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"What is he saying?" Iskierka deile’s shoulders to peer down at the captain, jetting steam from her spikes "Oh! Why do you all not speak so anyone can understand; what is it about Granby?"

"He says he would flog hi him he mayn’t at all: it is not Granby’s fault," he added to the captain, "when your guest all but asks her to shoay, and anyway she was perfectly careful" Not that Iskierka needed to be breathing fire all over the place, and ordinarily Temeraire would have been all too pleased to issue her a reproof hiround on this point

Iskierka hissed in a dozen voices at once, froile: he cracked a sleepy eye and rolled it upwards to peer at her as she jounced on his shoulders in fury, and asked, "Is there anything to eat?"

It wasuproar on deck, some two feet directly overhead, while powerless to have anything to do with it "I suppose weif this ship isn’t sunk, e are done," Granby said fro his eyes; his face was drawn and deeply lined with pain

Captain Thibaux had been everything gracious--had brought his surgeon to see to Granby’s arh their hunger would have made it easy to do justice to one far inferior But there was still a guard upon the door, four men well-armed and with a look of sturdy competence, and Laurence had no illusions as to their orders: the soldiers looked anxiously at one another, and above, as the noise of quarreling dragons grew all the louder

That noise soon subsided, however, and shortly thereafter a tapping caret we are fated always to be nes said "Do you permit?" He poured: an excellent Madeira "When this endless war is over, I insist that you shall visit ive you better hospitality, if God wills we should both be spared"

"You are very kind, sir; it would give lass with more politeness than enthusias the interval in a French prison, with very little reason to encourage that hope "I aht find Tenes smiled "He should pose nowith pride a sular honor lately created by Napoleon which ca and an endowether Laurence heard this explanation in soain, Granby coughed out a laugh fro a dragon into fashion: I suppose every one of his new aristos ant one, now"

"Mme Lien has condescended to offer her advice on the nes now added "Genevieve has now five tongues to her credit, and the last acquired after she was already out of the shell"

It had not before occurred to Laurence that Lien h such a ratulated the fe for Napoleon’s benefit Laurence hily doubted she could be induced to do even so e and disdain for Western breeds Certainly the Chinese were acknowledged supreined that these entlemen very like those who served in the role in Britain and in France But that was absurd, he belatedly realized: who better to direct the breeding of dragons than the dragons themselves, and if Lien had e would benefit the breeders of France far ht have rants you should have the liberty of the quarterdeck from two to four bells of the afternoon watch, one of you at a tines said, "and you will of course wish to see to the comfort of your men; I aaol, in consequence of their numbers, but every effort will be made--"

"I understand entirely, and your assurances : he did not much object if the rescued sailors were kept in chains and sustained on weeviled biscuit and bilgewater "If Ifor our officers and creould be grateful: I will stand surety for their parole, if they are willing to give it"

De Guignes bowed acquiescence

He had ons--"Nothing to concern you, gentle to Captain Thibaux’s unfaons: he is new to his coh I cannot greatly envy you, Captain Granby," he added in a touch of raillery, which Granby’s set mouth did not appreciate

"But sir," Laurence said, "I must ask you to confide in ons of heavy-weight class added to your cones said, "but I beg you not to fear: I have discussed the matter with the captain and our aviators, and I aons shall take it in turns to spend so ill arrange to feed the is quite all right," Te down to the quarterdeck--in English; De Guignes had very gently hinted that efforts at concealing the captains’ conversation with their respective dragonsof the seaweed--"

"As anyone would," she put in, without opening her eyes or raising her head, "--it is perfectly foul, and it is all great nonsense to say it is a delicacy in China: we are not in China, and I would much rather have a cow"