"Ah," said Igorina. "Then you could thay you loved her very much?"
Despite everything, Polly started to laugh, and couldn't stop herself. She bit her sleeve and tried to keep going, with her shoulders shaking.
Something that felt like a small tree prodded her; in the back. "Youse two oughta keep der noise down," rumbled Jade.
"Sorry. Sorry," hissed Polly.
Igorina started to hum. Polly knew the song.
I'm lonesome since I crossed the hill
And o'er the moor and valley...
And she vowed: not that one, too. One song is enough. And I want to leave the girl behind me, but it seems I brought her with me... At which point they emerged from the trees and saw the red glow.
The rest of the squad were already gathered round, watching it. It covered quite a lot of the horizon, and brightened and faded in places as they watched.
"Is that hell?" said Wazzer.
"No, but men have made it so, I fear," said the lieutenant. "That is the Kneck valley."
"It's on fire, sir?" said Polly.
"Bless you, that's just the light of cooking-fires reflected off the clouds," said Sergeant Jackrum. "Always looks bad by night, a battlefield. Not to worry, lads!"
"What're they cooking, elephants?" said Maladict.
"And what's that?" said Polly, pointing to a nearby hill, darker still against the night. On it, a little light was flickering on and off, very fast.
There was a whoosh and a metallic "pop" as Blouse pulled out a small telescope and opened it up. "It's a light clacks, the devils!" he said.
"Dere's another one over dere," rumbled Jade, pointing to a hill a lot further away. "Twinkle, twinkle."
Polly stared at the redness in the sky, and then at the cold little light, winking on and off. Quiet, soft light. Harmless light. And behind it, a burning sky...
"It'll be in code," said Blouse. "Spies, I'll be bound."
"A light clacks?" said Tonker. "What's that?"
"An Abomination in the eyes of Nuggan," said Blouse. "Unfortunately, because they'd be damn useful if we could have 'em too, eh, sergeant?"
"Yessir," said Jackrum automatically.
"The only messages passing through the air should be the prayers of the faithful. Praise Nuggan, Praise the Duchess and so on and so forth," said Blouse, squinting. He sighed. "Such a shame. How far to that hill, would you say, sergeant?"
"Two miles, sir," said Jackrum. "Worth trying to sneak up?"
"They must know people will see them and come looking, so I expect they won't 'hang around' for long," mused Blouse. "In any case, ah, those things would be highly directional. You'd lose it once you got down in the valley."
"Permission to speak, sir?" said Polly.
"Of course," said Blouse.
"How do they get the light so bright, sir? It's pure white!"
"Some kind of firework thingy, I believe. Why?"
"And they send messages with light?"