The Buffer Girls

by Margaret Dickinson

  There was a knock on the door, however, about mid-morning on Boxing Day; Mick had come to take Josh out with him.

  ‘You ready, mate?’

  ‘Where are we going?’ Josh asked as he stepped outside and closed the door quickly behind him.

  ‘You’ll see.’

  ‘Is Lizzie coming?’

  ‘Not this time. Women aren’t welcome.’

  ‘Why? What’s going on?’

  But Mick only tapped the side of his nose and winked.

  Outside in the street, two of Mick’s pals were waiting and the four of them walked to Sky Edge where several other youths and young men were waiting. They nodded to Josh and then whispered to one another.

  ‘Is he orreight, Mick?’ Josh heard one of them ask.

  ‘He’s my mate, so of course he’s all right. Besides, he’s courting my sister. And I’m fussy who takes Lizzie out. And you should know that better than anyone, Pete.’

  The other young man grunted and cast a resentful glance at Josh. ‘What’s he got that I haven’t, eh?’

  ‘She likes him, Pete, that’s all it takes. Now, let’s get this game started, eh? You posted the crows?’

  ‘Course. We’re all ready. Gary’s on lookout duty over there,’ he nodded towards the path that Josh and Mick had come along, ‘and two of his mates are on t’other side.’

  Mick turned to Josh. ‘You ready, mate?’

  But Josh was still standing gazing out over the magnificent view of the city. ‘I never knew it was so big. What a wonderful view. I’ll have to bring Em up here. She’d love this.’

  ‘I wouldn’t, if you know what’s good for you,’ Mick muttered. ‘There’s a lot goes on up here that nobody knows about, an’ we don’t want ’em to either, so you just keep pretty Emily away from here. Orreight, mate? Now, let me show you how we play pitch and toss.’

  Suddenly, Josh realized what was happening. This was Sky Edge, which Eddie Crossland had warned him about. ‘Oh, I don’t think . . .’ he began, but catching sight of the warning look on Mick’s face, his courage failed. Seeing Josh’s capitulation, Mick grinned and slapped him on the shoulder.

  ‘I run these games so I’m what we call the “toller”, ’cos I collect the bets and I take a toll of three bob in the pound on every bet placed for missen. And –’ he fished in his pocket and brought out five shiny half-crowns – ‘here’s all we need. See, if we do get caught, the “evidence” is soon hidden amongst our own loose change. Now, you watch for a bit and I’ll show you how it’s done.’

  Several men squatted down about the pitch and the game began with someone shouting, ‘Heads a pound.’ Then someone else responded with, ‘Tail it.’

  Josh watched in fascination; he couldn’t help being caught up in the excitement. Money was quickly won and lost on how the coins would fall with each toss. They played for two hours, not bothering to keep their voices low; the ‘crows’ would warn of anyone approaching.

  ‘’Ere, don’t we get a game or two, Mick?’ One of the lookouts protested after a couple of hours. He jabbed his finger towards Josh. ‘Can’t he take his turn? He’s got a fistful of notes already.’

  After watching for a few games, Josh hadn’t been unable to resist joining in. He had been winning steadily, much to the disgust of several of the other men. ‘Is he cheating, Mick?’ Pete asked at last.

  ‘Course not. He’s got the luck of the Devil, that’s all.’

  ‘But you’re running the book . . .’

  ‘Shut up, Pete.’ Gary nudged Pete. ‘Mick knows what he’s doing.’

  For a moment Pete blinked and then understanding seemed to penetrate his dull brain as he grinned and nodded. ‘Oh, I see.’ He raised his voice and said, ‘Right, then, Josh. It’s you against me.’

  Josh stuffed the money in his pocket and shook his head. ‘No, I’ll quit while I’m ahead if you don’t mind.’

  ‘But I do mind,’ Pete began and suddenly his face was menacing, until Mick put a warning hand on his arm.

  ‘Leave it.’ There was authority in his tone and the other young man, though he shot a look of disgust at Mick, did as he was asked. Pete held out his hand to Josh. ‘As long as you give me a chance to win it back again next time, eh?’

  ‘Course,’ Josh agreed, taking the proffered hand, but he wasn’t sure there would be a next time if he could help it. There was something vaguely uncomfortable about the whole set-up and his feeling of disquiet only intensified when Mick said, ‘Right, Josh, your turn on lookout duty. You’ll be paid for it, of course.’

