the babe soon before shutting the window without even acknowledging Tom or Georgie. I stepped forward and the whole company turned.
‘Very good, troops,’ I said, and made a show of inspecting their uniforms and bearing as if I was the officer and this lowly courtyard our barracks. I would not tolerate scruffiness in a member of my gang and was pleased not to find it here. I also noted with approval that all three carried canes what was similar to mine and this was not the first time I had set a trend among them. My silver top was fashioned into the image of a bird with a protruding beak and theirs was all also bearing icons of the natural world. Georgie’s top wasmoulded into the shape of a horse’s head, Tom’s was that of a cat’s paw and Mouse’s was of a fox with its toothy mouth open, which was perfect for forcing open stubborn bottles. The silversmith what must have forged these stolen items was quite the artisan but I liked mine best as the bird’s beak could be used to hook itself into any door panel what I chose to hit with the cane and prise open a hole for a smaller thief to crawl through.
‘I ain’t ever seen a smarter bunch of lads,’ I remarked as I swivelled the bird’s beak up and over so the cane was now held behind my neck as I strutted past them. There was four of us, including Scratcher, what had stolen the necklace and the money would be split equal. Mouse was only coming so that we would look like an organised mob in front of Percival, and he would receive some coins for his trouble.
So I turned about and led my happy band out of Five Fingers and out through the maze of the slums towards the direction of Temple. We was followed for a spell by a young Irish lad of about eleven who skipped behind us asking what we was doing and where we was going. Young boys such as he was often captured by the romance of a gang like ours and this one was making a proper nuisance of himself as he buzzed after, imitating our cocky swagger. It was not until we reached the bottom of Drury Lane that we at last shook him off and then the four of us crossed the thoroughfare of Pickford Street. Knowing what a troublesome gang of villains we must have appeared as we did not even stop for carriages but just let their drivers avoid us instead. Finally we drew near to Temple Bar but it was not to the legal district itself where we was heading. Instead Percival had chosen as our rendezvous a quiet little public-house down a narrow lane nearby called the Drop of Courage. This was the sort of place where the families of the accused might visit before or after taking professional advice, amuch lower haunt where solicitors might be found but the criminal element was also not unwelcome. Percival had no doubt selected it as it was a place where his class and our class would not look so suspicious talking to one another.
The sum of money what he had promised to pay us for the safe return of the Lady of Stars was considerable, as much as I had ever been offered during my short career as a burglar-on-demand. I hoped that if this transaction went well then it would prove to be the first of many such engagements as Percival might start recommending me to other wealthy gents what might have similar felonious requests. It would be good, I reflected as the four of us turned into the long sooty lane what led towards the pub, to at last start making some real money from these God-given talents of mine.
We had advanced halfway down the lane before two figures what had been blocking our passage at the end made themselves visible. One of them had been lying in a slump between some empty barrels of ale outside the pub and we had at first taken him for a drunken vagrant. But, as we drew closer, he stood up in a manner of confident sobriety just as another man emerged from around the corner like he had been waiting there. They both held large wooden sticks.
The four of us stopped in our tracks and, without exchanging a word, raised up our
‘Very good, troops,’ I said, and made a show of inspecting their uniforms and bearing as if I was the officer and this lowly courtyard our barracks. I would not tolerate scruffiness in a member of my gang and was pleased not to find it here. I also noted with approval that all three carried canes what was similar to mine and this was not the first time I had set a trend among them. My silver top was fashioned into the image of a bird with a protruding beak and theirs was all also bearing icons of the natural world. Georgie’s top wasmoulded into the shape of a horse’s head, Tom’s was that of a cat’s paw and Mouse’s was of a fox with its toothy mouth open, which was perfect for forcing open stubborn bottles. The silversmith what must have forged these stolen items was quite the artisan but I liked mine best as the bird’s beak could be used to hook itself into any door panel what I chose to hit with the cane and prise open a hole for a smaller thief to crawl through.
‘I ain’t ever seen a smarter bunch of lads,’ I remarked as I swivelled the bird’s beak up and over so the cane was now held behind my neck as I strutted past them. There was four of us, including Scratcher, what had stolen the necklace and the money would be split equal. Mouse was only coming so that we would look like an organised mob in front of Percival, and he would receive some coins for his trouble.
So I turned about and led my happy band out of Five Fingers and out through the maze of the slums towards the direction of Temple. We was followed for a spell by a young Irish lad of about eleven who skipped behind us asking what we was doing and where we was going. Young boys such as he was often captured by the romance of a gang like ours and this one was making a proper nuisance of himself as he buzzed after, imitating our cocky swagger. It was not until we reached the bottom of Drury Lane that we at last shook him off and then the four of us crossed the thoroughfare of Pickford Street. Knowing what a troublesome gang of villains we must have appeared as we did not even stop for carriages but just let their drivers avoid us instead. Finally we drew near to Temple Bar but it was not to the legal district itself where we was heading. Instead Percival had chosen as our rendezvous a quiet little public-house down a narrow lane nearby called the Drop of Courage. This was the sort of place where the families of the accused might visit before or after taking professional advice, amuch lower haunt where solicitors might be found but the criminal element was also not unwelcome. Percival had no doubt selected it as it was a place where his class and our class would not look so suspicious talking to one another.
The sum of money what he had promised to pay us for the safe return of the Lady of Stars was considerable, as much as I had ever been offered during my short career as a burglar-on-demand. I hoped that if this transaction went well then it would prove to be the first of many such engagements as Percival might start recommending me to other wealthy gents what might have similar felonious requests. It would be good, I reflected as the four of us turned into the long sooty lane what led towards the pub, to at last start making some real money from these God-given talents of mine.
We had advanced halfway down the lane before two figures what had been blocking our passage at the end made themselves visible. One of them had been lying in a slump between some empty barrels of ale outside the pub and we had at first taken him for a drunken vagrant. But, as we drew closer, he stood up in a manner of confident sobriety just as another man emerged from around the corner like he had been waiting there. They both held large wooden sticks.
The four of us stopped in our tracks and, without exchanging a word, raised up our
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