Men at Arms - Terry Pratchett [32]
“No dwarf did it,” said Cuddy, who was swaying gently. “No troll, neither.” He tried to tap the side of his nose, and missed. “The reason being, he still had all his arms and legs on.”
“Captain Vimes’ll want it investigated,” said Carrot.
“Captain Vimes is trying to learn to be a civilian,” said Nobby.
“Well, I’m not going to—” Colon began, and got off his stool.
He hopped. He jumped up and down a bit, his mouth opening and shutting. Then the words managed to come out.
“My foot!”
“What about your foot?”
“Something stuck in it!”
He hopped backward, clutching at one sandal, and fell over Detritus.
“You’d be amazed what can get stuck to your boots in this town,” said Carrot.
“There’s something on the bottom of your sandal,” said Angua. “Stop waving it about, you silly man.”
She drew her dagger.
“Bit of card or something. With a drawing pin in it. You picked it up somewhere. Probably took a while for you to tread it through…there.”
“Bit of card?” said Carrot.
“There’s something written on it…” Angua scraped away the mud.
“GONNE”
“What does that mean?” she said.
“I don’t know. Something’s gone, I suppose. Perhaps it’s Mr. Gonne’s visiting card, whoever he is,” said Nobby. “Who cares? Let’s have ano—”
Carrot took the card and turned it over and over in his hands.
“Save the pin,” said Cuddy. “You only get five of them for a penny. My cousin Gimick makes them.”
“This is important,” said Carrot, slowly. “The captain ought to know about this. I think he was looking for it.”
“What’s important about it?” said Sergeant Colon. “Apart from my foot hurting like blazes.”
“I don’t know. The captain’ll know,” said Carrot stubbornly.
“You tell him, then,” said Colon. “He’s staying up at her ladyship’s now.”
“Learning to be a gentleman,” said Nobby.
“I’m going to tell him,” said Carrot.
Angua glanced through the grubby window. The moon would be up soon. That was one trouble with cities. The damn thing could be lurking behind a tower if you weren’t careful.
“And I’d better be getting back to my lodgings,” she said.
“I’ll accompany you,” said Carrot, quickly. “I ought to go and find Captain Vimes in any case.”
“It’ll be out of your way…”
“Honestly, I’d like to.”
She looked at his earnest expression.
“I couldn’t put you to the trouble,” she said.
“That’s all right. I like walking. It helps me think.”
Angua smiled, despite her desperation.
They stepped out into the softer heat of the evening. Instinctively, Carrot settled into the policeman’s pace.
“Very old street, this,” he said. “They say there’s an underground stream under it. I read that. What do you think?”
“Do you really like walking?” said Angua, falling into step.
“Oh, yes. There are many interesting byways and historical buildings to be seen. I often go for walks on my day off.”
She looked at his face. Ye gods, she thought.
“Why did you join the Watch?” she said.
“My father said it’d make a man of me.”
“It seems to have worked.”
“Yes. It’s the best job there is.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yes. Do you know what ‘policeman’ means?”
Angua shrugged. “No.”
“It means ‘man of the polis’. That’s an old word for city.”
“Yes?”
“I read it in a book. Man of the city.”
She glanced sideways at him again. His face glowed in the light of a torch on the street corner, but it had some inner glow of its own.
He’s proud. She remembered the oath.
Proud of being in the damn Watch, for gods’ sake—
“Why did you join?” he said.
“Me? Oh, I…I like to eat meals and sleep indoors. Anyway, there isn’t that much choice, is there? It was that or become…hah…a seamstress.”*
“And you’re not very good at sewing?”
Angua’s sharp glance saw nothing but honest innocence in his face.
“Yes,” she said, giving up, “that’s right. And then I saw this poster. ‘The City Watche Needs Men! Be A Man In The City Watch!’ So I thought I’d give it a go. After all, I’d only have something to gain.”
She waited to see if he’d fail to pick this one up, too. He did.
“Sergeant