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it very gently: no more than a brush. First, let me secure the column with
this .rope. . . . Good. Now, apply amulet and kick!"
Nisbet obeyed; the column momentarily became weightless, during which interval
Cugel extricated the 'One' segment and pushed it aside. After a few seconds
the magic dissipated and the column returned to its former position.
"Observe!" cried Cugel. "A segment which we shall renumber and sell to
Dame Sequorce, and a fig for her nuisances!"
Nisbet uttered a protest: "Fidix will surely notice the deduction!"
Cugel smilingly shook his head. "Improbable. I have watched the men climbing
their columns. They come out blinking and half asleep. They trouble to look at
nothing but the state of the weather and the rungs of their ladders."
Nisbet pulled dubiously at his beard. "Tomorrow, when Fidix climbs his
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column, he will find himself unaccountably lower by a segment."
"That is why we must remove the 'One' from every column. So now to work!
There are many segments to move."
With dawn lightening the sky Cugel and Nisbet towed the last of the segments
to a hiding place behind a pile of rocks on the floor of the quarry.
Nisbet now affected a tremulous joy. "For the first time a sufficiency of
segments is conveniently to hand. Our lives shall now flow more smoothly.
Cugel, you have a fine, and resourceful mind!"
"Today we must work as usual. Then, in the unlikely event that the
subtractions are noticed, we shall merely disclaim all knowledge of the
affair, or blame it on the Maots."
"Or we could claim that the weight of the columns had pushed the 'Ones'
into the ground."
"True. Nisbet, we have done a good night's work!"
The sun moved into the sky, and the first contingent of men straggled out from
the village. As Cugel had predicted, each climbed to the top of his column and
arranged himself without any display of doubt or perplexity, and Nisbet
uttered a hollow laugh of relief.
Over the next few weeks Cugel and Nisbet satisfied a large number of orders,
though never in such profusion as to arouse comment. Dame Sequorce was allowed
two segments, rather than the three she had demanded, but she was not
displeased. "I knew I could get what I wanted! To gain the satisfaction of
one's wishes one needs only to propose unpleasant alternatives. I will order
two more segments shortly when I can afford your exorbitant prices; in fact,
you may begin work on them now, so that I need not wait. Eh, Nisbet? Do you
remember how I pulled your beard?"
Nisbet responded with formal politeness. "I will make a note of your order,
and it will be fulfilled in its proper sequence."
Dame Sequorce responded only with a coarse laugh and went her way.
Nisbet gave a despondent sigh. "I had hoped that a flow of segments would glut
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our customers, but, if anything, we seem to have stimulated demand.
Dame Fetish, for instance, is annoyed that Dame Gillincx's husband now sits on
the same level as Perish himself. Dame Viberl fancies herself the leader of
society, and insists that two segments separate Viberl from his social
inferiors."
Cugel shrugged. "We can only do what is possible."
In unexpectedly short order the segments of the stockpile were distributed,
and the women of the town once again became importunate. Cugel and Nisbet
discussed the situation at length, and decided to meet excessive demands with
absolute obduracy.
Certain of the women, however, taking note of Dame Sequorce's success,
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began to make ever more categorical threats. Cugel and Nisbet at last accepted
the inevitable and one night went out to the columns and removed all the
'Twos'. As before, the men noticed nothing. Cugel and Nisbet attempted to fill
the backlog of orders, and the antique urn in which Nisbet stored his terces
filled to overflowing.
One day a young woman came to confer with Nisbet. "I am Dame Mupo; I
have been wed only a week, but it is time to start a column for Mupo, who is
somewhat delicate and in need of upper level flux. I have inspected the area
and selected a site, but as I walked among the columns I noted an odd [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]