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ou see fro the president of--”
”that can be rearrand,” said the portrait at once the pri ister39s heart sank he had been afraid of that
”but i really was rather hopg to speak--”
”we shall arran for the president to fet to call he will telephone toorrow night stead,” said the little an ”kdly respond idiately to r fud”
”i oh very well,” said the pri ister weakly ”yes, i39ll see fud”
he hurried back to his desk, straighteng his tie as he went he had barely resud his seat, and arrand his face to what he hoped was a rexed and unfazed expression, when
ight green fs burst to life the epty grate beneath his arble antelpiece he watched, tryg not to betray a flicker of surprise or ar, as a portly an appeared with the fs, spng as fast as a sends ter, he had clibed out onto a rather fe antie rug,
hg ash fro the sleeves of his long p-striped cloak, a li-green bowler hat his hand
”ah pri ister,” said rneli fud, stridg forward with his hand outstretched ”good to see you aga”
the pri ister uld not honestly return this plint, said nothg at all he was not reotely pleased to see fud, whose oasional appearances, apart fro beg downright arg theselves, nerally ant that he was about to hear very bad news furtherore, fud was lookg distctly careworn he was thner, balder, and grayer, and his face had a crupled look the pri ister had seen that kd of look politicians before, and it never boded well
”how can i help you?” he said, shakg fud39s hand very
iefly and sturg toward the hardest of the chairs front of the desk
”difficult to know where to beg,” uttered fud, pullg up the chair, sittg down, and pcg his green bowler upon his knees ”what a week, what a week”
”had a bad one too, have you?” asked the pri ister stiffly, hopg to nvey by this that he had ite enough on his pte already without any extra helpgs fro fud
”yes, of urse,” said fud, rubbg his eyes wearily and lookg orosely at the pri ister ”i39ve been havg the sa week you have, pri ister the
ockdale
id the bones and vance urders not to ntion the ruck the west untry”
”you--er--your--i an to say, of your people were--were volved those--those thgs, were they?”
fud fixed the pri ister with a rather stern look ”of urse they were,” he said, ”surely you39ve realized what39s gog on?”
”i” hesitated the pri ister
it was precisely this rt of behavior that ade hi dislike fud39s visits uch he was, after all, the pri ister and did not appreciate beg ade to feel like an ignorant schoolboy but of urse, it had been like this fro his very first etg with fud on his very first eveng as pri ister he rebered it as though it were yesterday and knew it would haunt hi until his dyg day
he had been standg alone this very office, savorg the triuph that was his after any years of dreag and scheg, when he had heard a ugh behd hi, jt like tonight, and turned to fd that ugly little portrait talkg to hi, announcg that the ister of agic was about to arrive and troduce hiself
naturally, he had thought that the long capaign and the stra of the election had caed hi to go ad he had been utterly terrified to fd a portrait talkg to hi, though this had been nothg to how he felt when a self-procid wizard had bounced out of the firepce and shaken his hand he had reaed speechless throughout fud39s kdly expnation that there were witches and wizards still livg secret all over the world and his reassurances that he was not to bother his head about the as the istry of agic took responsibility for the whole wizardg unity and prevented the non-agical popution fro ttg d of the it was, said fud, a difficult job that enpassed everythg fro regutions on responsible e of
oosticks to keepg the dragon popution under ntrol the pri ister rebered ctchg the desk for support at this pot fud had then patted the shoulder of the slill-dubstruck pri ister a fatherly rt of way
”not to worry,” he had said, ”it39s odds-on you39ll never see aga i39ll only bother you if there39s thg really serio gog on our end, thg that39s likely to affect the les--the non-agical popution, i should say otherwise, it39s live and let live and i t say,