Soul Music Read Online Free PDF Page A

had been the secretaryship of the Musicians.
    Technically, he should have been a musician. So he bought a comb and paper. Since up until that time the Guild had been run by real musicians, and therefore the membership roll was unrolled and hardly anyone had paid any dues lately and the organization owed several thousand dollars to Chrysoprase the troll at punitive interest, he didn’t even have to audition.
    When Mr Clete had opened the first of the unkempt ledgers and looked at the unorganized mess, he had felt a deep and wonderful feeling. Since then, he’d never looked back. He had spent a long time looking down. And although the Guild had a president and council, it also had Mr Clete, who took the minutes and made sure things ran smoothly and smiled very quietly to himself. It is a strange but reliable fact that whenever men throw off the yoke of tyrants and set out to rule themselves there emerges, like a mushroom after rain, Mr Clete.
    Hat. Hat. Hat. Mr Clete laughed at things in inverse proportion to the actual humour of the situation.
    â€˜But that’s nonsense!’
    â€˜Welcome to the wonderful world of the Guild economy,’ said Mr Clete. ‘Hat. Hat. Hat.’
    â€˜What happens if we pllay without belonging to the Guilld, then?’ said Imp. ‘Do you confiscate our instruments?’
    â€˜To start with,’ said the president. ‘And then we sort of give them back to you. Hat. Hat. Hat. Incidentally . . . you’re not elvish, are you?’
    â€˜Seventy-five dollars is criminall ,’ said Imp, as they plodded along the evening streets.
    â€˜Worse than criminal,’ said Glod. ‘I hear the Thieves’ Guild just charges a percentage.’
    â€˜And dey give you a proper Guild membership and everything,’ Lias rumbled. ‘Even a pension. And dey have a day trip to Quirm and a picnic every year.’
    â€˜Music should be free,’ said Imp.
    â€˜So what we going to do now?’ said Lias.
    â€˜Anyone got any money?’ said Glod.
    â€˜Got a dollar,’ said Lias.
    â€˜Got some pennies,’ said Imp.
    â€˜Then we’re going to have a decent meal,’ said Glod. ‘Right here.’
    He pointed up at a sign.
    â€˜Gimlet’s Hole Food?’ said Lias. ‘Gimlet? Sounds dwarfish. Vermincelli and stuff?’
    â€˜Now he’s doing troll food too,’ said Glod. ‘Decided to put aside ethnic differences in the cause of making more money. Five types of coal, seven types of coke and ash, sediments to make you dribble. You’ll like it.’
    â€˜Dwarf bread too?’ said Imp.
    â€˜ You like dwarf bread?’ said Glod.
    â€˜Llove it,’ said Imp.
    â€˜What, proper dwarf bread?’ said Glod. ‘You sure ?’
    â€˜Yes. It’s nice and crunchy, see.’
    Glod shrugged.
    â€˜That proves it,’ he said. ‘No one who likes dwarf bread can be elvish.’
    The place was almost empty. A dwarf in an apron that came up to its armpits watched them over the top of the counter.
    â€˜You do fried rat?’ said Glod.
    â€˜Best damn fried rat in the city,’ said Gimlet.
    â€˜OK. Give me four fried rats.’
    â€˜And some dwarf bread,’ said Imp.
    â€˜And some coke,’ said Lias patiently.
    â€˜You mean rat heads or rat legs?’
    â€˜No. Four fried rats.’
    â€˜And some coke.’
    â€˜You want ketchup on those rats?’
    â€˜No.’
    â€˜You sure ?’
    â€˜No ketchup.’
    â€˜And some coke.’
    â€˜And two hard-boilled eggs,’ said Imp.
    The others gave him an odd look.
    â€˜Wellll? I just like hard-boilled eggs,’ he said.
    â€˜And some coke.’
    â€˜And two hard-boiled eggs.’
    â€˜And some coke.’
    â€˜Seventy-five dollars,’ said Glod, as they sat down. ‘What’s three times seventy-five dollars?’
    â€˜Many dollars,’ said Lias.
    â€˜More than two hundred