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At Dimity’s nod, she pushed the lever toward the letter S The machinery of the record room came to life with an enormous clatter, made all the louder by the unnatural stillness that had preceded it The whoosh of heat, the hiss of steaears, pistons, and rotary h to wake even Sister Mattie They were sure to alert Professor Braithwope Crazy hewith his supernatural hearing And he, at least, would still be up

The records shifted fro They whizzed around in a ballet of organization A large cluster drifted in Sophronia’s direction, stopping directly above her desk She pressed down hard on the brass nodule and, with a loud clunk, the records dropped to eye level

She flipped through them quickly, but none was labeled with the name Madame Spetuna She swore and racked her brain for a clue, a encer whouise In their brief acquaintance, Madaone from elderly fortune-teller to flywayman to Pickleman associate She had appeared shipboard, borrowed Bumbersnoot, and reappeared in the heart of a vanencer in Westirl who had been killed because Mada the Pickleht Sophronia, what happens to those of us who disobey orders? I wonder what happens to young lady intelligencers who run away or join the eneainst the school That would explain Lady Linette’s anger, if she thought Mada because she was a traitor

She moved to the desk that dialed in locations "Diencer who turned bad? Or entwhile under cover?"

Dimity ran to take her place and dialed in a nalanced at her necklace watch "Ten minutes left What would I label a traitor in code, you overnments, deserter is for armies What is it for us?"

"Carelessness" Dirinned over it and then returned it to its spot and dialed in another name

Our head teacher would indeed think it careless to have encer Sophronia dialed in the word lost to the location desk

Records sped toward her There were more than Sophronia had expected--a dozen at least It made her nervous Lady Linette has indeed been careless

"Sevenin another name furiously Sophronia didn’t object--Di as she kept an eye to the time

And then, there it was, the very last record, the most recent file

Madaencer’s real name was at the top: Lavish Vivita Two decades she’d been in service, indentured to the school and farmed out, occasionally, to the potentate Her record was one of consistent results through established identities, and Madauise There was an entry about beco initiative, in the form of a mechanimal, to break into the Picklemen’s inner circle

There was a note at the botto, presuht help Sophronia persuade Lady Linette

It was disappointing, and not only because it was of so little help So about it spoke to the disinterested nature of the use of intelligencers As if we are disposable Sophronia shuddered

"Time!" Dimity ran over

Sophronia flipped the file closed and pinned it back up She dialed to a rando Diuise the fact that someone had broken in and activated the record room, but there was no need for anyone to knohich files had been viewed