The Claws of Evil - By Andrew Beasley Page 0,17

Jonas, rising from the table. “Come on then, son, we don’t want to be getting under Mrs. Mac’s feet.”

Nathaniel Kingdom rose swiftly. “Yes, Pa,” he said, ready for a day working at his father’s side.

Benjamin Kingdom stood more slowly and didn’t say a word.

Stiff and cold, Ruby Johnson awoke to find herself on the cellar floor in the Punch and Judy. Rolling the numbness from her shoulders, she scanned the ground until she found the coin that had thrown Professor Carter into such a rage the night before. She picked it up, balanced it on her thumb and flicked it into the air, catching it neatly and then tucking it in her pocket. If Carter didn’t want it then she was sure that someone else would pay her handsomely; failing that she could spend it herself. She placed it between her teeth and bit. Real silver too. She didn’t understand what all the fuss was about. Boys could be so silly sometimes.

Ruby left the Punch and Judy as quietly as she had arrived and set off in search of some breakfast. Eggs would be nice today, she thought, or a bit of bacon. Where can I acquire them? she wondered.

Although she would never confess it, Ruby was still irked that she had shown herself up. She had dragged Carter out on a wild goose chase. She had, in short, failed him, and that wasn’t her style at all. The mysterious Coin was clearly far more important to Carter than she had realized and if anyone was going to find it, she was determined that it would be her. Her talents deserved recognition.

Besides, not all of the others in the organization to which she belonged possessed her social graces. Rewards and honour would be wasted on them, in her opinion. Some members of the Legion, she had to admit, were not pleasant people at all.

And if the thugs and bully boys didn’t get their grubby fingers on the Coin, then the Feathered Men surely would. She shuddered at the thought. She wouldn’t want to receive a visit from the Feathered Men for all the money in the world.

Back in their room, the three Kingdom men got ready for their day; two as dockers, one as an apprentice cooper and sometime mudlark. Ben didn’t mind learning the trade of barrel-making. He didn’t really mind mudlarking either, searching for things he might sell that had fallen into the filthy banks of the Thames. Although he was less than happy that the very best pickings were always to be found in the deep mud around the gratings, where the sewers flowed into the river. But what made him unhappy was that his father never asked him to work in the docks at his side.

Jonas Kingdom was a good man, everyone said so. The salt of the earth. Ben could easily see why his mother had fallen in love with him; in spite of everything that was harsh about their lives there was always a sparkle in his eyes.

Today his father’s eyes were positively ablaze.

“Can you show Ben, Pa?” Nathaniel spoke and Ben snapped out of his daze.

Jonas threw a silent glance in Ben’s direction and then, with no further hesitation, drew something from inside his jacket.

“Just quick,” said Jonas. “Then we need to get this little beauty tucked away somewhere safe.”

Both boys drew close and watched as their father unfolded a square of dark cloth, like a magician performing a trick. Nestled in the velvet was a single silver coin. It was small and old, and not very much to look at, and yet as Ben gazed upon it, he was filled with a yearning that he had never known before. He reached out to touch it, but his father snatched it away. “It’s not for touching,” he said, “it’s for buying us a better life.”

“How did you get it?” asked Ben.

Again, Nathaniel and Jonas shared a glance.

“It was the strangest thing,” said Nathaniel. “Can I tell him, Pa?” Jonas nodded. “There was this ’Jyptian fellow,” Nathaniel began, “dressed in these long robes and a turban. We get all sorts down at the docks, don’t we, Pa?” Another nod. “Anyway, he was acting all peculiar, walking back and forth and waving his arms like he was arguing with someone, ’cept he was the only one there. He looked old, as if his face had been all dried up by the sun, and there was something else about him too, wasn’t there, Pa?”

“The man was