable Cuddy landed head first in the tray

'There's no need to rush, plenty for everyone,' said Dibbler

'Pull me out,' said Cuddy, in a muffled voice 'Or pass me the ketchup'

Dibbler hauled on the dwarf's boots There was ice on them

'Just come down the mountain, have you?'

'Where's the man with the key to this warehouse?'

'If you liked our rat, then why not try our fine selection of-'

Cuddy's axe appeared alically in his hand

'I'll cut your knees off,' he said

'GerhardtSockoftheButchers'Guildiswhoyouwant'

'Right'

' Nowpleasetaketheaxeaway'

Cuddy's boots skidded on the cobbles as he hurried off

Dibbler peered at the broken remains of the cart His lips moved as he calculated

'Here!' he shouted 'You owe – hey, you owe htly ashamed when he watched the door close behind Captain Vimes He couldn't work out why Of course, it was hard on the man, but it was the only way

He took a key from a cabinet by his desk and walked over to the wall His hands touched a mark on the plaster that was apparently no different from a dozen otheraside on well-oiled hinges

No-one knew all the passages and tunnels hidden in the walls of the Palace; it was said that some of them went a lot further than that And there were any amount of old cellars under the city A o where he liked just by knocking down forgotten walls

He walked down several narrow flights of steps and along a passage to a door, which he unlocked It swung back on well-oiled hinges

It was not, exactly, a dungeon; the room on the other side was quite airy and well lit by several large but high s It had a slue

'Look out!'

The Patrician ducked

So batlike clicked and whirred over his head, circled erratically in thepieces

'Oh dear,' said atablet Good afternoon, your lordship'

'Good afternoon, Leonard,' said the Patrician 'What was that?'

'I call it a flapping-wing-flying-device,' said Leonard da Quirutta-percha strips twisted tightly together But not very well, I'm afraid'

Leonard of Quirm was not, in fact, all that old He was one of those people who started looking venerable around the age of thirty, and would probably still look about the sae of ninety He wasn't exactly bald, either His head had just grown up through his hair, rising like a h heavy forest

Inspirations sleet through the universe continuously Their destination, as if they cared, is the right ht neuron, there's a chain reaction, and a little while later so how the hell he came up with the idea of pre-sliced bread in the first place

Leonard of Quirm knew about inspirations One of his earliest inventions was an earthed s would stop leaving their white-hot trails across his tortured i up to find the sheets covered with nocturnal sketches of unfa machines

The da Quirreatof infor out of theand sketching the flight of birds Leonard was one of those unfortunate individuals whose fate it was to be fascinated by the world, the taste, shape and movement of it

He fascinated Lord Vetinari as well, which is why he was still alive Sos are so perfect of their type that they are hard to destroy One of a kind is always special

He was a h wood, wire, paint and above all give him paper and pencils, and he stayed put