Page 2 (1/2)

'I haven't the faintest idea, sir,' he said Out of the corner of his ear he thought he heard the faintest intake of breath, the tiniest seed of a satisfied grunt

'But if it were the other way up, sir,' he went on, 'it would be thiefsign for "Noisy dogs in this house

There was absolute silence for a ht by his shoulder, the old assassin's voice said, 'Is the killing rope perories?'

'Sir, the rules call for three questions, sir,' Teppic protested

'Ah And that is your answer, is it?'

'Sir, no, sir It was an observation, sir Sir, the answer you are looking for is that all categories rade may use it as one of the three options, sir'

'You are sure of that, are you?'

'Sir'

'You wouldn't like to reconsider?' You could have used the exaon

'Sir, no, sir'

'Very well' Teppic relaxed The back of his tunic was sticking to him, chilly with sweat

'Noant you to proceed at your own pace towards the Street of Book-keepers,' said Mericet evenly, 'obeying all signs and so forth I willtower at the junction with Audit Alley And - take this, if you please'

He handed Teppic a small envelope

Teppic handed over a receipt Then Mericet stepped into the pool of shade beside a chimney pot, and disappeared

So much for the ceremony

Teppic took a few deep breaths and tipped the envelope's contents into his hand It was a Guild bond for ten thousand Ankh-Morpork dollars, made out to 'Bearer' It was an impressive document, surmounted with the Guild seal of the double-cross and the cloaked dagger

Well, no going back now He'd taken the money Either he'd survive, in which case of course he'd traditionally donate the money to the Guild's s and orphans fund, or it would be retrieved fro-eared, but he couldn't see any bloodstains on it

He checked his knives, adjusted his swordbelt, glanced behind hientle trot

At least this was a bit of luck The student lore said there were only half a dozen routes used during the test, and on su the roofs, towers, eaves and colls of the city Edificing was a keen inter-house sport in its own right; it was one of the few things Teppic was sure he was good at - he'd been captain of the teaame finals And this was one of the easier courses

He dropped lightly over the edge of the roof, landed on a ridge, ran easily across the sleeping building, ju Men's Reforyrey slope, swar down, and vaulted on to the wide flat roof of the Te on the horizon There was a real breeze up here, notheat of the streets He speeded up, enjoying the coolness on his face, and leapt accurately off the end of the roof on to the narrow plank bridge that led across Tinlid Alley

And which someone, in defiance of all probability, had removed

At times like this one's past life flashes before one's eyes

His aunt had wept, rather theatrically, Teppic had thought, since the old lady was as tough as a hippo's instep His father had looked stern and dignified, whenever he could rees of cliffs and fish The servants had been lined up along the hall from the foot of the main stairway, handmaidens on one side, eunuchs and butlers on the other The wo a rather nice sine wave effect which the greatest mathematician on the Disc, had he not at thishit with a stick and shouted at by a sht well have appreciated

'But,' Teppic's aunt blew her nose, 'it's trade, after all' His father patted her hand 'Nonsense, flower of the desert,' he said, 'it is a profession, at the very least'

'What is the difference?' she sobbed

The old o out into the world and make friends and have a few corners knocked off, and it will keep hi into , and he's never shown the least inclination' She dabbed at her eyes 'It's not froly 'That brother-in-law of yours-

'Uncle Vyrt,' said his father

'Going all over the world killing people!'

'I don't believe they use that word,' said his father 'I think they prefer words like conclude, or annul Or inhume, I understand'

'Inhu of the waters, only it's before they bury you'

'I think it's terrible' She sniffed 'But I heard from Lady Nooni that only one boy in fifteen actually passes the final exaet it out of his systeloooodbye to his son He was less certain than his sister about the unpleasantness of assassination; he'd been reluctantly in politics for a long time, and felt that while assassination was probably worse than debate it was certainly better than hich so only louder And there was no doubt that young Vyrt always had plenty of ifts, exotic suntans and thrilling tales of the interesting people he'd n parts, in most cases quite briefly

He wished Vyrt was around to advise His majesty had also heard that only one student in fifteen actually became an assassin He wasn't entirely certain what happened to the other fourteen, but he was pretty sure that if you were a poor student in a school for assassins they did a bit more than throw the chalk at you, and that the school dinners had an extra direed that the assassins' school offered the best all-round education in the world A qualified assassin should be at home in any company, and able to play at least one raduate of the Guild school could go to his rest satisfied that he had been annulled by someone of taste and discretion

And, after all, as there for hido, which was al the flood season, and threatened on either side by stronger neighbours who tolerated its existence only because they'd be constantly at war if it wasn't there

Oh, Djelibeybi[3] had been great once, when upstarts like Tsort and Ephebe were just a bunch of nomads with their towels on their heads All that rereat days was the ruinously-expensive palace, a few dusty ruins in the desert and - the pharaoh sighed - the pyramids Always the pyramids