“And the skylock?”

“Where the canal goes through,” said Pirkin. “Big gate that slides across. Oh, it’s a right pain to open, I tell you. Needs a hundred ordinary members of the association on the windlass and a couple of Branch Secretaries, at least, to do the counting. Risky business too. Long way to fall if you step off the canal side.”

“So how long will it take to get through?”

“Depends, don’t it?” said Pirkin, with a shrug that spilled hot water on himself. He didn’t seem to notice, though it would have badly scalded a human. “If there’s enough rafts queued on either side, it might already be open, or we can open it fast-like.”

“And once we’re in the Middle of the Middle, how long to get through there and on to the Top Shelf?” asked Arthur.

“Couple of days,” said Pirkin. “Depends on cargo. Got to stop at Burinberg and pick up. Unless everything’s gone to pieces.”

“Gone to pieces? How exactly?”

Pirkin looked at Arthur with surprise.

“Well, you’re part of it, aren’t you? Oddkin’s raft dropped us some letters when he passed .... Where are they now?”

He fished around in his pockets, drawing out numer­ous folded papers, till he found what he was looking for and handed them to Arthur.

“First one said Lady Friday’s nicked off somewhere and that everyone who wants to should take a holiday and experiencing’s allowed,” said Pirkin. “Second one says Lady Friday’s handed over to Superior Saturday, work must go on as usual, experiencing’s not allowed, obey Saturday’s officers and so on and so forth.”

Arthur quickly scanned the two letters, which had the colorful seals of the relevant Trustee. The first did indeed confirm that Lady Friday was going away, but it did not specifically mention abdication or handing over the Key or her authority in the Middle House.

The second, from Superior Saturday, was much more explicit. Arthur read it in full.

zo all Denizens of authority in the Middle Nouse, Arlin, rife ,Cady Friday, lormer rrustee of the Architect, has abdicated and resigned from all authority within the ,Middle _House. Jeer place has been assumed b Lady Saturday, Superior Sorcerer of the Upper Rouse.

All Denizens in the Middle },louse must acknowledge the authority of Superior Saturday and her officers.

1/ou are instructed to follow the orders of any of Superior Saturday’s officers, such orders to take precedence over any standing orders, former orders, traditions, commonplace actions, rituals, regular tasks, or any­thing else that may conflict with said orders or instructions.

All Denizens of the Middle house will continue with their regular work. Zhe practice known as “experiencing” is forbidden, and the posses­sion of a “mortal experience” is decreed to be a crime, punishable to the utmost degree by any officer of the Upper house.

All Denizens of the Middle Rouse are to cooperate with the officers, troops, and auxiliaries of the Upper house. Some auxiliaries may appear to be Aithlings aey are not dVithlings as such, but auxiliaries in the service of the Upper Rouse.

All Denizens of the Middle Rouse must immediately report to the nearest officer from the Upper house if they should observe, notice, hear, or become cognizant of any information concerning the whereabouts or intentions of the dangerous outlawArthur Pathalipt, self-styled Rightful heir to something or other.

All Denizens of the Aliddle }louse must immediately report to the nearest officer from the Upper house if they should observe, notice, hear, or become cognizant of any information concerning the whereabouts or intentions of the rebel known as the Piper, or the malcontent known as the Mariner (aka “the captain”).

All Piper’s children in the ,A4iddle Rouse are, as of HOW, outlawed and must be destroyed. Loyal Denizens of the Middle Nouse are called upon to attack Piper’s children whenever and wherever they are seen. evidence in the form of their detached heads should be retained in suitable sacks for presentation to officers of the Upper Rouse.

All creatures known as Raised Rats are, as of now, outlawed and must be destroyed. Loyal Denizens of the Middle Nouse are called upon to attack Raised Rats whenever and wherever they are seen. evidence in the form of their detached tads should be retained in suitable sacks for presentation to officers of the Upper Rouse.

