“And then, of course, you can defeat them by stealing their left sock,” said Oats. “Sorry?” said Agnes. “I think I misheard you there.” “Um . . . they’re pathologically meticulous, you see. Some of the gypsy tribes in Borogravia say that if you steal their sock and hide it somewhere they’ll spend the rest of eternity looking for it. They can’t abide things to be out of place or missing.”
