part 2
"Now as we've found the drain you managed to squirm through to get on the grounds, and as we've got it all screened up nice and proper like, I thought you'd best have a bit of practice climbing walls and such...seein's as how that'll be the only way you'll be getting in here next time." Rawlins leaned down and stared at the boy nose to nose. "Unless you take to comin' through the gate like a proper little gentleman." Gil'd actually hoped for an apology and a promise to do just that very thing... but he didn't get it. He waited for another moment to give the boy a chance to see sense....
"All right then, it's off to the obstacle course with you." At the sound of muffled laughter from the group of men standing back a few paces he straightened. Fixing them with a considering smile he suggested. "I'm sure your friends 'ere'll be happy to keep you company." Before the complaints could set in he waved them all over to the jeep for the drive out to the course. Usually the men were made to run out, but the little one looked like he could use a bit of a rest.
When they all piled out at the top of the course it was obvious the Sergeant and his men had spent the early morning hours modifying it to come closer to matching the size of their visitor, but the men moaned and complained about how hard it was going to be and how unfair the Sergeant was,,, just to give the experience the right atmosphere. "Now, now, none a that! Just you get to it!"
Rawlins waited until the little group was started off good and proper before he turned back to the jeep where it waited in the shade and settled on the seat next to the Italian con artist. "I'll tell you, if I had anything to do with it that little lad'd be packed off to boarding school straight away! That'd put him right."
Actor sat in the jeep and watched as the boy finally scrambled over the first hurdle. "Do you really mean that?"
It was a moment before Rawlins answered. "No. Not really." His own parents had sent him off, ...and to a military boarding school at that, but he didn't really wish it for this lad, especially not after what he'd already been through.
g
Gil was the only boy in the family and it was hard dealing with all of the girls... there were five of them. With four older sisters and with his twin Gwyneth there just didn't seem to be much of a way to avoid trouble with the gangs of boys that lived in the area, or the ones that he went to school with. If he wasn't defending one of his sister's honor he was defending his own...against their taunts of 'pansy,' and 'mummy's boy'. It didn't help that he was a scrawny little runt. His parents put their heads together and scraped up the money and packed him off to give him a fresh start with boys that might not be so set on teasing him and picking at him. Their idea hadn't worked, at least not at first, but he'd never told them.
It was hard and lonely at the school. The younger boys were at the mercy of the older ones and everyone just took it for granted that was as it should be...Living through it was supposed to make men of them. It was also supposed to see them make fast friends with the other boys in their year and it had certainly done that... He'd gone into the service with most of them, served with some of them in North Africa and seen a good number of them killed there...
Yes, it was hard and lonely, but he'd had his family to come home to on school breaks... and did they make a fuss over him when he got there! They'd take a turn around the neighborhood his first day back, all of them done up in their best, him in his little uniform. For the first three years that little parade had earned him a right good going over when the local boys found him on his own later in civilian togs. The fourth year home saw the end of that. He'd taken up boxing at school, and though he was still a feather weight, even in his year, he'd learned his lessons well enough to give a few of his own when he got back. After that he was left to himself... Until they'd all gotten old enough and the boys realized the benefit of knowing a lad with five rather attractive sisters...
g
The sun was crawling up into the sky when the group staggered past for the fourth time. Rawlins let out a shrill whistle and waved them in. He got out of the jeep and stretched before strolling around to the back. As the sweat stained assembly approached he looked up and smiled. "You lot look like you could do with a bit of a break and a pick me up." As they dropped to the ground around him he handed out the ration packs amid groans of protest. "None of your complaints, now. There's those over on the continent'd be glad a the likes a this." He waited until they were all properly absorbed in their mess before he turned on his heel and headed back for the drivers seat. "You finish up and march right back up to the house, I've got another little detail for you when your done." He put the jeep in gear and fixed them with an evil smile. "You've got fifteen minutes,... and I've got my eye on the time."
g
Sergeant Major Rawlins was waiting on the steps when the men...and one rather droopy boy, trailed across the lawns to meet him. He waited until they'd all assembled around him before he addressed himself to the youngest member.
"Now, since it's down to you that we've had to screen all the ductworks I think it's only proper that you see to it the leaves and muck are cleaned away from them." He produced a small set of overalls and a pair of gloves from the box that sat next to him as the boy stared at him open mouthed. "You just hop into these now and get about it." He cocked his head and fixed the pick pocket with an eye. "Goniff here'll show you. I'm sure he knows all the little ways there are through these walls." When the lad did up the last button and shoved the gloves in his pocket with a scowl and turned to go he called out and stopped him. Reaching into the box again Rawlins pulled out a pair of battered rubber boots that he tossed in the boys direction. "You'll be needing these. I'm afraid the man that keeps the ground's been here and he's done a fair bit of irrigating while you were busy over on the course."
