Jonathan Stroud Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 1 The Amulet of Samarkand (v3[1].0)

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.It won't do nothing, but the search spheres are out, and the NightPolice too, so you'll want to hole up somewhere before they find you and eatyou.Looks to me like you struck lucky so far.Tell you what I could find youa good place to shelter tonight, if you need it.It's safe, and the spot togo" he paused, looked up and down the street, and lowered his voice "if you'vegot anything you might want to sell."Nathaniel looked at him blankly."Thank you.I haven't."The boy scratched the back of his head."Suit yourself.Well, can't hang aboutchatting.Some of us have got work to do.I'm off." He took up the poles ofhis handcart and moved away, but Nathaniel noticed him look back at them overPage 154ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlhis shoulder more than once."Strange," Bartimaeus said."What was that about?"199Nathaniel shrugged.He had already dismissed it from his mind."Go and get mesome food and warmer clothes.I'll go back to the library and read this.""Very well.Do try to keep out of trouble while I'm gone." The djinni turned and headedoff into the crowd.The article was on page two, sandwiched between the Employment Ministry'smonthly request for new apprentices and a short report from the Italiancampaign.It was three columns in length.It noted with regret the deaths in a severehouse fire of the Internal Affairs Minister Arthur Underwood and his wife,Martha.The blaze had started at approximately 10:15 P.M.and had only beenfully extinguished by fire crews and emergency service magicians three hourslater, by which time the whole building had been gutted.Two neighboringhouses had been badly affected, and their occupants evacuated to safety.Thecause of the fire was unknown, but police were keen to interview Mr.Underwood's apprentice, John Mandrake, aged twelve, whose body had not beenrecovered.Some confused reports had him being observed running from thescene.Mandrake was rumored to be of an unstable dis-position; he was known to have assaulted several prominent magicians the yearbe-fore and the public was told to approach him with caution.Mr.Underwood's death, the article concluded, was a sad loss to the Government; hehad served his ministry ably all his life and made many significantcontributions, none of which the paper had space to describe.Sitting below the windows, Nathaniel let the paper drop.His head sank againsthis chest; he closed his eyes.Seeing in cold, clear print the confirmation ofwhat he already knew struck him like a fresh blow.He reeled with it, willingthe tears to come, but his grief remained pent up, elusive.It was no good.Hewas too tired for anything.All he wanted was to sleep.A boot nudged him, not softly.He started and awoke.The djinni stood over him, grinning.It carried a paper bag from which steamcurled promisingly.Raw hunger overcame Nathaniel's dignity he snatchedthe bag, almost spilling the polystyrene cup of coffee on his lap.To hisrelief, beneath the cup were two neatly wrapped greaseproof paper parcels,each containing a hot steak sandwich.It seemed to Nathaniel that he had nevereaten anything half as good in his entire life.In two straight minutes, bothsandwiches were gone and he sat nursing the coffee in his chilblained fingers,breathing heavily."What an exhibition," the djinni said.Nathaniel slurped the coffee."How did you get this?""Stole it.Got a delicatessen man to make it all up, then ran off with itwhile he was at the cash register.Nothing fancy.The police were summoned."Nathaniel groaned."That's all we need."200"Don't worry.They'll be looking for a tall blond woman in a fur coat.Speaking of which" it pointed to a small mound amid the debris of thefloor "you'll find some better clothing there.Coat, trousers, hat, andgloves.I hope they'll fit you.Ipicked the scrawniest sizes I could find."A few minutes later, Nathaniel was better fed, better clothed, and partiallyPage 155ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlre-vived.He sat beside the fire and warmed himself.The djinni crouched nearby,star-ing into the flames."They think I did it." Nathaniel indicated the newspaper."Well, what do you expect? Lovelace isn't going to come clean, is he? Whatmagician would do a stupid thing like that?" Bartimaeus eyed him meaningfully."The whole point of starting the fire was to hide all trace of his visit.Andsince he couldn't kill you, he's set you up to take the rap.""The police are after me.""Yep.The police on one side, Lovelace on the other.He'll have his scouts outtrying to track you down.A nice little pincer movement.That's what hewants to keep you on the run, isolated, out of his hair."Nathaniel ground his teeth."We'll see about that.What if I go to the policemyself? They could raid Lovelace's house find the Amulet.""Think they'll listen to you? You're a wanted man.I use man in the broadestpossible sense there, obviously.Even if you weren't, I'd be cautious aboutcontact-ing the authorities.Lovelace isn't acting alone.There's his old master,Schyler ""Schyler?" Of course the wizened red-faced old man."Schyler is his master?Yes.I know him.I overheard them discussing the Amulet at Parliament.There's another one, too, called Lime."The djinni nodded."That may just be the tip of the iceberg.A great manysearch spheres chased me when I stole the Amulet that first night they werethe work of several magicians.If it a wide conspiracy, and you go to theauthorities, is you can't trust anyone in a position of power not to tip himoff and kill you instead.For example, Sholto Pinn, the artifact merchant, may be in on it.He is one ofLove-lace's closest friends, and in fact was having lunch with him only yesterday.I dis-covered that shortly before I was unavoidably detained at Pinn's shop."Nathaniel's anger flared."You were far too reckless! I asked you toinvestigateLovelace, not endanger me!""Temper, temper.That's precisely what I was doing.It was at Pinn's that Ifound out about the Amulet.Lovelace had it taken from a government magiciannamed Beecham, whose throat was cut by the thief.The Government badly wantsit back [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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