Roger crept through the dark streets until he came to a grating in the gutter, like a proper rathole, only human-sized. If he went down there, he wouldn't have to bother anyone and he wouldn't do anything wrong. He could stop trying to be a boy and go back to being a rat. "Once a rat, always a rat." Billy had told him, and it must be true, because he certainly wasn't any good at being a boy ...