Thud! (Discworld 34)

ing. There was a trap door in them.

"O-kay," said Angua. "There"s people up there, I can smell

them-"

"I can count fifty-seven hearts beating," said Sally.

Angua gave her a Look. "You know, that"s one particular talent I"d

keep to myself, if I was you," she said.

"Sorry, sergeant."

"It"s not the sort of thing people want to hear," Angua went on. "I

mean, I personally am quite capable of cracking a man"s skull in my

jaws, but I don"t go around telling everyone."

"I shall make a note of it, sergeant," said Sally, with a meekness

that was quite possibly feigned.

"Good. Now ... what do we look like? Swamp monsters?"

"Yes, sergeant. Your hair looks dreadful. Just like a great lump of

green slime."

"Green?"

"I"m afraid so."

"And my emergency dress is back down there somewhere," said

Angua. "It"s past dawn, too. Can you, er, go bats now?"

"In daylight? One hundred and fifty-five disorientated bits of me?

No! But you could get out as a wolf, couldn"t you?"

"I"d kind of prefer not to be a slime monster coming through the

floor, if it"s all the same to you," said Angua.

"Yes, I can see that. It does not pay to advertise." Sally flicked away

a lump of ooze. "Ugh, this stuff is foul."

"So the best we can hope for is that when we make a run for it no

one will recognize us," said Angua, pulling a lump of wobbly green

stuff from her hair. "At least we- Oh, no. .."

"What"s wrong?" said Sally.

"Nobby Nobbs! He"s up there! I can smell him!" She pointed