by R. W. Hughes
Geoff reached over the desk and took the book from the reluctant hands of the principal, placed a short note containing three names on the desk, turned and left the office, leaving the principal sitting behind his desk with his mouth opening and closing but no sound emerging.
Two days later Geoff, the two Bolton brothers along with Harry Sutton were told to stay behind after their form teacher, Terry Ashness, had marked the morning register. There were some quizzical looks in their direction from Dave Higgins and his cousin, Wilf Norton, as they left the classroom with the rest of the form on their way to the first lesson of the morning.
‘You four boys have been allocated a four bunk room. You are to move your belongings from the main dormitory to your new quarters at once. When you have completed that task you can join the rest of the form in their lesson.’ The boys were silent; they were so surprised that Whiplash Ashness had not followed up the instructions with one of his cutting, sarcastic remarks, which he usually could not resist when addressing his pupils.
The four boys bounded to the dormitory after leaving their form room, quickly gathering their few belongings they then hurried to their new sleeping quarters.
Even Harry Sutton was in a jovial mood, laughing with the Bolton brothers as they left their new luxury surroundings to join their own class.
Geoff made a slight diversion to drop off the book in Miss. Weatherman’s office but not before John Bolton had paid him a compliment. ‘It was well worth all the effort, Geoff. You’re a clever bugger and no mistake.’
Geoff smiled at the remark. Yes! It had worked out just great, just as he had planned. He had his mates around him, his own little gang, and they accepted him as their leader, things couldn’t be better.
That first night the lads could not sleep; having previously slept in a large noisy dormitory it took them several days to settle into their new quiet accommodation. Geoff’s last thought before he eventually fell into a fitful slumber was one of the old tramp’s sayings,
‘As you make your bed so you must lie in it’.
Chapter Six
Geoff’s esteem in the school was raised to new heights as word spread of the acquisition of the highly prized four bunk room for himself and his three mates, at the expense of Dave Higgins and his close associates who much to their disgust had been returned to the main dormitory. Apart from the Bolton boys and Sooty, no one in the school apart from the principal knew quite how he had achieved it. That afternoon after tea in the canteen Geoff and the Bolton brothers, with Sooty in close attendance, took great delight in sauntering past a disgruntled Dave Higgins and Wilf Norton. The cat-calls and dirty remarks from the group of lads with them were met by two fingered gestures from Geoff and his small party.
Geoff’s thoughts now started to centre on what he would do when he had to leave the school.
He had no practical skills like John Bolton or any of the computer skills like those Derek Bolton had acquired. Regarding Harry Sutton, he felt a sense of responsibility for the big lad, over their time together they had built up a friendly relationship. Sooty in turn for the first time in his life felt a sense of belonging. Left to his own devices Geoff knew he would just get used and abused, mainly because of his size, but also because of the stubborn streak in his character.
In the evenings Geoff would ponder and worry on how he would keep his little group together. He would take the brown paper bag that contained the silver spoon left by the old tramp Sir Reginald. He would handle the shiny piece of cutlery with the crest on the handle, hoping the piece of silver plate would give him some inspiration. He did this regularly when he had a problem to solve. Working the station was out of the question; there were too many hidden cameras and that’s where he had been caught pilfering and put in the detention centre in the first place.
He concluded that there was no way his mates could be together by trying to work in a legal fashion, not with the stigma that came with their place of education. He had to come up with a scheme, whereby all the members of the group could contribute their joint efforts, making enough for them to live on. He made up his mind there and then to give the ideas he had been knocking around in his head, his best shot.
The group had settled in to their new sleeping quarters which were luxurious in comparison with the dormitories shared by the rest of the school inmates. The door to the small room did have a lock but there was no key available. John Bolton set about dismantling the lock then, at the next lesson in the metalwork class, made four keys; one for each of the boys.
Sooty was relaxed in the company of the Bolton brothers and was constantly by their side, which was possibly a good thing as it kept Dave Higgins and co. at a respectable distance.
It was one evening just before lights out that Derek Bolton rushed into their small room where the other three lads were getting ready for bed.
‘You’ll never guess what I’ve just heard,’ he blurted out at the three upturned faces.
‘Go on then, spill the beans our kid,’ voiced his brother.
‘I was in the bogs, just about to leave, when Higgins and Norton came in. As all the doors to the bogs were open, or partially open, and I was hiding behind my open door they must have thought no one was in the cubicles. They’re planning a con!’
Geoff was instantly alert.
‘What kind of con Derek?’ queried Sooty.
‘Well! They’ve come across a big fancy box of chocolates. Apparently, they lifted them from the big store near the school. They intend to run a raffle and the chocolates will be the prize.’
‘Well we won’t be buying any tickets from that crowd!’ his brother sneered.
‘You don’t understand,’ persisted Derek. ‘They’re going to fix it so that one of their cronies wins the draw.’
‘How are they going to do that, Derek?’ asked a confused Sooty.
‘They’re going to do the draw out of that silly hat that Norton always has on his head. The winning ticket will be tucked under the inside rim, that’s what they were discussing in the loos.’
