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‘Hurry!’

Arthur crouched, ready to ju he needed was to spear himself with that when he landed

With the Key in his hand, he felt suddenly ain, then leaped far into space, and drifted down like a feather to land on the balcony, hardly needing to bend his knees Suzy Blue was already gone, the door banging behind her Arthur got up and followed, once h his belt with his shirt over it

The room behind the balcony was set up like an old-fashioned office, which didn’t surprise Arthur reen leather tops, all streith papers There were bookcases laden with as lanterns burned in each corner, and under one of these lights, on a sn of any food at all in the city, a bronze hot-water urn with ots, a silver teapot, and several china cups

There were also people at work They looked up as Suzy and Arthur ran past, but they didn’t say anything or try to stop thee pile of parchments off one corner of a desk as he zoomed past, theaith his quill – though he did look up and frown

Suzy bounded out of the office and down the central stairs At the bottoh a narrow hall, opened the door of what appeared to be a broom closet, and went in Arthur followed her and discovered it was really a broom closet Or a mop closet, to be strictly accurate, as there were severalin buckets It smelled dank and musty

‘Shut the door!’ whispered Suzy

Arthur shut the door, and with it went the light

‘What are we doing here?’

‘Hiding The Coh every house in Lost Street after the Nithlings We’ll wait ’em out here’

‘But they’ll find us for sure!’ protested Arthur ‘This is a pathetic hiding –’

‘You’ve got Monday’s Key, ain’t you?’ asked Suzy ‘Half of it, anyway Or so I’ve been told’

‘Yes,’ confirmed Arthur

‘Well, use it!’

‘Use it how?’ asked Arthur

‘I don’t know,’ said Suzy ‘It is a Key, so why not lock the door?’

Arthur took out the Key It glowed in the dark, this tireen phosphorescence He’d used it to lock the library doors on the Fetchers, and to release the straps in the ambulance, but he didn’t really knohat else he was supposed to do with it

‘How exactly do I –?’

‘Shhh!’ ordered Suzy urgently Then in that weird deep voice, she added, ‘Touch the door handle and tell it to lock’

Arthur touched the Key to the curved iron handle and whispered, ‘Lock!’

At the same time he heard the crash of boots in the corridor outside His heart hammered in his chest al place Then the handle rattled oncetwicebut did not turn

‘Locked, Sergeant!’ bellowed a deep voice It sounded a bit weird, as if the speaker had a ht The footsteps retreated, and a few seconds later Arthur heard several heavyset people going up the stairs

He opened histo Suzy, but she held up her hand – love – and shook her head

Severalto the footsteps and occasional shouts Then there was a clattering on the stairs, a sudden rush, and the handle was tried again

‘Locked, Sergeant!’ boomed the same voice Then the footsteps went away and Arthur heard the front door sla twice,’ said Suzy ‘At least the metal ones do, the ordinary Coeants are a different trouble They’re not Made, and most of ’em have fallen froeants as a punishment Come on – we should be able to sneak out now Unlock the door’

Arthur touched the door with the Key and said, ‘Open’

The door sprang open with sudden violence, slaainst the wall Suzy stepped out first Arthur was follohen her surprised cry gave hi to whip the Key behind his back

‘Oh! Sergeant!’

A Coht feet of hih on closer examination a foot of that was fro, and a very sharp, long nose under piercing blue eyes The gold stripes on his blue sleeves gleaht

‘Well, well, well,’ he said His voice was deep, but not tinny like the other Commissionaire He pulled a notebook out of his coat pocket, flipped it open, and took a pencil stub out from a thin sleeve on the side of the notebook ‘I wondered why that closet would be locked What have we here? Your names, numbers, rank, and business’

‘Suzy Turquoise Blue, 182367542 and a half in precedence, Ink-Filler Sixth Class, on ink-filling business’

Halfway through her answer, Suzy’s voice changed into the very deep, scratchy tone Arthur had heard before

The Sergeant’s pencil stopped

‘Your voice What’s happened to it?’

‘I’ve got a bit of a frog in ? Where’d you get that?’ asked the Sergeant enviously

‘Present,’ said Suzy in her norht even last a year if I’ in the throat,’ said the Sergeant sadly ‘Had a small nose tickle once Confiscated it from a Porter who had it from a Flotsam Raker Went for a twelvemonth before it wore out Very distinctive Not as flamboyant as a sneeze, but very niceWhere was I? Who’s this other lad?’

‘Ah, I’m –’

‘He’s one of our lot,’ interrupted Suzy ‘Arthur Night Black Got dropped on his head in a pool of Nothing down below a couple of hundred years ago and hasn’t been right since Always getting lost That’s as in that closet I was looking for hi at Arthur

‘He’s lost theled out of his coat, and went hiding Expect the Nithlings et ’eeant He peered down at Suzy ‘Now I haven’t got anything against you Ink-Fillers, but orders is orders I’ll have to take him to the Inquiry Clerk’

‘Inquiries!’ Suzy snorted ‘He could be there for years They’ll dock his pay – and hientle yet, have you?’