in the end , cuddy remained faithful to his axe , but added a couple more as an afterthought ; sergeant colon chose a pike because the thing about a pike , the important thing , was that everything happened at the other end of it , i.e. , a long way off ; lance-constable angua selected , without much enthusiasm , a short sword , and corporal nobbs- -corporal nobbs was a kind of mechanical porcu- pine of blades , bows , points and knobbly things on the end of chains .