bagel?"

Nunzio was both unconvinced and undaunted in his

scolding.

"How are we supposed to be your bodyguards if you

keep sneaking off alone every chance you get? Do you

know what Don Bruce would do to us if anything hap-

pened to you?"

"C'mon, Nunzio. You know how things are here at

the Bazaar. If the Deveels see me with a bodyguard, the

price of everything goes through the ceiling. Besides, I

MYTH-ING PERSONS 5

like being able to wander around on my own once in a

while."

"You can afford the higher prices. What you can't

afford is to set yourself up as a target for every bozo

who wants the rep of bagging the Great Skeeve."

I started to argue, but my conversation with Aliman

flashed across my mind. Nunzio was right. There were

two sides to having a reputation. If anyone believed the

rumors at the Bazaar and still meant me harm, they

would muster such firepower for the attempt that my

odds for survival would be nonexistent.

"Nunzio," I said slowly, "you may be right, but in

all honesty what could you and Guido do to stop a

magical attack on me?"

"Not a thing," he said calmly. "But they'd probably

try to knock off your bodyguards first, and that might

give you time to get away or hit them yourself before

they could muster a second attack."

He said it easily, like you or I might say "The sun

rises in the east," but it shook me. It had never really

occurred to me how expendable bodyguards are, or how

readily they accept the dangers of their profession.

"I'll try to remember that in the future," I said with a

certain degree of grave humility. "What's more, I think