“That's something you don't see every day,” said Ridcully. He looked happy. Up to now, the journey had been quite uneventful.
“Now he's coming toward us.”
“Oh, good.” The highwayman stepped over the groaning body of the driver and marched toward the door of the coach, dragging his stepladder behind him.
He opened the door.
“Your money or, I'm sorry to say, your-”
A blast of octarine fire blew his hat off. The dwarfs expression did not change. ' “I wonder if I might be allowed to rephrase my demands?”
Ridcully looked the elegantly dressed stranger up and down or, rather, down and further down.
“You don't look like a dwarf,” he said, “apart from the height, that is.”
“Don't look like a dwarf apart from the height?”
“I mean, the helmet and iron boots department is among those you are lacking in,” said Ridcully.
The dwarf bowed and produced a slip of pasteboard from one grubby but lace-clad sleeve.
“My card,” he said.
It read:
Giamo Casanunda
WORLD'S SECOND GREATEST LOVER
We Never Sleep
FINEST SWORDSMAN - SOLDIER OF FORTUNE
OUTRAGEOUS LIAR - STEPLADDERS REPAIRED
Ponder peered over Ridcully's shoulder.
“Are you really an outrageous liar?”
“No.”
“Why are you trying to rob coaches, then?”
“I am afraid I was waylaid by bandits.”
“But it says here,” said Ridcully, “that you are a finest swordsman.”
“I was outnumbered.”
“How many of them were there?”
“Three million.”
“Hop in,” said Ridcully
Casanunda threw his stepladder into the coach and then peered into the gloom.
“Is that an ape asleep in there?”