"If we get 'em outa there," his companion corrected. "Me, I feel almost like just crawlin' outa here and lettin' 'em do as they please."
"Shame on you, Murphy," the first cop said. "It's our duty to protect them babies, even if they don't look very human."
"What'll we do?"
The cop surveyed the situation; Toffee was now facing away from them, watching as Chadwick was being shelved beside Agatha.
"Now's our chance," he said. "Let's rush 'em."
"I wouldn't mind rushin' that redhead," Murphy said stoutly, "if I could just get out of the readin' room. She flings a mean book."
"Let's go," the first cop whispered. "No time to jaw."
Together, the policemen rushed once more onto the scene of their recent defeat. Somehow confused, they both ran headlong for Toffee and the ladder. Apparently neither remembered the swift mobility of the ladder for, simultaneously, they lunged at it, throwing their full weight against it.
Instantly the ladder shot into motion, fully burdened with the two startled cops and a thoroughly unbalanced Toffee. At the outset Toffee toppled from her perch, hurtled downward, and caught one of the cops around the neck just in time to prevent a crashing arrival at the floor. From there on, it was just one grand, piggy-back ride for the redhead. For the cop it was a matter of an extra burden and hanging on for dear life. Books, row upon row of them, flashed by in a screaming blur. They were heading for a dead end with the speed of a bullet.
"Get off me!" Toffee's protector yelled ungallantly. "Beat it, lady! No riders!"