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slid and ju burst The coach rolled in It arrived dragging the world behind it, in a cloud of dust and noise and hooves It blotted out the sun Doors opened Harness jingled Horses steaed its tail hopefully The pressure went - no, it fled Beside Tiffany, Miss Tick pulled out a handkerchief and started to wipe egg off her dress The rest of the shamble had disappeared into a pocket with remarkable speed She s herself look slightly , just be as quiet as a littlebut sit still; she felt like you feel when you wake up after a nightot out of the coach, and the poorer ones cli their feet, trailing road dust behind them, they disappeared 'Now,' said Miss Tick, when the inn door had swung shut, 'we'rewe're going to go for a - a stroll See that little wood up there? That's where we're heading And when Mr Crabber the carter sees your father tomorrow he'll say he - he dropped you off here just before the coach arrived and - and - and everyone will be happy and no one will have lied That's i up the suitcase 'Yes?'

'What happened just now?'

'I don't know,' said the witch 'Do you feel all right?'

'Eryes You've got soht That was thepart 'I'm sorry about your dress,' she added 'It's seen a lot worse,' said Miss Tick 'Let's go'

'Miss Tick?' said Tiffany again as they trudged away 'Er, yes?'

'You are very nervous,' said Tiffany 'If you told me why, that means there's two of us, which is only half the nervousness each' Miss Tick sighed 'It was probably nothing,' she said 'Miss Tick, the egg exploded!'

'Yes Uic detector and amplifier It's actually very crude, but it's always useful to make one in times of distress and confusion I think Iprobably didn't es of randoic'

'You made it because you orried,' said Tiffany 'Worried? Certainly not I am never worried!' snapped Miss Tick 'However, since you raise the subject, I was concerned So close, I think It was probably nothing In fact I feel a lot better noe're leaving'

But you don't look it, Tiffany thought And I rong Two people means twice as ical about Twoshirts It was just a bend in the road Twenty et into the coach The coach, and wondered why he could hear a swar that had been lying in the road was found later cowering in one of the inn's stables, whi The as about half an hour's walk aith Miss Tick and Tiffany taking turns to carry the suitcase It was nothing special, as woods go, being h once you know that beech drips unpleasant poisons on the ground beneath it to keep it clear it's not quite the ti and waited for sunset Miss Tick told Tiffany about shaical then?' said Tiffany 'No They're soh'

'You mean like spectacles help you see but don't see for you?'

'That's right, well done! Is a telescope lass in a tube, but with one you could count the dragons on the moon Andwell, have you ever used a bow? No, probably not But a shamble can act like a bow, too A bow stores up muscle power as the archer draws it, and sends a heavy arrow much further than the archer could actually throw it You can ht'

'And then you can tell if ?'

'Yes, if that's what you're looking for When you're good at it you can use it to help you do ic yourself, to really focus on what you have to do You can use it for protection, like a curse-net, or to send a spell, orwell, it's like those expensive penknives, you know? The ones with the tiny saw and the scissors and the toothpick? Except that I don't think any witch has ever used a sha witches should learn how to make a shamble Miss Level will help you' Tiffany looked around the wood The shadoere growing longer, but they didn't worry her Bits of Miss Tick's teachings floated through her head: Always face what you fear Have just enoughEven if it's not your fault it's your responsibility Witches deal with things Never stand between two mirrors Never cackle Do what you must do Never lie, but you don't always have to be honest Never wish Especially don't wish upon a star, which is astronoain 'Miss Level has got long grey hair, has she?' she said 'Oh, yes'

'And she's quite a tall lady, just a bit fat, and she wears quite a lot of necklaces,' Tiffany went on 'And glasses on a chain And surprisingly high-heeled boots' Miss Tick wasn't a fool She looked around the clearing 'Where is she?' she said 'Standing by the tree over there,' said Tiffany