‘That’s bloody typical of Higgins. I for one definitely won’t be buying any tickets from them,’ Sooty retorted. Further conversation was cut short by the lights in the room being extinguished, to the groans of Derek, who would now have to get changed in the dark.
It was a long time before Geoff Larkin eventually fell asleep, the conversation before lights out buzzing around in his brain, he was thinking how he could turn what he had learned to his little group’s advantage.
But when he did eventually fall asleep, he had a large smile on his face!
The following morning Geoff outlined his plan to the rest of the group. It was decided that Sooty would purchase one of the raffle tickets for the large box of chocolates that were being sported around the school by Higgins and his gang.
*
The draw for the chocolates was not scheduled until the following lunchtime which gave Geoff time to slip out of the school and purchase the same coloured book of raffle tickets as the one Sooty had purchased from Higgins. It was then relatively easy to replace the ticket tucked in the inside rim of Norton’s hat while it was in the cloakroom during the last lesson of the morning.
During the lunchtime break all the pupils who had purchased tickets, which amounted to nearly everyone in the school, were gathered at the far end of the school playing field. Dave Higgins made a big speech about honesty and fair play whilst allowing several different lads to help in folding and placing late purchases of raffle tickets in his cousin’s hat.
Giving the hat a good shaking then holding it aloft, he offered it to one of his cronies to take the winning ticket. The lad, who was much shorter than Higgins, struggled to reach into the hat, which all helped to enforce the impression of fairness, he then unfolded and shouted out the number of the winning ticket drawn from the hat. ‘Number twenty-four green.’ There was a bustle in the crowd of lads as those who had purchased raffle tickets checked their colour and number and curses as those with the same colo
ur and numbers close to the one shouted out, expressing their disappointment.
Another member of Higgins gang pushed past Geoff and the Bolton brothers sneering, ‘Losers!’ as he did so.
‘I’ve got the winning ticket here!’ he shouted loudly, elbowing his way to the front. A big hand grabbed his collar, stopping his forward movement, then it proceeded to drag him backwards, partially choking him in the process.
‘No he’s wrong! I’ve got the winning ticket here,’ said the owner of the big hand. ‘Number twenty-four, green!’ showing the ticket to the nearest of the crowd before giving a startled and confused Higgins the winning ticket with one hand and taking the box of chocolates with the other. Higgins looked around him for support, his cousin Wilf was there, but the rest of his gang had quickly faded away.
Sooty on his own was deterrent enough and, in this case, he would have been supported by most of the lads in the school. Geoff and the Bolton brothers quickly ushered Sooty away through the envious crowd, laughing to themselves at the thought of their feast to come, and the tables they had turned on a disgruntled Dave Higgins and co. ‘Higgins isn’t going to forget this in a hurry Geoff,’ voiced a nervous Derek as he looked around at Higgins and his cronies, standing in a group, watching the raffle prize winners hurriedly departing.
‘He won’t like his nose being rubbed in the shit as often as we keep doing it,’ he voiced, at the same time increasing his pace to keep up with his mates and get closer to Sooty.
*
As the date approached for pupils to leave the school, arrangements were made by social services for them to go for interviews, these were very few and far between as employers were reluctant to employ lads who had problems at such an early age, however, the nationalised utility companies under pressure from the government did take some of the lads on a six month work experience scheme before they left the school.
The youngest Bolton boy and Geoff were of the same age; John Bolton had been staying on at the school and would be leaving later with his younger brother as soon as the welfare department could find them accommodation.
Sooty was the same age as Geoff and so he had to leave at the same time, they were also waiting to be found lodgings. Luckily, the Bolton brothers had been fixed up on a six month government sponsored scheme by the social worker. John, the eldest, was helping in a small back street garage assisting the proprietor.
Their work consisted of minor mechanical and body repairs to older mostly clapped out vehicles, their owners trying to keep them on the road when, in reality, they should have been condemned and scrapped.
His brother, Derek, had impressed the owners of a small computer sales and repair shop with his technical knowledge so they had also taken him on a similar scheme.
An interview had been arranged for both Geoff and Sooty at one of the utility companies, namely the electricity board. The boys left the school together for their interviews; anything was better than the boredom and repetition of the classrooms.
The work experience at the electricity company consisted of working with an outside group of fitters who were replacing the overhead cables situated in the countryside on the outskirts of the town. The boys’ tasks were quite simple; they stood on the bottom of the small ladder to keep it firm while one of the engineers went up the wooden pole to where the metal foot plates started, he then continued up these plates leaning on a thick leather strap that was fastened around the post and fitted to a harness around his waist, it would hold him in place if he slipped off the metal foot plates. When he reached the top of the pole he would then connect the new cable to the T section that carried the cable before cutting away the old lengths. The boys’ other duties, which they did if the weather was exceptionally bad, were to make the tea, brush out and keep the wagon clean where the men had their lunch and fetch and carry any small tools that were required.
Geoff and Sooty kept very much to themselves, ignoring the occasional sarcastic remark that was directed towards them because of their previous background. They did not join in the conversation between the men, which was mainly about the town’s football team or the next darts match at their local pub. One thing Geoff could not help but notice was the pile of old copper wire kept covered by an old tarpaulin that was increasing in size by the day.
