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had been built in stages, over generations. The army had wanted everything
connected. The ratman said, I am sorry. I have not yet seen this myself.
There must be a more direct route. I believe we are close now. Be silent.
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Silence it was. We re good at silence. All of our lives have depended on
silence at some point. And we re all still here.
We got around by light that leaked through gaps in roofs and walls. There
were plenty of those. Unfortunately, they also let in critters and the
weather. Eventually, Singe smelled smoke. Flickering light appeared ahead and
below. Looks like firelight.
We entered the loft of what once had been a vast stable. Moldy hay still lay
here and there, inhabited by Singe s unimproved cousins.
The flickering light came from an indoor campfire. We advanced carefully.
Everybody wanted to see. And what we saw was half a dozen people trying to
keep warm around a fire being fed wood torn from nearby horse stalls. There
were tents around the fire, four of them, facing the warmth.
The camp had been there awhile. There wasn t much lumber left. There was
trash. Laundry hung on lines. That included green plaid pants. Which I noted
only in passing. I concentrated on Harvester Temisk and the old man in a
wheelchair. Who looked more lively than a man in a coma ought.
I got down on my belly, at the edge of the loft. Morley dropped beside me.
Chodo wasn t talking, nor was he moving. Still, he was farther into our world
than when last I d seen him.
John Stretch settled to my right. Ordinary brown rats collected around him,
worshipful.
Were Temisk and Chodo prisoners? Guests? Or in charge?
The unrelated things were converging, suggesting potential cause and effect
relationships.
Chodo had an arrangement with the A-Laf cult. It went back a long time.
A-Laf s thugs came to town to charge their nickel dogs with misery. Before
Temisk got in touch with me. Before Penny Dreadful turned up with her spooky
kittens.
The appearance of the Green Pants Gang must have emboldened Harvester Temisk.
He decided to rescue his boss. Powerful old allies had arrived. And they owed
Chodo.
But that left plenty of questions. How had Temisk meant to use me? Surely,
Teacher White, Rory Sculdyte, and others hadn t been factored in fully. They
hadn t been expected to survive the Whitefield Hall fire. Then there was Penny
Dreadful. Her kittens had been a jinx on everybody.
Was Penny the straight goods? Was she getting up all our noses for a reason?
Was most of what she d told Dean true?
Her presence certainly excited the Green Pants Gang. My front door was proof.
And the human combustions? I had only hints.
And now a new question arose. How the Tersize family fit. Warehousing stolen
goods and housing out-of-town religious gangsters wouldn t happen without them
noticing. Hell, they were using A-Laf s Ugly Pants sextons for security.
And why had that stone been slung my way? I couldn t make that fit. It had
gem-plus value because of its dark capabilities.
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Had Colonel Block and Director Relway taken stones off the Ymberians they d
arrested? Would they guess what they had?
Something to think about.
60
A tall, thin old man with wild white hair and exaggerated facial features
rushed into the camp. He moved fast for his age but had a major stiffness in
his hips. He walked goofy. I couldn t hear what he said, but it had to be
about ratman raiders. Everybody but Temisk and his buddy moved out fast,
armed.
Showtime, I whispered. Morley nodded.
I didn t sneak now. I went to a ladder and climbed down. Those two weren t
going to run.
As I descended I noted a coach hidden in a shadowy corner. No doubt the
vehicle used to spirit Chodo away from Whitefield Hall. There was no sign of a
team.
My advent startled Temisk. He pulled himself together quickly, though. How
did you find us?
That s what I do. Chodo, I noted, seemed fully alert.
The trouble outside is a diversion?
No. But I m taking advantage.
So you found us. Now what?
Now you tell me what s going on.
He thought about that. Then he leaned aside and stared, eyes widening in
fright.
I d been joined by several hefty rats. They perched on their haunches like
squirrels, studying Temisk.
Temisk gaped. More rats arrived. He gasped, You& you have the power to
control rats?
We have a working arrangement.
Temisk shuddered. Squeaking, he took a swipe at a big bull clambering into
Chodo s lap.
Don t do that. How did John Stretch know Temisk had a problem with rodents?
There re more of them than there are of you.
There were rats in the kitchen at Whitefield Hall. The rats told you how to
find us.
Rats go everywhere. They see everything. They hear everything.
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Temisk had the full-blown heebie-jeebies now, but his brain hadn t shut down.
You got this connection because of the ratgirl, eh?
Talk about what you ve up to, solicitor. Not about rats. I know all I need
to know about rats. No horses for the coach. I wouldn t get Chodo and Temisk
out the easy way. I m not happy with you.
I just wanted to get Chodo away from those people. All right?
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