Even so, Miss Tick had to squint What Tiffany had noticed was that witches filled space In a way that was almost impossible to describe, they seemed to be more real than others around them They just showed up ly hard to notice They didn't hide, they didn't ht seem like that, but if you had to describe the room afterwards you'd swear there hadn't been a witch in it They just seeet lost 'Ah yes, well done,' said Miss Tick 'I ondering when you'd notice' Ha! thought Tiffany Miss Level got realer as she walked towards thehtly as she walked because of all the black jewellery she wore, and she did have glasses, too, which struck Tiffany as odd for a witch Miss Level reminded Tiffany of a happy hen And she had two arms, the normal number 'Ah, Miss Tick,' she said 'And you h to boitches don't curtsy (unless they want to embarrass Roland) 'I'd just like to have a ith Miss Level, Tiffany, if you don't fully 'Senior witch business' Ha! thought Tiffany again, because she liked the sound of it 'I'll just go and have a look at a tree then, shall I?' she said hat she hoped ithering sarcasm 1 should use the bushes if I was you, dear,' Miss Level called after her 'I don't like stopping once we're airborne' There were so talked to as though she were ten years old Tiffany would rather have allowed her bladder to explode I beat the Queen of the Fairies! she thought as she wandered into the wood All right, I'm not sure how, because it's all like a drea sent away like that A little respect wouldn't hurt, would it? That's what the old witch Mistress Weatherwax had said, wasn't it? 'I show you respect, as you in turn will respect me' Mistress Weatherwax, the witch who all the other witches secretly wanted to be like, had showed her respect, so you'd think the others could make a bit of effort in that department She said: 'See me'and stepped out of herself and walked away towards Miss Tick and Miss Level, in her invisible ghost body She didn't dare look down, in case she saw her feet weren't there When she turned and looked back at her solid body, she saw it standing demurely by the holly bushes, clearly too far away to be listening to anyone's conversation As Tiffany stealthily drew nearer she heard Miss Tick say: '- but quite frighteningly precocious'

'Oh dear I've never got on very ith clever people,' said Miss Level 'Oh, she's a good child at heart,' said Miss Tick, which annoyed Tiffany rather ly precocious' had 'Of course, you know my situation,' said Miss Level as the invisible Tiffany inched closer

'Yes, Miss Level, but your work does you great credit That's why Mistress Weatherwax suggested you'

'But I a a bit absent- down here, because like a big silly I left -distance spectacles on ht Tiffany Both witches froze, at exactly the sa!' said Miss Tick 'I have a beetle in a ency!' squeaked Miss Level Their hands flew to their pockets and pulled out string and feathers and bits of coloured cloth- They know I'ht Tiffany, and whispered, 'See me not!' She blinked and rocked on her heels as she arrived back in the patient little figure by the holly bushes In the distance, Miss Level was franticallyaround the wood 'Tiffany, come here at once!' she shouted 'Yes, Miss Tick,' said Tiffany, trotting forward like a good girl They spotted ht Well, they are witches, after all, even if in ood ones- Then the pressure came It seemed to squash the wood flat and filled it with the horrible feeling that soht behind you Tiffany sank to her knees with her hands over her ears and a pain like the worst earache squeezing her head 'Finished!' shouted Miss Level She held up a shamble It was quite different frolittery black beads and, in the middle, an ordinary matchbox Tiffany yelled The pain was like red-hot needles and her ears filled with the buzz of flies The , and nothing to show that anything had happened apart fro with an iridescent frag case 'Oh dear,' said Miss Level 'He was quite a good beetle, as beetles go' "Tiffany, are you all right?' said Miss Tick Tiffany blinked The pain had gone as fast as it had arrived, leaving only a burning memory She scrambled to her feet 'I think so, Miss Tick!' Then a word, if you please!' said Miss Tick,stern 'Yes, Miss Tick?' said Tiffany 'Did youdo anything?' said Miss Tick 'You haven't been sus, have you?'

'No! Anyway, I don't kno to!' said Tiffany 'It's not your little men then, is it?' said Miss Tick doubtfully 'They're notThey just shout "Crivens!" and then start kicking people on the ankle You definitely know it's theone,' said Miss Level 'And we should go,

too, othere'll be flying all night' She reached behind another tree and picked up a bundle of firewood At least, it looked exactly like that, because it was supposed to 'My own invention,' she said, modestly 'One never knon here on the plains, does one? And the handle shoots out by means of this button- Oh, I'm so sorry, it sometimes does that Did anyone see where it went?' The handle was located in a bush, and screwed back in Tiffany, a girl who listened to what people said, watched Miss Level closely She definitely had only one nose on her face, and it was sort of uncoht have another one and what they'd use it for Then Miss Level pulled some rope out of her pocket and passed it to someone asn't there That's what she did, Tiffany was sure She didn't drop it, she didn't throw it, she just held it out and let go, as though she'd thought she was hanging it on an invisible hook It landed in a coil on theat her and laughed nervously 'Silly et my own head next!'