All and any possessions of any captured Raised Rat or Piper’s Child must also be retained in separate labelled stacks. Should any Raised Rat or Piper’s Child be found to be in possession of a letter or any document, said document must be delivered with utmost haste to any officer of the Upper Nouse.

lgy order of Lady Saturday, Superior Sorcerer of the Upper Rouse, with tacit approval of Lord Sunday

Arthur frowned. The letter had the seal of Lady Saturday, a gold disc attached by rainbow-hued wax that constantly changed color ... but it did not have Sunday’s seal. And what did “tacit” mean?

I’ve got to find out more about Lord Sunday, thought

Arthur. He’d been thinking this for some time. All the things that are done against me seem to be organized by Saturday, and Sunday is just in the background ... or is he?

He dismissed the thought for the moment. He had to concentrate on what was in front of him right now.

“Have you read all of this second letter?” Arthur asked Pirkin cautiously. His hand fell to the Fourth Key at his side. He hadn’t put his belt back on, but he’d made sure it was never out of reach.

“I read ’em both,” said Pirkin. “But like Oddkin said, it’s just a load of old jetsam. Kill Piper’s children? Kill Raised Rats? That’s not something the association would stand for, I tell you. That Saturday ain’t got no rights here. She can do whatever she wants in the Upper House, I sup­pose, but no one here is going to do stupid stuff just because she says so.”

He paused to take another sip of his hot water, then added, “Or almost nobody. I s’pose those toffee-noses up on the Top Shelf might want to look good. They’re always going on about how close they are to the Upper House anyhow. ‘Top of the Middle just means bottom of the Upper’ they like to say. Most of ’em failed school there, I reckon. They should stick to fixing up records like they’re supposed to.”

“I hope you’re right,” said Arthur. He started to lift his cup but had to grab it with both hands as the raft suddenly lurched and the floor tilted sharply, making his chair slide back to the wall. “What’s happening?!”

“Started up the rise, haven’t we,” said Pirkin. He put down his cup and moved to the door. “Not before time too. About ten hours’ climb to the Skylock and then we should see some sunshine in the Middle. Their weather isn’t broken. I’d best see we’re in the fastest current.”

As Pirkin left the hut, Arthur settled back in his chair. The floor of the raft was now tilted up at about twenty degrees, which both looked and felt quite strange, but Pirkin had not been concerned so Arthur figured he would try not to be as well.

He had just taken his long-delayed sip when the door opened and Suzy and Fred burst in, accompanied by a cold gust of wind and some flying snow. They advanced cau­tiously to the stove, the cantered floor giving them some trouble, and sat down with their backs to the stove, facing Arthur.

“No sign of the pig thing,” said Suzy. “But Uggie’s keeping watch.”

“Never thought I’d go for a ride on a Paper Pusher’s raft,” said Fred. “Particularly not when I was up for another ninety-nine years of service in the Army before I could even get back to Letterer’s Lark.”

“Still want to be a General, Fred?” asked Arthur.

Fred shook his head slowly and fingered the line of writing around his neck.

“In whose army?” he said. “I don’t reckon Marshal Noon or anyone would trust me now.”

“I’m sure that can be removed,” said Arthur. “Dr. Scamandros, or Dame Primus—”

“Can you do it now?” asked Suzy. “I just can’t stand having to obey the—”

“Suzy! Stop!” both Fred and Arthur interrupted, but it was too late.

“—the Piper,” finished Suzy and as the word left her mouth, the line on her throat gave out a low, whistling hum and both boys saw it suddenly contract on Suzy’s throat.

Suzy coughed once and fell to the floor, sliding down to Arthur’s feet. Her face went bright red and she scratched desperately at her neck, the writing there stark white against the red, irritated skin.

“Arthur!” shouted Fred. “Do something!”

Arthur hesitated, but only for a second. He didn’t really have a choice. He drew the baton that was the Fourth Key and held it against Suzy’s throat as she thrashed at his feet.

“Release Suzy from the Piper’s bonds,” he said quietly.

A faint glow of green light appeared around the baton, and a similar glow surrounded Suzy’s throat. It grew brighter for an instant, bright as an emerald in the sun, then disap­peared, taking with it the line of type that forced Suzy to the Piper’s service.

