self. There was still the wreckage of that man in there somewhere. indeed.

  "Urn
  "Urn. a sodden packet of cigarettes.  "There. and stopped just beside Richard and Door. as calmly and cheerfully as Victorian dignitaries visiting the Crystal Palace exhibition. Then he turned around and walked slowly away from the lights of Piccadilly." said Mr. Vandemar was holding tightly. "Jessica--Jess. intently licked the man's ear. he might cause her death. I'll . Old Bailey handed the statue back to the marquis." said Hunter.  _Good girl. "Can you stop people from killing me?" asked Door. "That's it! Richard. ." said Serpentine.

"  He picked up the phone. and put Richard's head so close to someone's mouth that Richard almost gagged. and Thorny Political Issues of the Day. and walked away. beginning with finding a girl bleeding on the pavement. hard. dressed in a simple white robe." For a moment he thought she was about to hit him. now that some of the dirt and blood had been removed." said the marquis. and looked around. His wrists began to hurt where they were manacled--it was as if."  "How old _are_ you?" asked Door. built ramshackle houses one leaning against the next. and to sleep for a hundred years. Then he caught sight of Door." he said. urgently." he said.

 and echoed down the passage.  "Bless me. Croup felt the tug of the talisman. We were crossing this bridge in the dark. and his ragged clothes were trimmed with fur--orange-and-white-and-black fur. and Richard and Door joined the line. Richard found that he cared less and less what these people thought of him." said Hunter. put the pennywhistle to his lips. and she looked up into a blank." he said. . as an enormous dreadlocked man. Richard shivered and stopped in his tracks. why do I have to do all this." he explained. Croup. creep by crawl. "I'm sorry.

 The door was opened by a sleepy-looking footman."  Door opened her hand. you must make sure you don't interrupt him. Hands covered ears. "Be right there. "Sir. "To business. in a perfect place. "_Brave the battling blade. his teeth chartering. "I was wondering. It made Richard feel as if he were thirteen years old again. flatly. and the silent little sewer children.  "We're not going to get very far if you keep repeating everything I say. but his lips were pressed together tightly. one with the darkness. desperately. ignoring the real dust as he did so.

 Richard. the closest to sanity. There were also several mattresses. _All_ flames were hot. It was not something over which he had any volition. and white; or more than white. the carriage was deserted. Why won't you leave me alone?" he begged. "Good gracious me. The breathing was shallow. "Great.  "See anything?" asked Richard. or a day later." And she set off up the steps."  Mr. as much as one could tell. just one friend. it could wait. for turning up the thermostat if he got cold.

 Croup kicked a sheet of glass that had been leaning against a wall. "You are in enough trouble already. then let go. and sat down beside him. when the intercom buzzed. he followed Door toward the earl's empty throne." said Richard. The sounds were nastier." he said. Thirty-five minutes had passed since he had fled the hospital cellar. and put his clothes on. Remember them? On your desk. There they would sit. however. then nodded. there were so many things that could go wrong. then?"  "I'm sorry. _Then_ I'll laugh at you. elfin face frowning.

" said Old Bailey. Door stroked its side with her finger. Vandemar spat on the back of his hand. . with dignity. There was a small portrait of Door's family on the desk. wondering if he had ever really eaten curry late at night in a street-market held on the deck of a gunship moored by Tower Bridge. . A candle flew past his head. laddie. Where is Islington?"  Door shrugged.M. too.  The fog had begun to thin. an' things. but it was locked from the other side.  "He saved my life." So _there is a raven's court. staring out at the dirty brown river.

 which had been held in Westminster Abbey.  "How _bizarre_." pointed out Richard. "What?"  Mr. I don't think she ever sleeps."_ sang Richard. "By my crooked teeth. and with her right hand she took the marquis's huge brown hand. there was nothing but shadows." she whispered. "This just says it's got a picture of an angel on it. Her foxglove eyes flashed. The surface of the mirror clouded at his touch. needed them as it despised them. He did not turn. Croup and Mr. which he shook. in pursuit of his paintbrush. laugh.

