Стража! Стража!

           "Well,ofcoursethisisthecase."Thethiefhesitated.ThePatrician’slastremarkhadbarbsonit.Youfoundyourselfwaitingforhimtostrike.

           "Er,"hesaid,hopingforaclue.

           "Withsomuchbusinessbeingconducted,thatis."

           Panictookoverthethief’sfeatures.Randomisedguiltfloodedhismind.Itwasn’tacaseofwhathadhedone,itwasaquestionofwhatthePatricianhadfoundoutabout.Themanhadeyeseverywhere,noneofthemsoterrifyingastheicyblueonesjustabovehisnose.

           "I,er,don’tquitefollow..."hebegan.

           "Curiouschoiceoftargets."ThePatricianpickedupasheetofpaper."Forexample,acrystalballbelongingtoafortunetellerinSheerStreet.AsmallornamentfromthetempleofOfflertheCrocodileGod.Andsoon.Gewgaws."

           "IamafraidIreallydon’tknow-"saidtheheadthief.ThePatricianleanedforward.

           "Nounlicensedthieving,surely?"hesaid.

           "Ishalllookintoitdirectly!"stutteredtheheadthief."Dependuponit!"

           ThePatriciangavehimasweetsmile."I’msureIcan,"hesaid."Thankyouforcomingtoseeme.Don’thesitatetoleave."

           Thethiefshuffledout.ItwasalwayslikethiswiththePatrician,hereflectedbitterly.Youcametohimwithaperfectlyreasonablecomplaint.Nextthingyouknew,youwereshufflingoutbackwards,bowingandscraping,relievedsimplytobegettingaway.