Eddie huffed his displeasure but snatched up the boots and jammed his feet into them... they were three sized too large and Goniff grinned and had to keep a hand on him to keep him from tripping over himself as they made their way to the fence line. Gil kept his hand up to keep the men from laughing until their charge was well away from them. He let them have a few moments of merriment before he turn on them, staring until they quieted down. The echoing clomp of boots could still be heard in the gathering silence as they waited.... "That'll keep the little blighter busy for the rest of the afternoon. How about a pub lunch and a pint?"
g
Garrison sat his work aside and leaned back in his chair. "Where is he?"
"Upstairs in 'is cot, dead to the world." Goniff stretched and settled down on the chair in front of the Warden's desk. The others were having themselves a little card game over in the library but he found his head didn't feel like getting' into any a that. "I'll lay odds he won't even twitch a muscle all night long." He kneaded the muscle on the top of his left shoulder with his long fingers. "I prob'ly won't neither."
They'd cleaned all the drains that ran under the fence,... he'd helped a little, but not much. They'd even gone up onto the roof and worked on cleanin' out the gutters after they'd finished up and come inside to find the rest a the fellas gone off somewhere with the Sergeant Major. Goniff had done a fair bit of that hisself. He didn't mind hanging off the edge of a building by his toes but it made him more than a little bit nervous to see Eddie doin' the same. When they finally wrapped things up and came in to get cleaned up for supper he didn't have enough energy to work up a mad over being left out of the little trip to the pub... Besides, Eddie couldn't a gone anyway.
Goniff couldn't get truly comfortable and relaxed and concentrate on his meal either. He had to keep one eye on Eddie and stop him from fallin' to sleep in his plate. After they'd eaten the Lieutenant handed weekend KP over to the little tyke so he'd gone down to the kitchen and kept him company while he done his duty, then half carried him upstairs to the dormitory to the cot that had been set up next to his bed. He'd a helped him into his sleepers too, but at his first offer he was firmly waved off. So he settled in the corner near the fireplace and just watched as Eddied fumble fingered his way through that job. He'd seen him through his ablutions and then stood clear as he crawled under the covers. The blankets were still settling went he fell asleep. Goniff stepped up to the side of the cot and waited for a moment before he bent down and pulled the covers up over the boy's shoulders. He reached to turn the lamp that set next to his bed off but thought better and just left it on. When they all came up to bed, ... maybe he'd turn it out then...
"What are the plans for tomorrow?" Garrison waited for Goniff to finish his yawn.
"More a the same... 'cept for the drains. He done a good job a cleaning all a them out. We're gonna run the laps and then do the obstacle course, and then we'll let him box us for a bit. Sergeant Major said he'd even show him how to flip one a us. ... I got volunteered for that by the other blokes."
Garrison smiled. He could picture Goniff diving over the boy and rolling off into a corner. "Just see to it you don't hurt yourself."
The little man grinned. "Oh I won't. And I ain't gonna fool him. If he can do it, he'll do it with no help from me." At the Warden's questioning frown he continued. "Well I figure if I let him think he can throw a fella my size he might go and try it on one a them boys he's been fightin' with at school." He clambered to his feet and stretched before heading towards the door. "If he couldn't manage it, it'd cause 'im all sort a trouble!"
ggg
The next day started with a groan... from more than just the little boy that had come to stay. Since it was Sunday, and since Eddie was there, ... the schedule had changed a bit. They'd do their laps and spend some time on the obstacle course but then it was back to the house to clean up for breakfast and then down to town to services in the little church. Mrs. Reid had stood firm on that when the arrangements had been made for Eddie to stay... That's the only way he got him to go too because Eddie didn't want no part of going down to the vicarage.
"I ain't goin' I tell ya!"
"Come on... you don't mean t' be like that. I promised Mrs. Reid, didn't I? You don't want me t'go back on my word, do ya?"
Eddie stuck his finger in the collar of the shirt he'd just finished buttoning,.. right up to the top, and pulled it out so it'd stop pinching his neck. "Well, ... no, but..."
"Look. We'll wait til the service is just startin', see. And then we'll just nip inside and sit right at the back. That way we'll be up and out soon's it's all over. How's that sound?" Goniff grinned hopefully and waited for the boy's decision.
