The Last Orphan by Ellie Jacobs

Author:Ellie Jacobs [Jacobs, Ellie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blue Gem Publishing

A Test

Just stand still, be invisible. That had been the first instruction. Then, as soon as the rough bag touched his hand, the next step had to be put into action: run.

Frank stood by the side of the small brick outcropping where the maids fetched firewood for the fireplaces of the rich and famous. The building near at hand was one of the finest he’d ever seen, tall and elegant with columns around the doorway and a nice, neat line of stairs leading down into the street.

This felt dangerous, being so close to the kind of people who could steer you to the gallows if you failed, but Charlie the Dipper said it was the best place for big takes. He was to wait for the bag and then run west down the street, through two alleys, and down a cellar. After that, he had to wait for the second carrier to walk by, and then his job was done.

He plastered on a casual smile, pretending like he belonged, like he wasn’t afraid. The real theft was taking place across the street. He couldn’t see it from where he stood, but that was part of Charlie the Dipper’s plan, and he was thankful he couldn’t see it for the moment.

As long as he couldn’t see the mark, he could substitute Arthur Gillespie’s face wherever it was needed. They were stealing from Gillespie, getting him back for the missing finger, the maimed children, and decades of abuse.

Just when he was fighting the temptation to peer around the corner at the scene of the theft, it happened. A small child—Frank didn’t even know her name—rounded the corner at a clip and dropped a heavy purse at his feet without stopping. In a moment, she was gone.

He slipped the bag into his shirt and took off west, thankful to hear footsteps running after the girl in the opposite direction.

The path seemed longer than when he’d run it in practice, but he made his way as fast as possible until he reached his hiding place and ducked down out of sight. It was a good plan. The second carrier, one of the boys who had tried to steal from him the first night, arrived shortly after he did and took the purse as wordlessly as the girl had. Frank waited for a moment in the cellar, catching his breath, and then went back into the light.

It had worked. He could hardly believe it. The way they talked on the streets, bobbies were stringing snotters up right and left—but here he had an inside look at the operation, and the world seemed to open up for him like a promise.

The next few days passed in a blur. He assisted in nabbing a pocketbook on a main street, tossing it backwards under a horse to another child. He helped drop and dip an old man; he took part in stealing a dog and then returning it to the owner to gain a reward. His conscience only

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