Gaslight Geezers by Garry Kilworth

Author:Garry Kilworth [Garry Kilworth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Random House Children's UK
Published: 2001-02-07T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Cynthia got up while they were eating and went to a bookcase at the far end of the room and opened a drawer beneath the shelves. Although Scruff was feeling suspicious he thought nothing of this. He kept his eyes on the dog and on Nigel. Cynthia returned after about a minute and said, ‘More crumpets anyone?’ Maudlin and Scruff both stretched out their paws for the plate of crumpets. Instantly, Cynthia pounced, clamping fetters on their forelimbs. She locked them with a click and a clack. Scruff looked down aghast, to see that he had been well and truly clapped in irons, manacled, and Maudlin with him. The pair of unfortunate weasels were linked together by a short chain.

‘Hey!’ cried Maudlin, jumping to his feet.

Scruff, calmer than his friend, said, ‘What’s all this?’

The dog rose from the floor and finally stood on two legs. It was a frightening sight because in that position he was as tall and as deep-chested as a human. His presence seemed to fill the whole room, his head close to the ceiling. He strode over to the weasels and looked down upon them like some golden giant. Gone was his cheerful disposition: his huge jaws were set in a grim expression and his brown eyes glared malevolently. He yawned, revealing an astonishing set of teeth, then licked the edge of his mouth with a monstrous tongue.

‘On your feet,’ he growled.

The two minks reacted quite differently. Nigel fell back in his chair and clapped his paws together in delight. And Cynthia clicked her teeth in glee.

‘Well done, Cynthia,’ said the jack mink. ‘Well done indeed!’

‘You two,’ growled the hound. ‘Drop what you’re eating and come with me. There’s a dog-cart outside. I want you inside it. Now.’

Scruff said, ‘Not until you tell me what’s goin’ on. I can come quietly or I can make a big fuss. I’m not coming quietly until I know what’s happenin’ here.’

‘You’re going to the foundry,’ said the dog. ‘Nigel, Cynthia and I own an ironworks. We need weasels to work in it. It’s hard dangerous work, but you’ll be fed.’ The dog clicked his teeth. ‘Not as well as this, of course – you’ve seen your last hot buttered crumpet – but we’ll keep you alive. Now let’s have you outside the back door and in the cart.’

Scruff walked towards the doorway. Maudlin took his cue from his friend and followed him. They walked through a maze of hallways until they were taken by the dog through a back doorway, bundled into a dog-cart and the dog hitched himself up to the harness. Soon he was running through the countryside, pulling the cart behind him. They crossed a stone bridge, went up a gradient lined by elms, swept over the brow of a hill, and thence down into a green valley.

In the middle of the valley was a huge dark factory with several tall chimneys belching black smoke. From the cart the two prisoners could see something glowing behind the many hundreds of windows of the factory.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.