---
"No, I am not sick," John said. "I need to buy bread. I need to fix the hinge. I need to sleep and wake and do work tomorrow and then the next day. I need to be a good student and a careful man."
Fizz nodded, very solemn. "We will do all those boring things," he said. "And then, when we are done being boring, we will make sure no one tries to put you in a sack again."
John's mouth almost smiled. "Yes, Lord Fizz."
They reached the corner with the small square. The one – hand clock hummed. The Bent Penny's sign swung, tongue – shaped and rude as always. Pim's silhouette moved behind the window, head tilting, trying to see if the two shapes in the lane were the ones he had been watching for without wanting to seem like he was watching.
Fizz slowed at the door. "Let me do the talking," he said. "I will distract the woman with tales of our heroism while you sneak the coin up to the room like a mouse with a crown."
