典范英语.sing for your supper

典范英语

9

Sing for your Supper

Nick Warburton

Red Beard

The smell of mutton pies woke Jamie up. His nose twitched before his eyes opened.

Jamie’s mother was dead.

His father had gone to sea and not come back. He remembered the

big round sails as the little galleon moved out of Plymouth harbour, but he’d forg

otten what his

father looked like.

For two years he’d lived on the streets and begged for his food, so he got used

to sniffing out pies.

He’d been dozing on a pile of

straw beside the horse trough when the man walked by with his

tray.

Pies, Jamie thought at once. Fat warm pies.

He didn’t have a coin to his name, but he jumped up and followed the man.

He was heading

for The Boar’s Head.

Jamie saw him push his tray into the crowd at the door and disappear.

‘After him,’ Jamie said to himself.

He dropped to his knees and crawled through a forest of sturdy legs. Jamie could tell by a sniff

that the pie man had stopped by a table in the corner. Keeping an eye open for the innkeeper, he

crawled on. The pie man had set two steaming pies on the table. He was counting a handful of

coins into his purse.

His customers weren’t ordinary sailors.

They wore stiff ruffs and a line of fancy buttons down

the front of their tunics. Jamie had seen one of them around Plymouth before

–

the one with the

red curly hair and the pointed beard.

He must be important, Jamie thought.

Whenever he goes there’s bustle and talk.

But he looks

like a man who might share his pie with a hungry boy.

Jamie saw him push his tray into the crowd at the door and disappear

．

‘After him

。

’Jamie said to himself

．

He dropped to his knees and crawled through a forest of sturdy legs

．

Jamie could tell by a sniff

that the pie man had stopped by a table in the corner

．

Keeping an eye open for the innkeeper, he

crawled on

．

The pie man had set two steaming pies on the table

．

He was counting a handful of

coins into his purse

．

His customers weren’t ordinary sailors

．

They wore stiff ruffs and a line of fancy buttons down

the front of their tunics

．

Jamie had seen one of them around Plymouth before--the one with the

red curly hair and the pointed beard

．

CHAPTER 1

He must be important

，

Jamie thought.

Wherever he goes there’

s bustle and talk .But he looks

like a man who might share his pie with a hungry boy.

‘No mutton pies afte

r we set sai1,' the man with the red bead was saying to his friend. 'Ship's

biscuits and hard cheese and not much else. '

‘

But may be some Spanish gold to spend when we get back, eh, Francis?' his friend said.

Francis. So that was his name. And Spanish gold. That meant sea-fights, didn't it? Maybe they

were pirates.

'Well, Master Francis,' Jamie said to himself, 'I can't wait for your gold but I'd like to share a bit

of your pie.'

And he popped up from behind the table as the redheaded man was about to eat.

'Can

I

sing

you

a

song,

Master

Francis?'

Jamie

asked

him.

Francis

blinked

at

him

with

his

mouth stil1 open.

'Please, Master,' Jamie said.' A song for a mouthful of pie.'

The man laughed and asked him if he had a good voice.

'A wonderful voice, sir. Sweet as the birds, I promise.'

‘If you want to earn the

Price of a Pie,' said Francis's friend, 'you can go down to the harbour

and help load our Ship.'

what ship is that, sir?' Jamie asked.

'

The Pelican.

And it's being

loaded for a voyage to…'

But before he could say another word, Francis held up a hand to stop him.

'Quiet, Wi11,' he said. 'A busy inn is not the place to talk about our plans.'

Will

shut

his

mouth

and

looked

round

the

noisy

room.

Jamie

looked

round,

too.

And

sure

enough- or so he thought- there was a thin man at the next table, leaning towards them as if to

catch every word. For a second Jamie's eye met his, and the man scowled.

A face to sour the milk, Jamie thought. And full of trouble, too. After two years on the streets,

Jamie knew trouble when he saw it.

