Jigsaw

  Chapter Six

  ‘What’s the matter? What’s wrong?’ Rachel asked in concern. The little boy kept crying but his brother answered gruffly, ‘He wants something from the toyshop.’

  As Toby and Rachel stared at him in bewilderment he went on.

  ‘It’s his birthday today. He’s seven. Mum was going to buy him something but we didn’t have enough money and it had to go on the rent instead.’

  ‘That’s terrible.’ Rachel was horrified. The older boy shrugged,

  ‘That’s life. It’s only those rich kids what can buy stuff. Come on Billy, stop snivelling. It won’t get you anywhere and Dad will give you a clip over the ear if he hears you’ve been hanging around by the shops.’

  ‘I’ve got something you can play with for a little while,’ offered Rachel. ‘His name is Spike. But you won’t be able to keep him,’ she added hastily. She unzipped the top of the bag and let the boys peep in at the sleeping dragon. Billy’s eyes opened wide as he reached out a tentative finger to poke Spike.

  ‘We can’t play here in the street,’ said Toby. ‘Is there a park or somewhere we could go?’

  Billy’s brother thought for a minute. ‘There’s a patch of grass down by the railway,’ he suggested, and led the way through an alley and past a row of tall houses, whose doors opened straight onto the footpath. They came to a grassy area on a gently sloping bank where the railway tracks stretched out above. Rachel opened the bag and Toby lifted Spike onto the grass where he delightedly galloped around in circles trying to chase his tail. Billy and his brother Sam were enchanted. All the children took turns to tickle Spike, and Sam and Toby tried to see if he could set a small bundle of twigs alight. They got rather smoky and scratched during this game but to their disappointment Spike didn’t manage to breathe out fire.

  ‘Just as well, really,’ remarked Rachel. ‘I don’t know what I’d do with him if he started burning things.’

  Before long the ground started shaking and a faint rumbling could be heard. Rachel threw an alarmed glance at Toby, thinking it might have been the mother dragon approaching, but Sam announced that it was the train.

  ‘Come on Billy, that means dinner time. We’d better go.’

  Billy went reluctantly, looking back at Spike and Toby called suddenly, ‘Wait!’ Reaching into the pocket of the bag he pulled out the Frisbee. ‘I nearly forgot about this,’ he said with a grin. ‘Look, you can throw and catch it.’ He demonstrated by tossing the Frisbee in Sam’s direction. The boys were thrilled when Toby said Billy could have it as a birthday present, and ran off home chattering happily. Rachel tried to put Spike back into the bag but he was quivering with excitement at the sound of the approaching train. They watched as the steam engine puffed past, emitting a blast on its whistle accompanied by a huge cloud of steam. Spike made small squeaking noises and fluttered his wings madly, biting Rachel’s finger in his excitement.

  ‘Ow,’ said Rachel.

  ‘Oh well, I suppose he didn’t mean to,’ Toby pointed out as she sucked her finger and muttered under her breath. ‘I’m starving. I wish we’d thought to bring our own lunch with us.’

  Rachel agreed that bringing lunch would have been a good Idea but suggested they walk past the shops again.

  ‘Maybe there will be a bakery and they might have some of yesterday’s bread they could give us,’ she said hopefully. Toby brightened up at this and they put a struggling Spike back into the bag and trudged back to the shops.

  ‘Are you sure this is the right way?’ Rachel asked after a while. They seemed to have been walking for ages and she still couldn’t see the shops.

  ‘I’m taking a shortcut. The train went in this direction,’ explained Toby, ‘so it must be right.’ Rachel was dubious about Toby’s idea of a shortcut but kept her thoughts to herself.

  They passed a forge and stopped for a while to watch the blacksmith fit an iron shoe to a large brown horse. Spike showed great interest in the roaring fire and Rachel was only able to keep him in the bag by keeping a firm grip on his ears. The heat from the forge was terrific and the blacksmith gleamed with sweat. His chest and arms were bare but he wore a leather apron over sturdy trousers and boots, and Toby admired the huge muscles standing out on his arms.

  ‘I bet he never needs to go to the gym,’ he said.