As Suzy took in a deep, racking breath, Arthur stood up and held the baton to Fred’s throat, repeating the process.

It only took a few seconds to release both of them. Arthur sat back down, put the baton on his lap, and raised his empty hand. The crocodile ring on his finger caught the light, glinting in almost equal parts silver and gold. Arthur had to look at it more closely to see that, as he had expected, the gold had crept farther past the fifth line.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you, Suzy?” he said bitterly. “To make me use the Key.”

“I didn’t really mean to, Arthur,” said Suzy, though her voice lacked conviction. “It just came out!”

“Sure,” said Arthur. He shook his head in exasperation.

“Thanks, though,” said Suzy. She punched Arthur lightly on the shoulder, but he did not react and she stepped back.

“Yes, thank you, Arthur,” said Fred. “It was more than a bit of a worry, you know, not knowing if it was going to choke me sometime. Or cut my head off.”

Arthur didn’t answer. He was furious with Suzy for forcing him to use the Key, but he was also angry with himself for being furious, because it felt so mean not to help his friends when they needed it, just to save himself from becoming a Denizen.

The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes, neither Suzy nor Fred looking up at Arthur. He, in turn, looked down and turned the crocodile ring on his finger so that only the silver side showed. Then he turned it again, back to the gold, and kept on turning, till at last he sighed and looked up.

“What’s Ugham going to do?” asked Arthur.

“I think he’ll be all right,” said Fred. “The Newniths are funny. The ones we were with kept talking about gar­dening. They’re good soldiers, but they don’t like soldiering, I reckon. They owe the Piper because he made them, but they don’t volunteer to do anything.”

“Uggie’s said he’ll only do what he was ordered to do,” said Suzy. “Look after us. ‘Course, if he gets new orders, that’s different.”

“We’ll have to be careful,” said Arthur.

“Look on the bright side, Arthur,” said Suzy. “Now—”

“What bright side?” interrupted Arthur crossly. “You just don’t take anything seriously, Suzy!”

“She really didn’t mean to make you use the Key,

Arthur,” said Fred cautiously. “Maybe you should say sorry, Suzy.”

“Sorry,” muttered Suzy.

Arthur let out an exasperated sigh, and with it, most of his anger. He never could stay angry with Suzy, even though he knew she had almost gotten herself killed just then on purpose, to make him use his power and free her from the Piper’s compulsion.

“Oh, forget it!” he said. “Okay! Tell me what the bright side is.”

“Now you can tell us what we’re going to do so you can get the Key and fix Friday for good and proper!”

“Yes!” said Fred, his face brightening. “What’s the plan?”

Arthur frowned again, this time in thought, not anger.

“You do have a plan, don’t you?” asked Fred.

“Yes,” admitted Arthur. “But I’m not sure it’s a very good one. We’ll need to find a sorcerer, for a start. Or somehow get in touch with Dr. Scamandros. Or I suppose we might be able to find out what we need to know some other way. Or—”

“How about you tell us the plan?” said Suzy. “Before the others come back in? Between Fred and me, we can probably fix it up.”

“Thanks!” said Arthur, not without sarcasm. “It is pretty basic. First, the Piper and Saturday will both go for Lady Friday’s Scriptorium to try to seize the Key. They’ll expect me to do the same, and I guess that’s what Friday would predict I’d do. But I think I’ll try to find the Fifth Part of the Will first, which may or may not be in the Scriptorium but probably is in the Middle House. And I have a way to find the Will. At least I think I do, if I can get a sorcerer to do a simple spell. If there are any sorcerers in the Middle House ....”

“Sorcerers?” asked Fred. “Depends on what kind of sorcery. There’s heaps of Denizens who use sorcery up in the Top Shelf. Most of the High Guild, though they’re not exactly what you’d call full sorcerers, like that Dr. Scamandros. Binding and Restoration, that’s mostly sor­cery anyway. What do you want one of them to do?”

Arthur was about to answer when the door flung open and Pirkin leaned in, his face framed by a flurry of snow. An icicle fell off his nose and bounced on the stone floor.