“No dragons in it, are there?” said Colon suspiciously.
“No dragons, no humans. There's no-one around,” said Carrot impatiently. He drew his sword. “Come on!” he said.
“Where to?” said Nobby. He'd pulled a damp butt from behind his ear and was looking at it with an expression of deepest sorrow. It was obviously too far gone. He tried to light it anyway.
“We want to fight the dragon, don't we?” said Carrot.
Colon shifted uncomfortably. “Yes, but aren't we allowed to go home for a change of clothes first?”
“And a nice warm drink?” said Nobby.
“And a meal,” said Colon. “A nice plate of-”
“You should be ashamed of yourselves,” said Carrot. “There's a lady in distress and a dragon to fight and all you can think of is food and drink!”
“Oh, I'm not just thinking about food and drink,” said Colon.
“We could be all that stands between the city and total destruction!”
“Yes, but-” Nobby began.
Carrot drew his sword and waved it over his head.
“Captain Vimes would have gone!” he said. “All for one!”
He glared at them, and rushed out of the yard.
Colon gave Nobby a sheepish look.
“Young people today,” he said.
“All for one what?” said Nobby.
The sergeant sighed. “Come on, then.”
“Oh, all right.”
They staggered out into the alley. It was empty.
“Where'd he go?” said Nobby.
Carrot stepped out of the shadows, grinning all over his face.
“Knew I could rely on you,” he said. “Follow me!”
“Something odd about that boy,” said Colon, as they limped after him. “He always manages to persuade us to follow him, have you noticed?”
“All for one what?” said Nobby.
“Something about the voice, I reckon.”
“Yes, but all for one what?”
...
The Patrician sighed and, carefully marking his place, laid aside his book. To judge from the noise there seemed to be an awful lot of excitement going on out there. It was highly unlikely any palace guards would be around, which was just as well. The guards were highly-trained men and it would be a shame to waste them.
He would need them later on.