Snuff
they? Goblins like the dark.â
Vimes slapped him on the shoulder. âOkay, Chief Constable Upshot, donât hit somebody who surrenders and, if a man drops his weapon, be a little bit wary of him until youâre certain he hasnât got another one tucked away somewhere, right? If in doubt, knock âem out. And you know how to do that: use the old Bang Suck Cling Buck on them, eh?!â
âYes, sir, thatâs a recipe for shoe polish, sir, but Iâll bear it in mind.â
Vimes turned to Stinky, who already looked slightly fatter than usual. âStinky, I donât have the faintest idea what is going to happen next. I can see your chums are starting to look alive, and so youâve got the chance that we all get, sink or swim, and I canât say better than that. Come on, letâs go, Feeney.â
This close, the Wonderful Fanny was now a rolling, creaking mess, half-covered by flying weeds and sticks. Apart from the storm and the clanging and creaking of the mechanisms, it was silent.
âOkay,â said Feeney quietly, âweâd better go in by the cattle door at the stern, sir, or as you would say, âthe back.â It wonât be a difficult jump, thereâs lots of handholds because the loadmaster has to come out here to see to the barges. Can you see that double door and the little wicket gate? We go in that way. Thereâll likely be more cargo along the cattle ramp, because a loadmaster never wastes floor space, and then we go midshipsâ¦â
âThat is to say âthe middle of the shipâ?â said Vimes.
Feeney smiled. âYes, sir, and watch out because itâs a mass of machinery. Youâll see what I mean, because youâre smart. Take the wrong step and you could fall into a gear or on top of an ox, never a happy occasion. Itâs noisy, smelly and dangerous, so if there are many bandits on this boat I wouldnât expect to find them there.â
I would, Vimes thought; our Mr. Stratford is the kind of maniac who would want to keep going in suicidal circumstances. Why? So that the cargo is a long way away before anyone knows about it? And Stratford works for Lord Rust and the Rusts believe the world belongs to them. Weâre taking goblins somewhere, but they want to keep them aliveâwhy?
The shock of another collision brought him back to the dreadful here and now, and he said, âIâd expect to find any crew here being watched like hawks in case they put a spanner in the works.â
âOh, very smart, sir, very smart indeed. There has to be some light in there for safetyâs sake, but not much and all behind glass âcos ofâ¦â
Feeney hesitated, so Vimes suggested, âFire, perhaps? Iâve never known an engineer who doesnât shove grease wherever he can.â
âOh, itâs not exactly the grease, sir, itâs the beasts. The gas does build up, so it does! And if the glass breaks, well, itâs regrettably spectacular. Two years ago the Glorious Peggy was blown out of the water for just such a reason!â
âDo they eat the Hang Suck Butt Dog with turnips around here?â
âNo, sir, not as far as I know, but Bhangbhangduc fusion cookery is very popular on the boats, itâs true. Anyway, further on youâll find the pilotâs cabin, the sleeping quarters and then the wheelhouse, which has very wide windows, which is another good reason to attack from behind.â
Refreshingly, it was a short leap with a good handhold at the end of it. Vimes had no worries about being heard. The deck creaked under his feet as he crept inside the Wonderful Fanny and sidled toward the middle of the ship, or whatever the hell the real term for it was, but then she creaked everywhere, and all the time, and groaned, too. The boat was so noisy that a sudden patch of silence might have drawn attention to itself. And Iâm looking for somebody who looks like everybody else, he thought, right up until he looks like the vicious killer he is. Well, that seems straightforward.
Vimes was vaguely aware of huge wheels spinning frantically off to either side and chains traveling overhead and now, here, at the top of the flight of stairs, was somebody who clearly wasnât where they should have beenâ¦
It was a woman, with a small girl clinging to her dress. They had been loosely tied to a creaking beam, and a small oil lamp overhead held them in the center of
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