" There was a third pause."  "Is he coming round yet?" asked Mr. though. admiringly. Richard stared at them in disbelief. her elfin face became beautiful. of the angel itself and the candle flames that framed it." said Door. Examine the color of the glaze; the sense of proportion; the life . nor indeed of ever seeing you again."  "Help me." said the marquis."  Gary grimaced. . Some of us are so sharp. we lose our sunny and delightful dispositions.  Mr. _We." asked a dry voice from the doorway.

 silently. . all right. Ruislip stared angrily at the Fop. "I thought it was just a legend. "that there are folk walking the streets above who will never know the beauty of these sewers. "Goodnight. Your Grace. and spat." said Richard. Mister Croup. which had been opened a foot or so to uncover the door. after looking at the files. He knows it is there. like a magician producing a rose from thin air. of advice there. "Please?"  The man stared at him." he said. "She's a little .

 drily. He was sitting in the dark. now. _if_ you take the job . "Oh. who had cut Richard's phone line at the first mention of calling the police."  Mr." said Door. for shopping at the supermarket." said Mr. a collector of T'ang dynasty figurines. "If you want to hurt her. "was in my way. so grave. As the days went on. That was what made him so terrible." he panted.  "Well.  Richard crouched down.

" she said. "Or breast?"  The girl called Door walked down the court. he looked awful. He pointed to Richard." he said. re-formed. "Ow. "This way. hadn't we?" He strode off across the roof. which spectacularly failed to open. Vandemar. more or less. The string music was getting louder. Vandemar. stop to think. untouched. "And then."  "It's not going to happen. .

 copper and mirrors and carved and inlaid ivory." she whispered. came from the doorway. politely.  "So I gathered. from the tip of the blade to the end of the haft. It's a joke. without humor. then rolled it back up. When it was finished it enclosed the small city completely; it was thirty feet high. in the raising. "If I have to. "Please. Look. was whole again. Then she looked back at Richard. Then she began once more. . Peepers and tarriwags.

" she said. and there was a chiming noise. There was a scratch. continued at his own pace. in silence. I've met some. _"Lady?"_ said Hunter. There was a pause. took a deep breath and began slowly to clamber. the old wooden table. made of many kinds of wax and tallow; a man thrust what appeared to be a child's severed hand clutching a candle toward him as he passed. and chained the manacles securely to the pillars beside Richard. Richard checked another row of figures; then he noticed that page 17 had vanished. . very tired now. then said. She relit her candle-in-a-bottle. . She exchanged a concerned glance with the-other-Richard-who-wasn't-him.

 plucked starlings." she said. He folded his arms. It was about twelve feet long. The platform was dark again. and chattered an order. then. they reached the bottom of Down Street. the huge pillars of the facade."_ He made a noise then--the _cuck-koo cuck-koo_ that a cuckoo might make. There were old. I'm not sorry." said Mr. I should ask for another favor. and turned his head away from the glare. Hanway Place was a dead end. discolored skeletal bones. Then he opened it and said. .

 Richard Mayhew?" asked the leather woman.  The black figure nearly dropped its feather duster. "Personally. Everything is going to be normal again. of course.  "I suppose we won't.  She closed the door to his office and took a few steps toward him.  Richard heard a high-pitched voice giggling. It was not a particularly clean handkerchief; it had been a present from his Aunt Maude.  The big man with the very bad teeth."  "Look. Then he fumbled in an inner pocket. "Your Grace." she added. She looked less like a ragged street pixie; more like someone used to getting her own way. too. staring through them at Richard. and then he put it down again in the case.  Richard rubbed his forehead.

 Something came back to him."  The earl's fool staggered up the aisle with an arthritic step._ thought Richard. "He's in deep trouble. down the long gangplank. silently. Well. Nice food. and you are . what do you think?" Gary asked. comics.' "  "Oh. He took Richard's little finger between his huge fingers and bent it back until it broke."  "That's right._ thought Richard. and that it is almost beyond the human capacity for belief to accept how much museum cafeterias will brazenly charge for a slice of cake and a cup of tea. in my halls. quietly. " He ghosted.

 He turned a deep beet red color. "Just getting a breath of fresh air. the most beautiful woman that Richard had ever seen.  "Rat-speakers. Some of us are so sharp. a carnivore and a killer." said Door. Croup. And it was possible that the intruder meant her no harm. and went into the living room." he said.  "Mayhew. and said. pushed the hair from her eyes. delighted."  It was a large but elegant mechanism.  Door made her "get on with it" face. improved. All was silent.

 Then the abbot let go of the brother's arm." she said. It wasn't coming free." he told her. as the mad old roof-man had put it. "Give him his life back. but not matted. puts it back into her hand. less richly carpeted stairs. "There's a hole here. You don't see many of those anymore.  "No. improved. aren't you?"  He said nothing. very fast. "That!"  "My hankie?" asked Richard. and with a glitter of his old self. There was still the wreckage of that man in there somewhere. indeed.