A shiver of fear ran up his spine. But Francis was speaking to him again.

'Come on then, lad,' he said. 'Sing up.'

Jamie opened his mouth to Sing, but a broad hand took hold of his neck and he felt himself

jerked to his feet.

'I've told you before,' boomed a voice. 'You leave my gentlemen in peace.'

It

was

the

innkeeper.

He

crooked

an

arm

round

Jamie's

throat

and

crushed

him

against

his

greasy apron.

Jamie kicked out and flailed his arms but it was no use. The innkeeper hauled him backwards

to the door and swung him out into the night.

He twisted through the air and landed with a thud in the street. Instead of the smell of mutton,

his nose was fi1led with the stench of straw and horse dung. It was the second time he had been

thrown out of The Boar's Head that night.

He stood up and shook himself. Across the street he saw the g1ow of candle-light from The

Swan. The hum of voices inside tempted him to try his luck there, but he'd been thrown out of

The Swan, too. He didn't feel like being dumped in horse muck a fourth time.

'Oh well,' he mumbled as he wiped himself down, 'maybe I should go down to the harbour. If

they're loading for a voyage, maybe I can pick up some scraps.'

Soon he heard the lap of water against wooden hulls and ropes slapping in the breeze. He saw

masts swaying against the blue-black sky. The ship in front of him was The Pelican. There were

others, too, lined up behind it.

The harbour was busy for the time of night. Dark figures with sacks on their shoulders hurried

backwards and

forwards. Some dumped their loads on the harbour wall and others tottered up planks onto the

ships.

He stopped one of the sailors and asked if he could help.

'Clear off, little 'un,' the sailor growled. You'll only get under our feet.'

Jamie sighed and sat down in the shadow of a wall. His stomach grumbled with hunger in the

dark. His head hurt. He watched the men loading their stores. He'd seen ships being loaded many

times. Once he'd seen a sack drop and split open, sending cheeses rolling over the cobbles.

A good round cheese would do nicely now, he thought. Maybe someone'll drop a few sacks

tonight. Sack after sack he saw carried onto the ships. But no one stumbled. Nothing spilled. At

last the men stopped work and went off together, laughing and joking.

For a while Jamie watched the moon climb s1owly in the sky. Then he stood up and stretched.

'Nothing doing here,' he said softly to himself. He was about to wander back into Plymouth

Town when something caught his eye.

Two of the men came back.

〇

r were they the same men? It was too dark to see properly and

they were wrapped in long cloaks.

They moved like the men who'd loaded the ships, trotting along with their heads bowed, but

there was something different about them.

At first

Jamie couldn't

think

what

it

was. Then

it came to

him. They had no

sacks on their

backs. They were running up the plank onto The Pelican but they carried no stores. He saw them

drop into the ship and disappear in shadow. Jamie sat down again and waited.

A man with a lantern on a pole came wandering along- the watchman, keeping his eye on the

ships with their load of fresh stores. He walked steadily a1ong the harbour wa1l until he reached

the ship furthest from The Pelican. Then he paused for a moment before turning round. It was

then that the two men came scuttling down the plank again.

One

was

tall

with

pale

hands

which

fluttered

in

the

dark.

Jamie

knew

him.

It

was

the

sour-faced man from The Boar's Head. The other man was short and thick-set.

They moved nimbly and silently, and this time they were carrying some-thing, At least, the

short

one

was.

It

was

more

like

a

black

bag

than

a

sack

and

the

short

man

carried

it

on

his

shoulder like a barrel.

Jamie

Shrank

back

into

the

shadow

of

a

wa11.

He

saw

the

men

look

round

and

spot

the

Watchman. The tall man stooped and picked up a stone in his pale hands.

He hurled it high over the masts of me Pelican and Jamie heard it drop into the sea with a deep

splash.

Along the harbour wall the watchman heard it too. He spun round and held himself still. Then

he lifted his lantern and peered between the ships, trying to see where the sound had come from.