Mrs. Reid was a big one for the church. She'd round them all up and she and her girl would see they got a good scrubbing before they buttoned them into their best and herded them all down to the church. He didn't like it down there, not even the singing could get him comfortable so he did a fair amount of squirming around in his seat.... But when he tried turning around to search for Goniff he'd usually earned himself a thunk on the head for it, being seated right next to the girl. "Is that how you do it, Goniff? Is that how come I never seen you down there? Cuz you slipped in behind like that?"
He blinked back at the sober face turned up to him for a second before he answered. "Sure, that's right. That's just how I done it." He'd only been inside a church for services once since he'd come back from the country to live with his parents, ... and that'd been for his old man's funeral.... But somehow he didn't think now was the right time to bring that up.
Goniff turned and picked up a comb and made a swipe at the front of Eddie's hair. "Come on. Let's get it over then." He turned the boy into the hall and kept a hand on his shoulder as they made their way down the stairs... He had a sneaking suspicion Eddie'd bolt off into the trees as soon as he saw daylight. There was no chance of that though. When they got out on the steps the whole crew was there waiting, done up in their best.
The Warden gave them both a good looking over and as soon as they'd past muster he raised his hand and the staff car rolled up with Chief at the wheel. They settled Actor in front with his cane and long legs, and the rest of them piled in the back, the three men sitting shoulder to shoulder on the back seat, Eddie on one of the little fold down jobs. He stared at them a minute before turning to plaster his hands and nose on the window glass.
Goniff knew what he was feeling... Trapped. He was feeling it too. He hemmed and hawed and fidgeted while the car made its way down the drive and he gave his own little salute when they passed the guards at the gate. With this big a crowd, ... the Warden in his uniform and Actor limping in on that fancy cane... they'd never get in and outta that church without drawin' attention. The rector was sure to mark them and just as sure to make a bee line for them to shake their hands and welcome them to the congregation and all.
Casino was sitting between him and the Warden so he couldn't just lean over and whisper in the blokes ear... Goniff sat forward and grinned around the safecracker. "Say, uh, ... Lieutenant. Me and, ... me and Eddie, we're just gonna slip in at the back. We, uh... we...." and the next bit came out all in a rush. "Well we though since we was all goin' over to Mrs. Reid's after the service it'ud be a nice thing to take her some flowers."
Eddie had turned back from his window and was staring right at him but Garrison kept his eyes on the hopeful look on his second story man's face... "Sounds like a nice idea Goniff, but all of the shops are closed on Sunday."
"Blimey.." He hadn't thought a that. ..."That's no problem. There's gardens enough between the church and her place. We'll just pick some as we go along." He could see the prospect of coming after him at the local lock up forming in the Warden's eyes. Him accused a trespassing, ... on a Sunday... and with a kid in tow too! "I promise... we'll only take one from each place and we'll only take it if it's growin' over the fence where we can reach it from the path."
Garrison controlled the smile that fought to make it's way onto his face. "Alright. Just be sure you're there in time for lunch. I'm sure Mrs. Reid's gone to a lot of trouble for us."
"Oh we'll be there.... You can make book... Uh .... You can count on it!" Goniff gave a sigh of relief and relaxed a little but he still kept a tight hold on the latch of the door in case Eddie decided better of the whole expedition and tried to escape from the car on the way in to the village. He had half a notion of taking that way out hisself.
g
Garrison checked his watch one more time. "I don't know what's keeping them. Goniff gave me his promise they'd be here in time for lunch." He retrieved his cap from the top of the bookcase and started for the door. "I'll take a drive around and see if I can find them."
"Don't trouble yourself Lieutenant." Mrs. Reid turned away from the front window where she'd been keeping watch. "They're coming up the walk just now." When the bell rang she was there to welcome the late comers.
When the door opened Goniff gave a little shove to get him started but Eddie stepped right out and as soon as he'd crossed the sill he offered up the double armful of flowers they'd spent the time after church gathering. "These'r for you, if you want 'em."
"Well of course I want them Char... Edward. What a lovely surprise. Why don't you just bring them along to the kitchen and you can help put them in some water. I think they'll make a very nice arrangement for our table."
Goniff grinned after them and wiped his feet on the mat. "He kept seein' just one more bloody flower, and then just one more. He wanted a nice big bunch on a count of all the trouble he's been causin'." He shrugged as he stepped into the room. "I didn't think it'd take us this long. The little bloke had me all the way over the other side a the village."
g
The meal had been great and the visit had gone along real smooth, until there was a little tussle over just who was going to sit next to Goniff while he showed them all one of his card tricks as a little entertainment after they'd eaten. The household currently numbered eight children, five who were temporary guests and three who lived there on a more permanent basis. Mrs. Reid had invited two couples from the neighboring towns and was hopeful of placing two of the children in one of the homes, and had her eye on the other as a good match for Eddie himself, though she hadn't mentioned it to anyone other than the Lieutenant.
