A Business of Ferrets (Bharaghlafi Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

watchers were silent; awed or frightened. One sooty hand stole up to cover Mouse's mouth. Her eyes were wide. Owl had stopped breathing, expecting someone momentarily to raise the cry of 'Witch.' Only Donkey maintained his placid blankness—though his mind searched desperately for some way to ease the situation. Then, the nobleman Mouse had drawn stepped forward. Mouse had caught him perfectly: his shrewd eyes, his sardonic mouth, and the elegance of the narrow hand which held the cane.  He planted the brass shod tip of his cane next to his portrait.
    "Impressive," he said. "Very impressive indeed." With a languid gesture, he sent a shower of coins to the flagstones. As if his action were a signal, other coins followed his. Stunned, but not paralyzed, the three children scrambled to gather them. In their scuffling, the drawing was smudged beyond recognition.
    "Sweet Lady of Sorrows," Owl murmured. "There's more money here than I see in a month."
    "Dinna ask me to do it again," Mouse pleaded.
    "Na," Donkey agreed. "Too near a thing."
    "What can we do with the money?" Owl said.
    "Take my share," Donkey offered. "You need it most."
    Mouse nodded. "My parents would only ask questions —and they'd never believe I didn't steal it."
    Owl was clearly terrified. "No. I mustn't have it. Zhazh— If Zhazh ever finds out— Gods , he'll think it's the beating ."
    "Ferret," Donkey offered. "She'd hide it."
    "So she would." Relief warmed him; his face lost its waxen look. "So who wants to find her? Donkey?"
    "Me. I'll go," Mouse said; and then, she was gone.
    ***
    Mouse returned to the Waiting Wall with Ferret only moments after Squirrel showed up with a loaf of bread and a sausage. Squirrel grinned cheekily at the thief.
    "Trust you to turn up where there's food," he greeted her.
    "Ho, Squirrel, Owl, Donkey. So what's up? Mouse can barely squeak, she's so rattled."
    "I want you to hide some money for me," Owl said. "If you're willing."
    Squirrel's eyebrows shot up. "You're going to hold out on Zhazher?" At Owl's tight nod, Squirrel pounded his palm with a fist in a gesture of enthusiasm. "And high time."
    Owl had torn a good sized bit from his ratty tunic, and had stowed the coins in the knotted fabric. Casually, he tossed the wad of cloth to Ferret. She was unable to suppress an instant's surprise at the weight. "Count it?" she asked.
    He shook his head. "There's a deal of silver—and a lot of people."
    "What happened?"
    It was Donkey who told the tale, around a hunch of bread and a chunk of savory sausage. Though his face was placid, it was clear that the others were still badly shaken. Despite the heat, Mouse huddled against Owl as though she were cold. When Donkey fell silent, they each remained pensive, until Ferret spoke. "Khyzhan says there's no figuring nobles."
    "A pearl of great wisdom—and from a very unlikely source," a voice commented.
    They all jumped. It was the longshoreman, Sharkbait. Ferret thrust her chin up and glared at him; Sharkbait made her a bit uncomfortable. Ferret disliked contradictions, and Sharkbait was full of them. He spoke like the gentry, though with his knife-scarred face and callused hands, no one could mistake him for anything but a worker. He had a reputation for shrewdness bordering on ruthlessness, but he was unfailingly kind to her and her friends; and Owl, who was quite good at assessing people, liked and trusted the man.
    "Sharkbait!" Owl greeted him. "What are you doing here?"
    "Eavesdropping," he told them. "Actually, I was commissioned to make a delivery." From somewhere about his person he removed a flat, rectangular package, which he gave to Mouse. "From an admirer."
    Mouse regarded Sharkbait for several heartbeats, worry scoring her brow, before she untied the string and unwrapped the parcel: a nicely tooled leather case which contained a stack of creamy sheets of paper, several charcoal sticks, two small pots of ink, half a dozen quills, and a small, silver knife. The girl stared at