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"Nonsense, a costume ball!"

"Seeal" Mr Steffens sniffed about

"Cohed "Enjoy yourselves Tomorrow it'll be a ruin Get in the booths!"

The House blazed with life and color; harlequins rang by with belled caps and white mice danced miniature quadrilles to the music of dwarfs who tickled tiny fiddles with tiny bows, and flags rippled frooyleA creek wandered through the seven rooms of the masked ball Guests sipped and found it to be sherry Guests poured froe into another, their faces covered with do all their licenses to pick a quarrel with fantasy and horror The wo The men danced them attendance And on the walls were shadoith no people to throw thee showed "All of us vahed Mr Fletcher "Dead!"

There were seven rooreen, one orange, another white, the sixth violet, and the seventh shrouded in black velvet And in the black rooh these roo the robot fantasies, amid the Dormice and Mad Hatters, the Trolls and Giants, the Black Cats and White Queens, and under their dancing feet the floor gave off thebeat of a hidden and telltale heart

"Mr Stendahl!"

A whisper

"Mr Stendahl!"

A monster with the face of Death stood at his elbow It was Pikes "I must see you alone"

"What is it?"

"Here" Pikes held out a skeleton hand In it were a few half-s, bolts

Stendahl looked at the moment Then he drew Pikes into a corridor "Garrett?" he whispered

Pikes nodded "He sent a robot in his place Cleaning out the incinerator a o, I found these"

They both stared at the fateful cogs for a time

"This means the police will be here any minute," said Pikes "Our plan will be ruined"