magnolia-buildings

The sergeant grinned. "All right, all right," he said cheerfully. "Don't you worry. We've got a good idea who it is. We'd been watching them for a long time. We'll find out. We've got our methods."

Mum cried, "This taxi's ticking up," 1 and climbed in. "Off you go!" 2 said the sergeant. "Put the kids to bed.

Where to? Magnolia Buildings? Go ahead, driver!" Now that the excitement was over, Len was half asleep

and Doreen was nodding too.

And so ended Auntie Glad's wedding.

The next day, there was great excitement in Magnolia Buildings. The police used their own methods, searched the homes of Shorty, Nap and Thompson and took them all off to the police station on a charge of housebreaking and robbery.3

The three boys were later sent to Borstal and approved school, according to their age, and the whole of Magnolia

her7 five evenings a week from six till eight. Ally agreed with enthusiasm, without thinking of the details.

Mrs Frank was a small, dark woman and the baby was dark too. It was a pretty little girl, a year old, called Rachel. She had black curls and eyes with long, dark eyelashes, and she took to Ally * very quickly. Mrs Frank also liked Ally, because the girl wanted to please so much.-

Brian did not express any enthusiasm about her job either. He said, "What do you want to do it for, Al? It's

looking very important..She pretended to listen to all the directions about the baby and her food, although really she was looking round at Mrs Frank's flat and admiring her ornaments and curtains. From time to time she tried to have a look at herself3 in the mirror.

"You'll stay till Bert comes back, won't you, Ally?" finished Mrs Frank. "He'll be back at eight. Take care of Rachel, there's a good girl." 4 Mrs Frank kissed the baby and hurried off.

At first Ally was quite happy. It was fun to have an empty flat all to herself.5 The baby was in bed, she soon

She picked up the photographs and studied the faces of the Franks' friends and relations. She had a look at the Franks' bedroom and then at the kitchen. She tried to do a bit of the mending 6 that Mrs Frank had left her, but

she was not very good at needlework and put the socks back unfinished.

After a while she began to look at the clock. Only seven. One whole hour more! She read a bit from a women's

and the sound of running feet. Everyone but Ally seemed to be having fun.1 She began to wonder what Brian was doing and whether he had taken another girl to the pictures. It was only by remembering her new dress that Ally could stay to the end of her time. She gave a big sigh of relief when Mr Frank came home. The baby was still asleep and he was quite pleased.

But it was not so easy the second week. The baby was cutting teeth,2 so she was restless, kept whining and did not sleep. Ally walked up and down3 the little 100m with her, up and down, up and down, singing and dancing, but Rachel didn't stop whining. Her cheeks were quite

up at once and started to cry again. Mrs Frank was greatly worried that she had to go to work and leave the child. "But we need the money," she said to Ally, "and if I stay at home so soon, I may lose my job."

For three days Rachel whined and was difficult4 until at last two neat, white pointed teeth appeared. On the fourth day she didn't sleep either because she was in high spirits.8 Each time Ally laid her down, she jumped up like a celluloid doll.

On that fourth evening Ally was reading a very romantic story in a book she had brought with her. The heroine's life was in danger all the time, so that Ally simply had to read the story to the end.

At first, Ally put the baby on her knee and tried to go on reading, but Rachel only struggled and tried to get to the floor. Absent-mindedly, Ally let her down, thinking

it would do her no harm to crawl around a bit.1 Perhaps she would get tired and then fall asleep.

Ally read on and on. The baby was so quiet that she had forgotten about her. Yes, the hero had done it! He had found the heroine at last. "Do not be afraid, my darling!" he cried. "I will save you!"

The door of the flat opened and Mrs Frank came hurrying in. "They let me go a bit earlier —" she began. "Oh, my goodness!" 2

Ally suddenly came back to life. The baby! Out of bed 8 and on the floor! She jumped up. And there was Rachel, black from head to foot. She had been sitting by the coal bucket and licking the coal!

There was a terrible row. Ally was thrown out of the flat immediately. Mrs Frank was in a rage. She said that

police.

Still sobbing, Ally ran upstairs to Mum. It was awful. No one in the block would ever trust her again or give her another job. That silly Rachel! Eating coal! Brian would laugh if he heard! And what about the new dress? She had paid only two instalments on it.2 Would the shop give her the money back or would they keep it, if she couldn't

for you. If you hadn't taken that silly book with you, you'd have kept your job."

"I thought you didn't want me to have a jqb," answered Ally, who was hurt. For by this time the whole family thought that Ally should have a job,3 as though the job had been their idea in the first place.4

To pay the instalments on the dress was a terrible problem too

"You don't deserve a new dress," said Mum a bit angrily when the matter came up.B Mrs Frank had been going round saying all sorts of things about Ally, and

Luckily,' Dad, who perhaps loved Ally best of all his children, said that he would give her the dress for a birthday present. So Ally dressed up in it and went to the pictures with Brian, as proud as a peacock. But after this Ally really began to understand that money must be earned by good work, and that if you take on a job, it is better to do it properly.

