Even Glenda smiled at that one. Pecking was a picnic compared with whatAnkh-Morpork could offer.

‘Vetinari’s letting all sorts in these days,’ said another passenger. ‘I won’thear a word said against the dwarfs—’

‘Good,’ said a voice at his back. He moved aside and Glenda saw the dwarfstanding behind him.

‘Sorry, mate, I didn’t see you there, what with you being so little,’ said theman who had nothing against dwarfs. ‘As I was saying, you lot just settle downand get on with it and are no trouble to anybody, but we’re getting some weirdones now.’

‘That woman they put in the Watch last month, for one,’ said the old lady. ‘Theweird one from out Ephebe way. Gust of wind caught her sunglasses and threepeople turned into stone.’

‘She was a Medusa,’ said Glenda, who had read about that in the Times. ‘Thewizards managed to turn them back again, though.’

‘Well, what I’m saying is,’ started the man who had nothing against dwarfs, ‘wedon’t mind anyone, so long as they mind their own business and don’t do anyfunny stuff.’

This was the rhythm of the world to Glenda; she’d heard it so many times. Butthe feeling of the crowd was now very much against the Sisters. Sooner or latersomebody was going to pick up a stone. ‘I’d get out of here now,’ she said,‘get out and go back to the lady you work for. I should do that right now, if Iwere you.’

‘Awk! Awk!’ one of them screeched.

But there were brains in those strange-shaped heads. And the three Sisters wereclearly bright enough to want to keep them there and ran for it, hopping andleaping like herons until what seemed like cloaks turned out to be wings, whichpounded on the air as they sought for height. There was a final scream of ‘Awk!Awk!’

The driver of the horse bus coughed. ‘Well, if that’s all sorted out then Isuggest you all get back on board, please, ladies and gentlemen. And whoever.And don’t forget your candles, mister.’

Glenda helped Nutt on to a wooden seat. He was holding his toolbox tightlyacross his knees, as if it would offer some sort of protection. ‘Where were youtrying to go?’ she said as the horses began to move.

‘Home,’ said Nutt.

‘Back to Her?’

‘She gave me worth,’ said Nutt. ‘I was nothing and she gave me worth.’

‘How can you say you were nothing?’ said Glenda. On the pair of seats in frontof them, Trev and Juliet were whispering together.

‘I was nothing,’ said Nutt. ‘I knew nothing, I understood nothing, I had nounderstanding, I had no skill—’

‘But that doesn’t mean someone is worthless,’ said Glenda firmly.

‘It does,’ said Nutt. ‘But it does not mean they are bad. I was worthless. Sheshowed me how to gain worth and now I have worth.’

Glenda had a feeling they were working from two different dictionaries. ‘Whatdoes “worth” mean, Mister Nutt?’

‘It means that you leave the world better than when you found it,’ said Nutt.

‘Good point,’ said the lady with the macaroons. ‘There’s far too many peoplearound the place who wouldn’t dream of doing a hand’s turn.’

‘All right, but what about people who’re blind, for example?’ This from thehardboiled-egg man, sitting on the other side of the bus.

‘I know a blind bloke in Sto Lat who runs a bar,’ said an elderly gentleman.‘Knows where everything is and when you put your money on the counter he knowsif it’s the right change just by listening. He does all right. It’s amazing, hecan pick out a dud sixpence halfway across a noisy bar.’

‘I don’t think there are absolutes,’ said Nutt. ‘I think what Ladyship meantwas that you do the best you can with what you have.’

‘Sounds like a sensible lady,’ said the man who had nothing against dwarfs.

‘She’s a vampire,’ said Glenda maliciously.

‘Nothing against vampires, just so long as they keep themselves to themselves,’said the macaroon lady, who was now engaged in licking something revoltinglypink. ‘We’ve got one working down at the kosher butcher’s on our street, andshe’s as nice as you like.’

‘I don’t think it’s about what you end up with,’ said the dwarf. ‘It’s aboutwhat you end up with compared with what you started with.’

Glenda leaned back with a smile as attempts at philosophy bounced their wayfrom seat to seat. She wasn’t at all certain about the whole thing, but Nuttwas sitting there looking far less bedraggled and the rest of them weretreating him as one of themselves.

There were dim lights ahead in the darkness. Glenda slipped from her seat andwent up ahead to the driver. ‘Are we nearly there yet?’

‘Another five minutes,’ said the driver.

‘Sorry about all that silly business with the lead pipe,’ she said.

‘Didn’t happen,’ said the man cheerfully. ‘Believe me, we get all sorts on thenight bus. At least no one’s thrown up. Quite an interestin’ lad you’ve gotback there with you.’

‘You’ve no idea,’ said Glenda.

‘Of course, all he’s saying is you’ve got to do your best,’ said the driver.‘And the more best you’re capable of, the more you should do. That’s it,really.’

Glenda nodded. That did seem to be it, really. ‘Do you go straight back?’ shesaid.

‘No. Me and the horses are stopping here and will go back in the morning.’ Hegave her the wry look of a man who’s heard a great many things, andsurprisingly seen a great many things, when to those behind him he was just ahead facing forward keeping an eye on the road. ‘That was a wonderful kiss shegive me. I’ll tell you what, the bus will be in the yard, there’s plenty ofstraw around and if anyone was to have a bit of a kip, I wouldn’t know aboutit, would I? We’ll leave at six with fresh horses.’ He grinned at herexpression. ‘I told you, we get all sorts on the late-night bus: kids runningaway from home, wives running away from husbands, husbands running away fromother wives’ husbands. It’s called an omnibus, see, and omni means everythingand damn near everything happens on this bus, that’s why I have the axe, see?But the way I see it, life can’t be all axe.’ He raised his voice: ‘Sto Latcoming up, folks! Return trip six o’clock prompt.’ He winked at Glenda. ‘And ifyou’re not there, I’ll go withoutcha,’ he said. ‘You’ve got to catch the bus atbus-catching time.’

‘Well, this hasn’t been so bad, has it?’ said Glenda, as the lights of the citygrew bigger.

‘My dad’s going to fret,’ said Juliet.

‘He’ll think you’re with me.’

Trev said nothing. By the rules of the street, being exposed in front of yourwant-to-be girlfriend as the kind of man who can so easily be seen not to bethe kind of man that would have the guts to belt someone over the head with alength of lead pipe was extremely shaming, although no one seemed to havenoticed this.

‘Looks like a bit of trouble ahead,’ the driver called back. ‘The Lancre Flyerain’t gone.’

All they could see were flares and lantern lights, illuminating the bigcoaching inn outside the city gate, where several coaches were standing. Asthey drew nearer, he called to one of the skinny, bandy-legged andweaselly-looking men who seemed to self-generate around any establishment thatinvolved the movement of horses. ‘Flyer not gone?’ he enquired.

The weaselly man removed a cigarette end from his mouth. ‘ ’orse frowed ashoe.’

‘Well? They’ve got a smith ’ere, ain’t they? Speed the mails and all that.’

‘He’s not speedin’ nuffink on account of him just laminating his hand to theanvil,’ said the man.

‘There’ll be the devil to pay if the Flyer don’t go,’ said the driver. ‘That’spost, that is. You should be able to set your watch by the Flyer.’

Nutt stood up. ‘I could certainly re-shoe a horse for you, sir,’ he said,picking up his wooden toolbox. ‘Perhaps you had better go and tell someone.’

The man sidled off and the bus came to rest in the big yard, where a ratherbetter dressed man came hurrying up. ‘One of you a smith?’ he enquired, lookingdirectly at Glenda.