The Deadly Fire Read Free Page A

ushered them into the big room to the right of the front door, saying, ‘You’re very welcome to our school.’ He eyed Mutsy with a slight smile. ‘And what about this fellow? Can he read yet?’
    â€˜I thought we might need him on the street. He’s a good dog to protect us. I’m a bit worried . . .’ Once again Alfie lapsed into silence and Mr Elmore gave an understanding nod.
    â€˜Tell me about it later. First, let’s get these two settled into class.’
    The alphabet class was conducted by one of the monitors, a tall, skinny boy called Albert. Like theother monitors, he had already learned to read and write and was paid sixpence a week to teach the other children. Mr Elmore introduced Sammy to Albert and told him that Mutsy would be staying too. Albert looked surprised, but grinned as Mr Elmore said, ‘He seems a good dog.’
    Mutsy gave an extra wag of the tail in appreciation of this kindness and sat down beside Sammy and Tom.
    The other pupils came crowding in a few minutes later. After a quick stare at Sammy and Mutsy, they took their places on the three battered benches that lined the room. Each bench seated six and Albert stood in front of them and started to sing the alphabet song which they all joined in with cheerfully.
    Sammy was quick and clever, used to learning songs, and he rapidly picked up the chant of the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. Mr Elmore smiled appreciatively as he heard Sammy’s clear, high, beautiful voice soaring up with the words,
And now I know my ABC . . .
He left the monitor to instruct the rest of the class in fitting letters together to make
DOG
,
CAT
and other three-letter words while he took Sammy to the back of the room, asking him to sing song after song.
    â€˜You have a rare gift here,’ he said, patting Sammy on the shoulder. ‘I wish that I had the money to pay for lessons for you. However . . .’ He stopped and thought for a moment and then smiled.
    â€˜I know a man in Ludgate Hill who loves music and has more money than he knows what to do with,’ he went on. ‘I’ll have a word with him and see what he can do.’
    Sammy smiled a smile of sheer joy but Alfie, waiting patiently until Mr Elmore was free to hear about Mary Robinson, felt a pang of fear that this hope would be disappointed.
    â€˜Why should this rich man in Ludgate Hill be interested in what you say about Sammy?’ he asked harshly.
    â€˜Because he is my father,’ said Mr Elmore. ‘Now tell me how you got on with those leaflets.’
    â€˜Can we go up into your office?’ asked Alfie nervously. He was worried about the other children listening in, but also his feeling of shame at having betrayed the teacher’s name made him reluctant to begin his story.
    Mr Elmore’s office was a small room crammed with books. It had only one tiny window high up in the wall and the floorboards were badly broken inplaces. In one corner was a rickety, worm-eaten desk with the remains of a couple of loaves of bread on it. Any hungry pupil was welcome to some of the teacher’s supper before or after lessons.
    Mr Elmore brushed Alfie’s excuses aside and did not seem to be worried about the threat to him. His face darkened, however, when he heard the full account of the attack on Alfie and the threat to Sammy.
    â€˜I’ll go straight down to Bow Street police station tomorrow morning,’ he said decisively. ‘We have a perfect right to tell these unfortunate costermongers the truth. She won’t get away with this again. I plan to distribute leaflets in all of the markets in London where that woman operates. These are for Smithfield, these for Petticoat Lane, these for Leadenhall and for Newgate.’ He nodded at the separate piles of leaflets on his desk. Alfie felt his heart sink as he gazed at them. He had no desire to meet Mary Robinson again. He looked from the leaflets to Mr Elmore and found that