Once again, the Candle Knave had that off-balance feeling. ‘Well, then, we willsay no more about it,’ was all he managed.

‘What was it that happened just then, sir?’ said Nutt.

‘Oh, that? That was all part of one of the gentlemen’s magically essentialmagical activities, lad. It was vital to the proper running of the world, I’llbe bound, oh yes. Could be they was setting the stars in their courses, even.It’s one of them things we have to do, you know,’ he added, carefullyinsinuating himself into the company of wizardry.

‘Only it looked like a skinny man with a big wooden duck strapped to his head.’

‘Ah, well, it may have looked like that, come to think of it, but that wasbecause that’s how it looks to people like us, what are not gifted with theocular sight.’

‘You mean it was some sort of metaphor?’

Smeems handled this quite well in the circumstances, which included being sodeeply at sea with that sentence that barnacles would be attracted to hisunderwear. ‘That’s right,’ he said. ‘It could be a meta for something thatdidn’t look so stupid.’

‘Exactly, master.’

Smeems looked down at the boy. It’s not his fault, he thought, he can’t helpwhat he is. An uncharacteristic moment of warmth overtook him.

‘You’re a bright lad,’ he said. ‘There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be headdribbler one day.’

‘Thank you, sir,’ said Nutt, ‘but if you don’t mind I was rather hoping forsomething a bit more in the fresh air, so to speak.’

‘Ah,’ said Smeems, ‘that could be a bit… tricky, as you might say.’

‘Yes, sir. I know.’

‘It’s just that there’s a lot of—well, look, it’s not me, it’s… it’s… well, youknow. It’s people. You know what people are like.’

‘Yes. I know what people are like.’

Looks like a scarecrow, talks posh like one of the gentlemen, Smeems thought.Bright as a button, grubby as a turd. He felt moved to pat the little… fellowon his curiously spherical head, but desisted.