Snuff
stiff look.
âFraternizing with the natives, are you, Nobby?â
Young Sam wandered over to the goblin girl and took hold of her hand, which was something he tended to do to any female that he met for the first time, a habit which his father considered would quite possibly open doors for him in later life. The girl tried gently to pull her hand away, but Young Sam was a ferocious holder.
Nobby looked embarrassed. âI ainât fraternizing with her, Mr. Vimes, she wants to fraternize with me! She come out with the straw basket of little mushrooms and gives them to me, honestly!â
âAre you sure they arenât poisonous?â
Nobby looked blank. âDonât know, Mr. Vimes. I ate them anyway, very nice, very crunchy, slightly nutty you might say, and Fredâs here now, sir. This young ladyââand to Vimesâs surprise and approval Nobby did not put inverted commas around the word ladyââwalked right up to him, took this weird shiny pot thing out of his hand, which was amazing because no one else could get it off of him, and there he was! Just like normal! Although I think weâre going to have to remind him about washing, and crapping only in the privy and so on.â
Vimes gave up. It was true that every organization had to have its backbone, and therefore it stood to reason that there also would have to be some person who equated to the bits usually destined for dog food. But Nobby was loyal and lucky, and if there is anything that a policeman really needs, itâs luck. Maybe Nobby had got lucky.
âWhat are you doing up here, Nobby?â he said. Nobby looked at Vimes as if he were mad, and pointed to the wobbling temporary clacks tower. âHave to check the clacks messages, Mr. Vimes. Actually, young Tony, who is the only one manning it, he sort of types them, and wraps them around a stone and they drops down, which isââ There was a rattle on Nobbyâs helmet and he deftly caught a stone wrapped in a strip of paper before it hit the ground. âWhich is why I stand just here, Mr. Vimes.â Nobby unrolled the paper and announced, âOne double stateroom and one single on the Roberta E. Biscuit , departing at 9 p.m. tomorrow! Lucky you, Mr. Vimes. Clacks! What would we do without it, eh?â
There was a shout from above: âStand back, man coming down!â and Vimes saw the whole structure of the clacks tower tremble as the young man carefully lowered himself from one spar to another, testing every one before putting his weight on it. He dropped the last few feet and held out his hand to Vimes. âPleased to meet you, Sir Samuel! Sorry itâs shaky, but we were still working on it last night. A real rush job! Needs must when Lord Vetinari drives, you might say. Weâll do it properly later if thatâs okay by you? Iâve got it lined up on a Grand Trunk tower, and theyâll bounce it to anywhere you want, plus a feed down to a clacks on your house, too. Of course youâll have to have somebody manning this one to maintain the link, but from what I see that wonât be a problem.â The young man saluted Vimes and added, âBest of luck to you, sir, and now Iâm off to have my meal and a wash.â
There was another clang on the helmet of Nobby Nobbs, and a wad of paper wrapped around a pebble fell at his feet.
The young clacksman picked it up proprietorially and read the message. âOh, itâs just an acknowledgment of service closure, confirming that I am standing down for a break. My assistant typed it. He didnât really need to pass it on, but he is a conscientious little bugger and I have never seen such a quick study. Show him how to do something once and thatâs enough! Reliable little devil as well. And with those big hands he has no problem with the keyboard.â
As the man strode off whistling down the hill, Vimes jumped to a conclusion like a grasshopper. âStinky! Just you come down here, you little perisher!â he yelled.
âRight here, commander!â The little goblin was already standing almost between Vimesâs boots.
âYou? You! You operating a clacks ? Can you read?â
Stinky held out both large hands. âNo, but can look, but can remember! Green man say âStinky, this pointy thing it called Aâ and Stinky donât need telling twice, and he say âThis one, look like bum, he called B.â Good fun!â
Weitere Kostenlose Bücher