  They left the blacksmith reluctantly as he worked on another shoe, and turned the corner to find the street of shops they had seen earlier. There was no bakery to be seen but a grocery shop looked hopeful. Rachel went in while Toby waited outside holding Spike.

  ‘Any luck?’ he called as she came out.

  ‘No,’ said Rachel cheerfully. ‘It was very interesting, though. Lots of boxes and barrels of things like currants and flour and rice. The grocer weighed them out and wrapped them in paper packets for people. He didn’t have any bread, so I guess there must be a bakery somewhere. We are bound to find one if we keep walking.’

  The children walked past the shops, looking in the windows as they went.

  ‘There’s a butchers shop,’ remarked Toby as they came to a large window where animal carcasses hung on racks.

  ‘Oh, yuck,’ said Rachel. ‘Look at the flies.’ At this point there was a loud tearing noise as Spike ripped a hole through the side of the sports bag and launched himself into the doorway of the shop. Toby and Rachel yelped with surprise and ran after him. A large red-faced man in a blue and white striped apron was coiling a string of sausages onto a piece of white paper held in one enormous hand. The grim faced old lady they had seen earlier was watching him. Spike flapped his wings and gave a huge jump and managed to get his claws into the bottom sausage. From that point things became rather confused.

  The elderly lady cried, ‘Stop, thief! Wild animals! Help, help!’ The butcher advanced around the side of his counter with a large carving knife held menacingly in one hand. Toby and Rachel tried to catch Spike, who was attempting to swallow all the sausages and keep out of reach at the same time. The dragon ran between the legs of the old lady who screeched and fainted into the butcher’s arms, narrowly missing having her head cut off with the carving knife. A passing postman leapt off his bicycle and rushed into the shop to see if he could help. He blew his whistle and started shouting for the police as he tried to shoo Spike out of the shop by waving his hat. Toby managed to grab Spike by the tail, and scooping him up he tucked him under his arm.

  ‘Come on, quick.’ He yelled, pounding down the street with Rachel following close behind.

  ‘Where are we going,’ she puffed, as behind them the postman, the butcher and a passing farmer and his son joined the chase.

  ‘We got into the jigsaw by crossing a bridge so I reckon we need to cross another one to get back,’ panted Toby. ‘Any ideas?’

  Rachel ran beside him, thinking desperately.

  ‘There’s bound to be a bridge over the railway line,’ she said with sudden inspiration. ‘I think the station is up ahead of us.’

  Toby didn’t reply but kept running. The pursuit behind them was getting bigger as more and more people joined the hue and cry.

  ‘There,’ said Rachel in relief as they turned a corner. In front to them was a railway station with a wooden bridge going up and over the railway track.

  ‘Here, take Spike,’ gasped Toby. ‘I don’t think I can go much further.’

  Rachel looked at him. Toby was pale and his mouth was set in a grim line. She suddenly remembered he was supposed to be recovering from a serious illness and that running away from an angry mob would hardly be helping. Rachel took Spike into her arms where he lovingly licked her face and blew smoke into her eyes. Rachel began to cough.

  Together the children reached the bridge and stumbled up the steps. They ran across the top, hearing their feet make a thudding noise as they hit the wooden planks. The butcher was right behind them. Toby heard his angry shout as with a last despairing effort he and Rachel jumped to the steps on the other side. There was a sudden drop and they tumbled together into a shr
ieking heap onto Rachel’s lawn. They lay there for a few minutes while they recovered their breath, then Toby suggested they put Spike into the shed.

  ‘There’s no sense in letting him destroy your bedroom and he can’t hurt anything in there. Anyway, he’s so full after those sausages he’ll probably sleep for ages.’

  Spike burped gently and a smoke ring drifted up into the air.

  ‘He’d probably better come into my bedroom at night, though,’ said Rachel reluctantly. She could see the difficulties of keeping a dragon inside, but Spike was so cute it was hard to be angry with him.

  They settled Spike on a pile of old sacks in the shed and Toby was glad the dragon wasn’t able to blow fire.

  ‘It wouldn’t have been safe putting him by the mower, otherwise he might have blown up the petrol tank.’ Rachel looked alarmed with this but Toby assured her Spike was quite safe as all he could manage was a little smoke, not even a tiny spark.