[Default] On Thu, 3 Jan 2008 13:32:14 -0800 (PST), David Cragg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> finished tucking into their plate of fish, chips and mushy peas. Wiping their mouth, they swiggged the last of their cup of tea, paid the bill and wrote::
> Now you mention that place does anyone remember there being mention of any > canals on the disc? If not then TP should do a story on one ruled over by DW > etc. > There is (pause whilst he checks the book) - there's a reference to a flight of locks built by the dwarfs to let barges down to the plains at the end of The Fifth Elephant. "On a clear day, from the right vantage point on the Ramtops, a watcher could see a very long way across the plains. The dwarfs had harnessed mountain streams and built a staircase of locks that rose a mile up from the rolling grasslands, for the use of which they charged not just a pretty penny but a very handsome dollar. Barges were always ascending or descending, making their way down to the river Smarl and the cities of the plain. They carried coal, iron, fireclay, pig treacle* and fat, the dull ingredients of the pudding of civilization. In the sharp, thin air they took several days to get out of sight. On a clear day, you could see next Wednesday. The captain of one of the barges waiting for the top lock went to tip the dregs of his teapot over the side and saw a small dog sitting on the snowy bank. It sat up and begged, hopefully. He turned to go back into the cabin when he thought: what a nice little doggie. It was such a clear thought that it almost seemed to him that he had heard it, but he looked around and there was no one else near him. And dogs certainly couldn't talk. He heard himself think: 'This little doggie would be very useful keepin' down rats that might attack the cargo, sort of fing.' It must have been his thought, he decided. There was no one else nearby, and everyone knew dogs didn't talk. He said aloud, 'But rats don't eat coal, do they?' He thought, clear as day: 'Ah, well, you never know when they might try, right? Anyway, it's such a sweet-looking little doggie that's been strugglin' for days through deep snow, huh, not that anyone cares.' The bargeman gave up. There"s only so long you can argue with yourself. Ten minutes later the barge was m the drop to the plains, with a small dog sitting prow, enjoying the breeze. On the whole, thought Gaspodr- it am always best to look to the future. *The treacle mines below Ankh-Morpork had long been exhausted, leaving only a street name to remember them by. But the collision with the Fifth Elephant had buried thousands of acres of prehistoric sugarcane around the borders of Uberwald and the resulting dense crystalline sugar was the foundation of a large mining, confectionery and dentistry industry." Brian L Dominic Web Sites: Canals: http://www.brianscanalpages.co.uk
