The Truth (Discworld 25)

He lobbed the fragile bottle so that it would land twenty feet ahead of the werewolf. Then he dropped from the stairs on to the top of a wall and jumped down on to a privy roof just as the glass broke with a 'pof!' inside the sock.

There was a yelp, and the sound of scrabbling claws.

William jumped from the roof on to another wall, inched along the top of it and climbed down into another alley. Then he ran.

It took five minutes, dodging into convenient cover and cutting through buildings, to arrive at the livery stables. In the general bustle no one took any notice of him. He was just another man coming to fetch his horse.

The stall that might or might not have contained Deep Bone was occupied by a horse now. It looked down its nose at him.

'Don't turn round, Mister Paper Man,' said a voice behind him.

William tried to remember what had been behind him. Oh, yes... the hay lift. And huge bags of straw. Plenty of room for someone to hide.

'All right,' he said.

'Hark, hark, the dogs do bark,' said Deep Bone. 'You must be ment'l.'

'But I'm on the right track,' said William. 'I think I've--'

"ere, you sure you weren't followed?'

'Corporal Nobbs was on my trail,' said William. 'But I shook him off.'

'Hah! Walkin' round the corner'd shake off Nobby Nobbs!'

'Oh, no, he kept right up. I knew Vimes would have me tracked,' said William proudly.

'By Nobbs?'

'Yes. Obviously... in his werewolf shape...' There. He'd said it. But today was a day for shadows and secrets.

'A werewolf shape,' said Deep Bone flatly.

'Yes. I'd be grateful if you didn't tell anyone else.'

'Corporal Nobbs,' said Deep Bone, still in the same dull monotone.

'Yes. Look, Vimes told me not to--'

'Vimes told you Nobby Nobbs was a werewolf?'

'Well... no, not exactly. I worked that out for myself, and Vimes told me not to tell anyone else

'About Corporal Nobbs bein' a werewolf...'

'Yes.'

'Corporal Nobbs is not a werewolf, mister. In any way, shape or form. Whether he's human is another matter, but he ain't a lycr-- a lynco-- a lycantro-- a bloody werewolf, that's for sure!'

Then whose nose did I just drop a scent bomb in front of?' said William triumphantly.

There was silence. And then there was the sound of a thin trickle of water.

'Mr Bone?' said William.

'What kind of a scent bomb?' said the voice. It sounded rather strained.

'I think oil of scallatine was probably the most active ingredient.'