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were at first deliberatelyantagonistic, acting as though he were a dunce until he proved that hewas not. all the wages of the tens of thousands of weekly paid black mine workerswere drawn from this branch and the senior accountant was a member ofthe O B. Iwould like to have another Courtney in my government, someone to trust,a good friend, perhaps one day another Courtney in my cabinet. Manfred looked down at the two bright half-crown coins in his hand andshook his head slowly.

In front of him Shasa seemed almost girlishly fragile. They were all four laughing and chattering so that for some seconds noneof them was aware of the sudden tense silence that had descended on thecrowded coffee shop. David Abrahams. He wore the black shirt and riding-breeches, the high polishedriding-boots of this secret band of knights, but his head was bare andhis uniform unadorned except for the sheathed dagger on his belt.