- •Val opened his eyes and shut them again. It was too cold to move. New Year's Day, he thought, perhaps this year I'll get my bike.
- •Val was uneasy, for it would be awful if the cops caught them. He dare not get pinched again. He had had too many warnings already, and this would count as breaking
- •Val edged silently into the passage, and shut the cellar door. The police had propped up the broken door. Val crept towards it and put his eye to the keyhole. Through it, he saw
- •It was the Monday of the next week that Len brought home Ruby. He was always bringing home something, sparrows with broken legs or stray kittens.
- •If he succeeded in passing there, he might be all right. Going up silently on the tips of his toes, Val could smell kippers.
- •It was a real pleasure to walk through such a nice, tidy garden. A long way off, Ally could see Grandpa working in the garden.
- •I think if I grew some flowers of my own. Thought Ally, I would never want to go away and leave them. It's so quiet too, no shouting like in the flats. I would like to live here.
- •Chapter IX
- •It was a nuisance not to be able to get the bike at once.
- •Val got to the Common. He had smoked cigarettes but this toofer was much more pungent. Still, anything to impress Shorty and Nap.
- •I just can't wait to see the children. I just lie here imagining myself getting a nice cup of tea in my own kitchen."
- •I'll lend you a hand."
- •Val had learnt not to give his name to strangers, but he said, "Seven, if you count Mum and Dad and Auntie Glad."
- •Val, however, slid away, and went downstairs behind the men.
- •Val was in a real predicament. The police knew him only too well.
- •Val was getting up early too, doing his paper round. He never failed to be there and Mr Arby said he was a good boy.
- •In spite of having the wrong part, Ally went round the flat sinking the song refrains at the top of her voice, until Mum yelled, "For pity's sake lay off, Ally. I'm sick to death of those choruses."
- •Contents
Val was uneasy, for it would be awful if the cops caught them. He dare not get pinched again. He had had too many warnings already, and this would count as breaking
and entering. Val knew as much about the law as any lawyer. If the police opened the cellar door, the boys would be caught like rats. And what would Mum say if Val were sent away to an approved school? Yet Val could not exist without adventure.
There came a sound of heavy footsteps in the passage. The policemen must have come back and noticed the forced door. That idiot Ginger could not have shut it properly.
"They've been in here again," said a man's deep voice. "I'll give them something when I catch up with them."
"I thought I saw some of the little devils mucking about in the bushes," said a younger, lighter voice.
"It's always Saturdays," said the older man. "They ought to go to school all day and every day of the week. Then we'd get a little peace."
The boys gasped with horror in the darkness. Suppose the police got a new law made that said everyone was to stay at school the whole week long? That would be awful! If the police did open the cellar door! In the darkness, all the boys could hear their hearts thudding.
Heavy feet came past the cellar door and halted. The boys held their breath. Suppose someone hiccoughed now?
The deep voice remarked, "I can't waste time here. You'd better report that door, Evans. You see about it."
The heavy feet passed the cellar door again, and went down the passage, and the boys could hear the men fiddling with the broken door.
Ginger and George started to get out. Val elbowed them back. '"Use your loaf," he whispered scornfully. "This is maybe a trick. No one is to move till I say so, see?" He jabbed his elbow backwards in the darkness and got Ginger in the stomach. "Ow! You hurt me, Val."
"Shut up. Or I'll cut your throat. I won't have you in the gang, See?"
The gang all stayed silent for a moment, thinking Val was wonderful. Anybody else would have gone rushing out and got caught. You had to use your loaf. Just as Val said.
No wonder he was the leader of the Black Hand Gang! That was their name, and a good one too, as their hands were always filthy and left traces on everything they touched.
"We'll give them five minutes," said Val. "Police haven't got patience. Then I'll make a reccy. You chaps stay here. If I don't come back, you'll know they got me. And keep your big mouths shut."
Val edged silently into the passage, and shut the cellar door. The police had propped up the broken door. Val crept towards it and put his eye to the keyhole. Through it, he saw
a small area of bush and grass. Then softly, inch by inch, he shifted the door and leapt back into shelter, waiting a moment for the attack. But no one moved. With a beating heart, he dared to step into the garden. Not a sound! The coppers had gone!
The getaway was as cautious as the arrival. Under Val’s command, the boys left the house one by one, dived into the bushes and crawled through a hole that someone had already made in the fence. Val and George replaced the door and made it look natural.
"You're a bit black," said George to Val as they trotted back across the Common. Val looked as if he had spent a day down a coal mine.
"That's all right." said Val comfortably. "Mum's used to it."
Chapter III
RUBY