it back? “The man from Calcutta knows,” I’d heard Coben say. This man
was
the man from Calcutta, wasn’t he? I was absolutely sure of it. And Coben and Jiggs were scared of him.
I shuddered. If he struck terror even into that violent pair, what kind of evil must he be capable of?
I looked up at the open door. I mustn’t stay here for long. Coben and Jiggs might be back at any moment. And I
had
to find Lash. Gazing at the big sword, I was tempted to take it with me, as much for self-defense as anything else. But I’d
have caused a bit of a stir carrying it through the streets, and I could hardly hide it up my sleeve or under my shirt. Reluctantly,
I laid it back in the chest; but as I did so, my eye was caught by some inlaid carvings on the handle which made me pick it
up again. I ran my good thumb across the design, to clean it. Glistening snakelike strands threaded around one another in
complex knots. There was something very familiar about them.
On the table, a stubby old stump of candle was still flickering. I could hear my heart beating in my chest and I knew I had
to get out. But beside the candle, under an empty rum bottle, there was an untidy bundle of papers, which I couldn’t resist
quickly surveying. The top one was an untidy note scrawled on ragged parchment.
gentlmen
yul hev to be qiuker nex time. If i gets my way yu wont be geting anuther chanc. this is my lay now and my lot ar on yur tale.
the law is watching the 3 frends &and waching yu.
Yur frend the B OSUN .
I gathered this and all the other papers up, and stuffed them into my shirt. Before I left, I closed the lid of the chest
and locked it, so it wouldn’t be so obvious I’d escaped; and took care to close the cellar door behind me too as I ran up
the stairs and out into the air.
I found myself in an overgrown backyard, with a crippled little apple tree, its roots half-submerged inbricks and broken glass, doing its best to claw its way out of the rubble and spread its branches up over the low roof of
the dirty, decrepit house. I was debating which way to turn in order to hunt for Lash, when I heard an unmistakable
woof
— and there he was, near my feet, cooped up in a low kennel shaped like a pyramid, made of splintery old wood with bars nailed
across it like a cage. There was barely enough room in there to keep a rabbit, let alone a dog like Lash, I thought furiously
as I wrenched it open; but Lash evidently forgot the discomfort of his prison almost instantly, as he leapt at me and rested
his paws on my chest and licked my face, even more overjoyed than I was at our reunion.
I had no idea where we were as I crept out into the lane, but the buildings around me didn’t look like the place where the
child had thrown the brick at me. The villains must have carried me here. A tingle of fear ran through me as I thought of
the charcoaly little eye on the boson’s note, and I wondered what eyes might be watching the pair of us as we ran, as fast
as we could, in what I thought was the direction of the city. It was evening, and the glow of sunset was sending shafts of
orange light through the smoky air between the buildings. Attracted by the noise of voices and horses’ hooves, I turned a
corner into a wide street and, as the buildings fell away like a clearing in the forest of brickand plaster, I could see the shadowy bulk of St. Paul’s belled out like a floating monster against the sunset. Keeping it
to my left, I soon found myself in Cheapside, its bustle dwindling as the light faded; and I hoped, as I scuttled home, that
I’d be able to remember the way to Coben and Jiggs’s lair, should I ever need to go back there.
When I reached Cramplock’s it was almost dark. I let myself in, and unhooked a lantern from the back of the door. I was extremely
tired, and my head hurt, and part of me just wanted to sink into bed; but I was also dying for something to eat, and I was
sure, after being
was
the man from Calcutta, wasn’t he? I was absolutely sure of it. And Coben and Jiggs were scared of him.
I shuddered. If he struck terror even into that violent pair, what kind of evil must he be capable of?
I looked up at the open door. I mustn’t stay here for long. Coben and Jiggs might be back at any moment. And I
had
to find Lash. Gazing at the big sword, I was tempted to take it with me, as much for self-defense as anything else. But I’d
have caused a bit of a stir carrying it through the streets, and I could hardly hide it up my sleeve or under my shirt. Reluctantly,
I laid it back in the chest; but as I did so, my eye was caught by some inlaid carvings on the handle which made me pick it
up again. I ran my good thumb across the design, to clean it. Glistening snakelike strands threaded around one another in
complex knots. There was something very familiar about them.
On the table, a stubby old stump of candle was still flickering. I could hear my heart beating in my chest and I knew I had
to get out. But beside the candle, under an empty rum bottle, there was an untidy bundle of papers, which I couldn’t resist
quickly surveying. The top one was an untidy note scrawled on ragged parchment.
gentlmen
yul hev to be qiuker nex time. If i gets my way yu wont be geting anuther chanc. this is my lay now and my lot ar on yur tale.
the law is watching the 3 frends &and waching yu.
Yur frend the B OSUN .
I gathered this and all the other papers up, and stuffed them into my shirt. Before I left, I closed the lid of the chest
and locked it, so it wouldn’t be so obvious I’d escaped; and took care to close the cellar door behind me too as I ran up
the stairs and out into the air.
I found myself in an overgrown backyard, with a crippled little apple tree, its roots half-submerged inbricks and broken glass, doing its best to claw its way out of the rubble and spread its branches up over the low roof of
the dirty, decrepit house. I was debating which way to turn in order to hunt for Lash, when I heard an unmistakable
woof
— and there he was, near my feet, cooped up in a low kennel shaped like a pyramid, made of splintery old wood with bars nailed
across it like a cage. There was barely enough room in there to keep a rabbit, let alone a dog like Lash, I thought furiously
as I wrenched it open; but Lash evidently forgot the discomfort of his prison almost instantly, as he leapt at me and rested
his paws on my chest and licked my face, even more overjoyed than I was at our reunion.
I had no idea where we were as I crept out into the lane, but the buildings around me didn’t look like the place where the
child had thrown the brick at me. The villains must have carried me here. A tingle of fear ran through me as I thought of
the charcoaly little eye on the boson’s note, and I wondered what eyes might be watching the pair of us as we ran, as fast
as we could, in what I thought was the direction of the city. It was evening, and the glow of sunset was sending shafts of
orange light through the smoky air between the buildings. Attracted by the noise of voices and horses’ hooves, I turned a
corner into a wide street and, as the buildings fell away like a clearing in the forest of brickand plaster, I could see the shadowy bulk of St. Paul’s belled out like a floating monster against the sunset. Keeping it
to my left, I soon found myself in Cheapside, its bustle dwindling as the light faded; and I hoped, as I scuttled home, that
I’d be able to remember the way to Coben and Jiggs’s lair, should I ever need to go back there.
When I reached Cramplock’s it was almost dark. I let myself in, and unhooked a lantern from the back of the door. I was extremely
tired, and my head hurt, and part of me just wanted to sink into bed; but I was also dying for something to eat, and I was
sure, after being
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