As the children clamored for the trick Goniff made a compromise. The accommodating showman sat one boy on either side of him, but with two kids tucked right up under his elbows the trick hadn't gone off all that well and Eddie blamed the failure on Emory, one of the 'regular' residents of the house.
Emory was older by three years but his mind lagged behind his body and he thought and acted more like a boy of five or six. Sharing just didn't come clear to Emory and if the first word he'd learned in English was 'mine', the next one was 'no!' Goniff was all for giving over his cards but Eddie wouldn't have any of it and demanded they be given up right away. Once the argument got started it ended in a punched nose and tears. He might not have been able to land one on the adults he'd been sparring with but a lumbering cry baby like Emory was no problem at all. After a chorus of 'Oh My's' from Mrs. Reid they'd all been bundled out onto the front step, Emory still in possession of the cards.
"That went really well." Garrison said as he looked over his little company and started off towards the car. "Giving him boxing lessons turned out to be just the thing, Casino." And he could just imagine what kind of damage the kid would be able to do if he manage to learn that flip Rawlins had promised to teach him.
Soon as they hit the grounds it was off with the good clothes and on with the cover alls, the boots were left behind in favor of rubber soled shoes. One lap of the gardens to warm up and two circuits of the obstacle course later, during which time Goniff and Casino tried to explain why you didn't take advantage of a dummy like Emory, and they were all gathered in front of Sergeant Major Rawlins on the lawn outside the library.
As soon as the initial instructions were over and the demonstrations started Actor moved back up onto the broad patio to watch the action along with the Warden. They winced as Goniff was pulled off his feet and flipped onto his back for the fourth time as Rawlins explained the maneuver to his avid little pupil.
"You realize," Actor said with a smile. "This would be a much better punishment if he weren't enjoying himself quite so much."
g
"How'd the afternoon go, Goniff?" Garrison had been called in to go over a report they'd receive from a contact on the continent and hadn't returned until well after the evening meal. He'd heated up the plate they'd made up for him and had settled down in the kitchen to eat it when Goniff limped in looking for a little comfort of the chewable variety. "He ever manage to flip you?"
"Nah!" Goniff rubbed at the green stain that seemed to be a permanent part of his forehead now. "Ee rammed me 'ead into the lawn a few times but I'm too tall fer 'im. 'is legs isn't long enough t' give 'im enough lift t' put me over."
He pulled the biscuit tin off the shelf and settled into the chair across from the Warden, frowning with concern at all the squeaking and groaning until he realized it wasn't the chair threatening to collapse under him by making all that noise but his own joints protesting two days of abuse.
Goniff stuffed his mouth and chewed thoughtfully for a few moments. "I don't s'pose Colonel Reynolds has come up with a mission for us, has he?" he asked hopefully.
Garrison studied the pick pocket for a moment before he smiled and answered. "Afraid not."
ggg
The comparative quiet that pervaded the next two days set all their nerves on edge. The only hitch had been a minor one, when Goniff picked Eddie up from school on Monday. He had a few more cuts and bruises, but they were all on his knuckles. Actor said they were uneasy because there was someone new in the house. Chief just smiled and quietly reminded them they were uneasy because they'd all been nine year old boys.
Wednesday was a different story. Eddie wasn't at school for Goniff to pick up and the little pick pocket searched the town for him, half out of his mind. When he finally found him trudging along the road that led out to the estate he was so relieved he didn't even bothered to ask him where he'd been and why he'd set out on his own. By the time Goniff got him in the house the rosy glow had warn off.
"Blimey! Where 'n the devil'd you take yerself off to? I used up a year a me life nosin' around after you!"
"I, uh... I... I got in a fight at school with one a them kids, Goniff. I didn't wanna go back inside with 'im after that so I...uh.... I went off to the pictures. I'm sorry Goniff... Honest. It won't happen again."
Goniff stared at him a long time and tried to look stern. "Well.... You just see to it that it don't!" And taking the boys coat he wandered off to put it away in the closet before setting off for the kitchen, mumbling to himself the whole way.
