‘I beg your pardon, master. I don’t know what came over me. Suddenly I can seethe flame!’

From above came the sound of a match being struck, and a circle of yellow lightexpanded on the ceiling as the candle that never went out was lit. Shortlyafterwards Smeems very gingerly lowered himself to the floor.

‘Well done, sir,’ said Nutt.

The Candle Knave flicked a length of congealed candle dribble off his equallygreasy shirt.

‘Very well,’ he said. ‘But you’ll have to come back in the morning to recoverthe—’ But Nutt was already going up the rope like a spider. There was aclanging on the other side of the great candle as the lengths of snuffer polewere dropped, and then the boy abseiled back down to his master with the hookunder his arm. And now he stood there all eagerness and scrubbed (if somewhatbadly dressed) efficiency. There was something almost offensive about it. Andthe Candle Knave wasn’t used to this. He felt obliged to take the lad down apeg, for his own good.

‘All candles in this university must be lit by long taper from a candle thatstill burns, boy,’ he said sternly. ‘Where did you get those matches?’

‘I wouldn’t like to say, sir.’

‘I dare say you wouldn’t, indeed! Now tell me, boy!’

‘I don’t want to get anyone into trouble, master.’

‘Your reluctance does you credit, but I insist,’ said the Candle Knave.

‘Er, they fell out of your jacket when you were climbing up, master.’

Off in the distance was one last cry: ‘The Megapode is catched!’ But around theEmperor silence listened with its mouth open.

‘You are mistaken, Nutts,’ said Smeems slowly. ‘I think you will find that oneof the gentlemen must have dropped them.’

‘Ah, yes, that’s certainly what must have happened, sir. I must learn not tojump to conclusions.’