wonderful reputation with the people who run the city
government because there’s never any trouble here.”
‘ ‘And the Friends of the Street put model citizens back
into the population,” Folly added. “People who never
give the city any trouble.
Jon-Tom was so furious he was shaking. “If you got out
of this place,” he asked the trembling, altered youngsters,
“where would you go?”
Again a flurry of desperate pleas. “Anywhere.. anyplace
… the waterfront, I want to be a sailor.. I can sew, be a
steamstress… I’m good with paints … I want to be…!”
He shushed them all. “We’ll get you out. Somehow.
Mudge, what about the dorm we came through? Can we
risk going back that way with all these kids?”
“Fuck the risk, mate.” Jon-Tom had never seen the
otter so mad. “Not only are we goin’ back into the other
dorm, we’re goin’ to break every cub out o’ this pit o’
abomination. Come on, you lot,” he told them. “Quiet-
like.” Jon-Tom followed behind, making sure no one was
left and shepherding them along like a giraffe among a
flock of sheep.
The hallway and the stairs were silent. Once in the other
dorm those awake went from bed to bed waking their
friends and explaining what was happening. When they
were through, the center aisle was full of milling, anxious
young faces.
Mudge opened the door to the supply closet. At the
same time the door at the other end of the dorm burst
open. Standing in the opening was the powerful figure of a
five-foot-tall adult lynx. Green eyes flashed.
“What’s going on in here?” He started in. “By the