They climbed the stairs like old cripples. On the second landing Chalotte, who was leading, turned and stopped the others; her eyes were wet.
‘Oh,’ she said, only just holding back her sobs, ‘it all seems so useless now. We’ve won our names but lost our friends. Isn’t it all so stupid?’
‘Shuddup,’ said Bingo. ‘Don’t make things worse.’
They went on upstairs without saying another word. Alone, Spiff topped up his cup of tea and mused over what he had heard and he thought about the loss of Knocker and the others.
‘I hate to think of what Flinthead did to ‘em when he got his hands on ‘em,’ he said to himself. ‘What a swine he is … there’s no one more cruel. Good at torture … still, they wouldn’t have lived long.’ He stirred in the sugar. ‘Shame about the treasure. I was never worried about the Rumbles, really … they probably only came down to Battersea on a little jaunt. It was the money I was after … what I could have done with that. I’d have changed things round here. Money … your average Borrible don’t know the value of the stuff, they don’t know what it’s about, what power it has. I don’t suppose I’ll ever see any real money down here. Bloody shame! Ah well, there’ll be another time, some time. It ain’t over yet.’
NOTE: If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
THE BORRIBLE TROLOGY
BY MICHAEL DE LARRABEITI
Available now
Book 1: The Borribles,
Coming soon from Tor Teen
Book 2: The Borribles Go For Broke
Book 3: The Borribles: Across the Dark Metropolis
THE BORRIBLES
Spiff called for quiet again. Now he prepared for his moment of high drama. He made a sign to the side of the stage and the prisoner was brought on for all to see. There was silence. The Rumble was still taped round the snout but its beady eyes glowed a fearful red and it stood upright and unmoved.
“This,” shouted Spiff, “is the enemy, no braver than us, no more dangerous; but they are difficult of access, living underground as they do, well-protected in their burrow. They are rich and they are powerful, and think themselves superior to all Borribles. This is the enemy who wants to take Battersea into its grasp.”
Spiff took a deep breath and shook his arms in front of his body as if he was emptying a sack of cement: the crowd stirred with emotion.
“This is the enemy and we all know that they must be stopped at all costs. Yes, but more than that, they must be eliminated, and who are the Borribles to do it? Why we are!”
An enormous cheer rose from the audience.
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE BORRIBLES
Copyright © 1976 by Michael de Larrabeiti
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
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eISBN 9781466821569
First eBook Edition : May 2012
EAN 978-0-765-35005-3
First Tor Teen edition: July 2005
The Borribles Page 26