The area that Geoff and Sooty were working with the gang from the electric company was in a small village about twenty minutes’ drive from the town. Arrangements had been made for both lads to be collected in the mornings and then dropped off outside the school gates at the end of the day.
Geoff was racking his brain and had many sleepless nights working on a scheme to relieve the company of its old copper cable before it was collected and taken to the central depot. He knew that if the cart load of old iron could fetch pounds at the scrap yard, the copper wire would be worth a damn sight more. The problem was he had no transport to move the merchandise; as he called it. He was brushing out the rear of the large van when he overheard a conversation between the foreman in charge of the gang of workmen and a lorry driver delivering new wooden replacement poles from the depot.
‘Tell George at the yard to expect this old wire tomorrow. We’ll load it onto your truck after you’ve brought the rest of the poles.’ The lorry driver gave the foreman the thumbs up sign indicating that he had heard and that he would pass the message on.
This meant to Geoff that he and his friends had to act that night, or not at all. The time between lights out at the school and when he thought it was safe to move seemed like an eternity.
Eventually the four boys, in their stocking feet, walked down the dimly lit corridor between the dormitories, slowly making their way to the emergency exit that led onto the fire escape. This would not have been possible if the group had still been in the large shared dormitory.
Several of the live-in teachers had bicycles locked away for safety in a shed near the craft workshop. John Bolton had no difficulty picking the old padlock on the shed door. Taking the bicycles from the bike shed they were ready to set off when Sooty dropped a bombshell.
‘I can’t ride a bike.’
‘Can’t ride a bike?’ repeated Derek Plant in amazement, while the other lads stood looking on, dumbfounded. ‘Why didn’t you tell us before?’ he continued in a raised voice.
This caused an aggravated, ‘SHHH! Keep it quiet or you’ll wake the staff,’ from a tense and very nervous Geoff.
‘Because you never asked me,’ replied Sooty to Derek’s previous outburst. The next half hour was spent a short distance down the road from the school showing Sooty the basic rudiments of riding a push bike, to the growing frustration of Geoff as they had a lot to do within the short time available.
They eventually set off, Sooty wandering from one side of the road to the other but managing to stay upright on the bike, but fortunately for the group they were keeping to the back roads in the town to avoid the little traffic that was around at one o’clock in the morning.
In no time at all they were in the country lanes and Sooty, after several near scrapes, seemed to have mastered riding the bike.
The area seemed so different and eerie to Geoff and the rest of the lads in the dark of the night, than when Sooty and him had travelled in the work’s van in the early light of the mornings. The poor light from their bicycle lamps was insufficient to light their way properly and on several occasions one or the other would collide with the high banking at the side of the sunken lane near the entrance to the village church yard. ‘Shit!’ shouted Derek. ‘That’s the second time I’ve bloody run into the bank.’
‘SHHH!’ whispered Geoff loudly, continuing, ‘It’s enough to waken the dead.’ This caused a peel of laughter from Sooty, who had mastered riding the bicycle quite well, and was the only one of the group not to hit the bank. At the bottom of the lane they arrived near to where they had been working that previous day. This was on the next but last stretch of the new overhead electric line that would finish on the outskirts of the village.
They left their bicycles in the churchyard and walked the rest of the way up the lane on foot using the lights taken from their bikes to light their way. Taking the two wheelbarrows that were holding down the tarpaulin they loaded them with the copper wire then, taking it in turns, they pushed the heavily laden wheelbarrows down the lane towards the church situated on the edge of the village.
It had been several days earlier that he and Sooty had taken a stroll during their lunch break. Looking curiously around the graveyard next to the church Geoff had suddenly shouted out, ‘Eureka!’ causing his friend Sooty, walking at the side of him, to jump in alarm.
When the four boys entered the church grounds it took all four of them to push the heavily laden wheelbarrows up the final slope to the cemetery. Once they were there, it did not take long for the wire to be unloaded and slipped under the several gravestones to the tombs. These were horizontal to the ground but raised about nine inches on stone pillars, fortunately, the wire was hidden from view by the long grass that was growing up to the graves. It took many journeys to bring the wire down the pot-holed lane to the churchyard.
By the time they had finished their shoulders and thighs were aching with the strain from pushing and pulling the over-laden wheelbarrows.
The Bolton brothers had just returned to the churchyard after they had taken the empty barrows back up the lane, they found Geoff and Sooty were stretched out on the raised flat gravestones resting their aching muscles.
‘I’m glad that’s––.’ Geoff put his hand on Derek Bolton’s shoulder making him jump and stopping him mid-sentence.
The headlights of a vehicle lit up the grass bank and stone wall several hundred yards away as it turned off the road and swung into the narrow lane. ‘It’s the police! It’s the bloody police! We’ve been seen. Someone has reported us,’ gasped John Bolton in a panic stricken whisper.
He turned to run but was restrained by Geoff. All four lads crouched behind the trunks of some large, mature yew trees as the headlights came towards them travelling down the lane. As the vehicle slowly drew level with them, a sigh of relief swept over the four lads as they could make out it was not a police car but a small, flat tipper lorry.