“Ahem,” she began again, “we think that this should be the last time.”

Maurice stared. The other rats backed away slightly, but Peaches just stared back.

“This must be the very last time we do the silly ‘plague of rats’ trick,” said Peaches. “And that's final.”

“And what does Hamnpork think about this?” said Maurice. He turned to the head rat, who had been watching them. It was always a good idea appealing to Hamnpork when Peaches was giving trouble, because he didn't like her very much.

“What d'you mean, think?” said Hamnpork.

“I… sir, I think we should stop doing this trick,” said Peaches, dipping her head nervously.

“Oh, you think too, do you?” said Hamnpork. “Everyone's thinking these days. I think there's a good deal too much of this thinking, that's what I think. We never thought about thinking when I was a lad. We'd never get anything done if we thought first.”

He gave Maurice a glare, too. Hamnpork didn't like Maurice. He didn't like most things that had happened since the Change. In fact Maurice wondered how long Hamnpork was going to last as leader. He didn't like thinking. He belonged to the days when a rat leader just had to be big and stroppy. The world was moving far too fast for him now, which made him angry.

He wasn't so much leading now as being pushed.

“I… Dangerous Beans, sir, believes that we should be thinking of settling down, sir,” said Peaches.

Maurice scowled. Hamnpork wouldn't listen to Peaches, and she knew it, but Dangerous Beans was the nearest thing the rats had to a wizard and even big rats listened to him.