Actor looked up from his book as the boy wandered in from the hall. "I understand you've been by Mrs. Reid's." She'd called up to the mansion in the mid-afternoon and in the absence of the Warden, and with Rawlins out going over the grounds with a new man, he'd taken the call. Actor didn't bother explaining to the others what had happened as he waited for Goniff to return with the boy, this was his area of expertise after all. But he did wait for the pick pocket go off to the kitchen after 'a little somethin'' before he confronted Eddie.
"I never done what she's says I done!...." Eddie couldn't quite make himself call the woman a liar. "They'r all wrong is all. They'r makin' it all up."
"In any case, if you are going to be economical with the truth you must do it properly." Eddie just stared back at him, open mouthed. "I could see through the ruse you used on Goniff too easily... You haven't done your research."
That caught his interest. "What'd ya mean, 'research'?"
"My dear boy. If you are going to try and trick someone with a story you tell, you must have all of the facts at your fingertips before you start telling it. There's a great deal of work to be done before you ever start lying."
He'd never thought about it that way... you just said whatever came into your head to get out of a jam...didn't you? But this fella must be right. There must be a better way a doin' it 'cause he always seemed to get hisself caught. "How'd ya do this research stuff, then?"
Actor smiled as he closed his book and laid it aside. "Well just take your story about going to the pictures... You have to know where the theater is, what time the movie is playing. You have to know something about the movie you are supposed to have seen, like the actors in it, or the plot... You should know how much it cost to get in, what type of food is available from the concessions inside.... And it would help to name a few people who were there."
"But if I knew all that I'd a needed to be there too..." he protested as he absently laid a well used pack of playing cards on the table next to Actor's book. "and I couldn't a been there if I was at the house takin' Emory's toy soldier now could I?!"
Actor smiled at the confession Eddie didn't even realize he'd made. "You see how complicated it is?" He levered himself out of the chair and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder turning him towards the library. The local papers were there, along with a number of books on playwrights and their work. He'd start the boy memorizing the schedule of the movie houses first and then, once he had that down perfectly they'd read the reviews of the movie and commit those to memory. After that he thought, a nice long discussion on the dramatic arts so the young man could debate the merits of different writers and how their works shape modern movies.
"Oh, and next time you might want to wait and see what you are being accused of before you offer up your denial."
g
It had been a pleasant surprise when Eddie took a real interest in learning about the movie he claimed to have watched by reading the reviews. That had led to finding a book that had a similar plot and with only a little help from Actor over the bigger words he was well into the story by supper and had to be convinced not to bring the book with him to the table. He hadn't actually shoveled the food into his mouth to get through the meal but there was none of the usual lingering, even over the boiled cabbage which had caused problems in the past.
Eddie knew the routine by now. It was his job to clean up after the evening meal on the weekend, but on a school night he had his lessons to work through for the next day. He hadn't stayed at school long enough to get his lessons, but, as far as he knew, no one had brought that up around the Lieutenant so when he hopped off his chair and asked to be excused it came as no big surprise to him when he got the OK from the Yank. He didn't stick around though, just in case Goniff or Actor remembered where he'd spent his afternoon...especially since they'd have different answers.
When he made his way back to the library he was relieved to see no one had been in to tidy up. There was a woman who came twice a week to clean and cook for them and Wednesday was one of her days. He took up the book and settle into a chair close to the stand the big dictionary was on.... There was a step that came along with the stand so even a little bloke like him could get up and turn the pages of the big book. Actor had shown him how to match up the words he didn't know in the book and look for littler words he did know so he'd understand the big word. He even convinced him he should look up some of the littler words if he didn't understand them either, working backwards until he found something that made sense. It took a long time, and it was frustrating... right up until he finally found that word that he understood!
g
"He seemed to be in a bit of a hurry. What'd you s'pose he's up to, then?"
"Eddie's probably just gone back to the book he became him interested in before supper." Actor smiled across at Goniff. "I believe his reading skills may be rather advanced for his age and he seems very eager to learn. I think he could make a very successful scholar."
Casino snorted a laugh. "Jeeze! Are you nuts. That kid's a prize fighter if I ever saw one."
"Sure Casino. He just needs to put on a hundred pounds and a couple a feet." Chief glanced up at the group's second story man. "What'd you think Goniff... brain or brawn?"
Goniff considered it a moment. He didn't much like the thought a Eddie as a bare knuckle brawler, but he didn't really want him to be a namby-pamby little bookworm neither. He checked his watch and shoved away from the table... "I dunno. Whatever 'ee turns out as, 'ee's gonna need 'is sleep to do it."
Casino stared at his back as he left the room. "Now who'd a guessed he'd turn into Mr. Responsible."