When Val heard that Tim

Robins, who worked for Mr Arby,

and stealing my job! I'll teach you a lesson!" And he gave Val several hard punches and kicks.

Tim was a big, heavy youth, but Val was not so easily beaten.6 Once he had recovered from the shock of the attack,* he began to defend himself. The two boys rolled on the ground fighting fiercely. Blood was soon pouring from both their noses.

"I'll call in the police," yelled old Sprot, and he started kicking at both of them, hoping to stop the fight. Dad, who was just coming dowstairs on his way to work, rushed

to the boys, seized Val by the collar and put him on his feet. Tim remained on the ground gasping and looking angrily at Val.

"He jumped out and fell on me," gasped Val.

"He stole my job, that sneak," yelled Tim. He was on his feet now and seemed quite ready to start the fight again.

"I'll show you both!" growled Dad.

"I didn't start it. I don't want to fight," said Val bitterly.

"To start fighting in the yard!" Old Sprot was in a rage. "Never seen x boys like these ones. My Dad would have skinned me,2 if he'd caught me fighting. Decent people

Dad now tried to settle the quarrel. "Did you get the sack 3 or not?" he asked Tim in his slow voice.

"Well —" Tim did not know what, to say and wiped his nose with his sleeve. "Mr Afby did say..." *

"Did you get the sack or not?"

"If Val hadn't come at once, Mr Arby'd have taken me

future or I'll speak to your Dad. Got that?" 6

Tim seemed to have got it, for he went off quickly and didn't look back.

"It was bad enough when you weren't working," said Dad looking his unlucky son over rather critically. "But it's worse now that you are.' You and Ally! I don't know what's going to happen to you."

Chapter XVIII

THE BONFIRE

Of course, there was only one thought in all the children's minds as November approached — Guy Fawkes Day!1

Most of the boys made dummies with masks and old hats. They borrowed prams and went along the streets pushing thtir Guys and looking for a place to stop. Once the boys had got hold of2 a certain good corner, such as by the cinema, or near the "Cock", they fought tooth and nail3 to keep it. Every few yards during the end of October, you could see children sitting with their dummies, crying "Penny for the Guy,4 sir! Penny for the Guy!"

In one way or another,5 enormous sums of money wsre collected. Then the children rushed to the firewoiks shop and bought lots of rockets and bangers and other sorts of fireworks for Guy Fawkes Day. Of course not everyone could wait till the Fifth and on most evenings, almost for three weeks before the day, boys were letting of fireworks just to see that they really could explode.

The radio announcers were giving out directions to the people not to make their own fireworks, because they could be dangerous. And the fire brigades were making preparations; they knew that the Fifth would be a hard day for them.

Of course, Val and his gang were very busy loo. They were especially looking forward to the Fifth this year as

there would be no Shorty's gang to spoil the day for them. Val and George had made such a horrible looking Guy that people grew pale at the sight of it, and paid up 1 quickly, so that they might hurry on and not see it any more. George had borrowed the old family pram and the boys put their Guy in it and pushed it along the streets from four o'clock to bedtime. They were not shy like other beggars who just sat and waited between their Guy and their cap of pennies. They moved about, rushed up to passers-by and attacked them so fiercely that the people got nervous and gave them sixpences and shillings by mistake, and then went home and wrote angry letters to the papers saying that Guy Fawkes Day was a shame because it was teaching the younger generation to beg.

But fireworks were not the only thing that Val had in mind for the Fifth. He was planning an enormous bonfire, and bonfires were of course absolutely forbidden. Luckily there was a large bomb site 2 not far from Mag-

nolia Buildings. It had been cleared so as to be ready for some new house. It was here that Val meant to have his fire. But the boys had to organize everything very carefully, so that the police or the fire brigade could not stop it.

One of the problems of living in a large town is how to get rid of large-scale rubbish.1 People have to pay big sums of money to the dustmen for taking away old sofas, broken tables and chairs. Val knew this and for some time he had been going from flat to flat, asking people if they had any old furniture they did not want A week before the Fifth, he made his gang carry all that junk downstairs and put it into a bicycle shed. Nobody asked where it was going. Everybody was only too pleased to get rid of it without having to pay the dustmen.3 Soon there was no more room left3 for the junk in the shed, and the boys decided to carry the rest of it downstairs on the evening of the Fifth itself.

There were about twenty school age boys in Magnolia Buildings and Val, who was a natural organizer, gathered them together.