While

he

was

still

staring

at

the

sea,

the

men

hurried

away

in

the

opposite

direction,

their

cloaks flapping behind them as they ran.

Pale hands

Jamie's mind was racing. He knew that something odd was going on. He waited until the men

were almost out of sight, then set off after them. When they turned into a side street, he forced

himself to run faster. Mustn't lose them now, he thought as he pounded along. They'll disappear

down some dark alley. I must keep up.

Jamie had seen plenty of thieves on the streets, but these two were different- and he was sure

they were dangerous

Common sense told him to stay out of it. But he was curious. And maybe there was the chance

of pleasing Red Beard and earning some pie. Maybe even something better than pie.

'Mustn't lose them,' he said to himself over and over.

'Mustn't lose them.'

As

soon

as

the

men

reached

the

safety

of

a

side

street,

they

stopped

running

to

catch

their

breath.

They were bending down to examine the thing in the black bag, when Jamie hurtled round the

corner and ran straight into them.

He fell over one and ro1led onto the

other. There were rough shouts, the rustle of cloaks and a

waving of arms.

Jamie's struggle didn't last long.

Soon he felt a knee on his chest and long fingers tightening on his arm. He twisted his head

and saw the same pale hand that had thrown the stone

。

There was a silver ring on the middle

finger. A face came close and spoke to him in a harsh voice.

And where do you think you're going?'

It was the broad man, the one who was kneeling on him, and the Stench of his breath made

CHAPTER 2

Jamie flinch.

' I'm sorry, master,' he said. 'I'm Sorry.'

Then the tall man spoke and his voice was a thin whisper.

'He's following us, Tom. I saw him talking to Red Beard in The Boar's Head.'

No,

sir,'

said

Jamie.

Tm

not

following

you,

I'm

running

away,

sir.

Honest.

The

watchman's

after me.'

The fingers loosened on Jamie's arm and the men darted a look at each other. They glanced

nervously back at the corner of the street.

They only

looked

away

for a second but

it was enough

for Jamie. He wriggled from under

Tom's knee and scrambled to his feet.

The men grabbed at him, missed, and he was charging off into the darkness.

'Hey! Come back here!' the man called Tom shouted after him.

Jamie dived into an alley and barked his shin against something he couldn't see. From the way

it

clattered

against

the

wall

behind

him

he

guessed

it

was

an

empty

barrel.

The

men

came

lumbering after him and one of them kicked the barrel too.

Jamie came to a gap between two houses and ran blindly into it, hoping there

’

d be nothing in

his way this time. There wasn

’

t.

He groped along a wall until he found a low fence. he swung himself over it and dropped into

a little garden.

His

fingers

touched

damp

cabbage

leaves

and

a

fish

head.

He

crouched

there

wide-eyed,

trying to still his gasping breath.

Heavy feet thudded by him, only yards away. The sound disappeared into the night and then

there was silence. He waited. A dog barked in the distance. A sharp pain began to throb in his leg.

He hadn't noticed it when he was running.

After two or three more minutes he let out a long sigh and climbed painfully out of the garden.

‘

You should save your nose for sniffing out pies, Jamie,

’

he told himself.

’

And keep it clear of

bad men in long cloaks,

’

He imagined what the men might do if they caught him. The thought made him shudder.

Maybe he should look for Red Beard-Master Francis. And then what? Tell him what he

’

d seen?

No. Men like him didn

’

t believe beggar boys like Jamie. Still, he thought, it

’

ll be sager in the

warm glow from busy inns than alone here in the dark.

So he rubbed his leg and started slowly through back streets and alleyways towards the heart

of the town. After a while he found himself outside The Boar

’

s Head again.

‘

Well, here I am again,

’

Jamie said out loud,

And I

’

m worse off than I was before. Still, I

’

ll be safe and warm in here, as long as I keep my

head down.

’