  Josh blinked. ‘Lookout? What am I looking out for?’

  Pete groaned as he muttered, ‘What the hell have you brought us, Mick? He’s a right barm pot.’

  Nettled by the insult, Josh turned to Mick and said, ‘Just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it.’

  ‘There you are, Pete. He can’t say fairer than that, now, can he?’

  But Pete’s only reply was a grunt.

  ‘Over here, mate.’ Mick beckoned Josh to follow him as he led him to a high point overlooking the path they had taken to get here. ‘Just keep a watch out for anyone coming and let me know. Don’t shout, mind, just come and tell me right quick.’

  Josh shrugged. He didn’t understand what all the fuss was about. They were only playing what seemed to be a harmless game of pitch and toss – something he and Emily had played as children, only they’d called it ‘heads or tails’. Even their dad had played it with them sometimes, though, he had to admit, their games had never been for money.

  He stood there for half an hour, growing colder and colder. He stamped his feet and huddled further into his coat and glanced around him. There! Had he seen a movement? Maybe it was only a rabbit, but – the bitter wind was making his eyes water. He blinked furiously to clear his vision and then, through the gloom of the winter’s day, he saw two figures coming up the path. Perhaps they were only a couple taking an afternoon walk with their dog, but he didn’t wait to find out. He hurried back to where the group were still playing.

  ‘Mick – Mick,’ he said urgently, but kept his voice low. ‘There’re two folks coming—’

  He’d hardly got the words out before there was a hurried scramble to pick up the coins, for everyone to stuff their winnings into their pockets and run. They ran in all directions, like rats down a drainpipe, Josh thought. He’d never seen anyone move so quickly. In seconds, there was no evidence of what had been going on, except perhaps for the circle of trampled grass and undergrowth. Mick gripped Josh’s arm. ‘You come with me,’ he said, and hustled him down the slope on the opposite side to where the figures were walking up the path.

  ‘Just act normal, like we’re out for a walk. In fact, we’ll stand here admiring the view and I’ll be pointing out places of interest.’ He glanced over his shoulder. ‘Here they come,’ he said, beneath his breath. He stuck out his arm, pointing towards the buildings. ‘You see that big church, well, that’s our cathedral. It only got cathedral status same year as the war started an’ then over there—’ He swung his arm round, still pointing over the city, just as two policemen – a sergeant and a constable – came up behind them. Mick glanced over his shoulder. ‘Hello, officers. What brings you up here on this cold day?’

  ‘You know very well, Mick Dugdale. You and your cronies, that’s what.’

  ‘And who’s this, might I ask?’ the constable asked, nodding towards Josh.

  Mick put his arm around Josh’s shoulders. ‘You may indeed, officer. This is my friend, Josh Ryan. He’s come to live next door to us.’

  ‘And what do you do, lad?’

  ‘I work at Waterfall’s.’

  ‘Oh aye, I know it,’ the sergeant said. ‘Good place to work. I’ve an uncle worked there for years, he has.’ He paused and then nodded towards Mick. ‘But you want to be careful of the company you keep, young feller.’

  ‘Oh officer, you wound me.’ With a dramatic gesture, Mick put his hand over his heart.

  ‘Aye, a
n’ I would an’ all, if I had my way. Just watch your step, m’lad, because me and my lads have got you in our sights. Now –’ he nodded down the slope where all the others had fled – ‘I ’spect they’ve all scarpered by now and there’s nowt for us to see. But think on, owd lad. You just think on.’

  The two officers turned and went back down the path. When they were well out of earshot, Mick breathed a sigh of relief. ‘By, that were a close ’un.’ He slapped Josh on the back. ‘Well done. You did a good job there, mate.’

  But as they walked home, Josh wasn’t so sure. He was still feeling a bit bemused by what had happened and more than a little uncomfortable. The only thing that cheered him was the rustle of pound notes in his pocket. He’d be able to give his mam some extra this week and, if necessary, he could explain it away by saying that Waterfall’s had given him a Christmas bonus.

  As they parted in the yard outside their homes, Mick gripped Josh’s arm and said, ‘Now, remember, keep your mouth shut about what’s gone on today. You understand, don’t you? Don’t even tell your pretty Emily about this, orreight?’ And, to underline his point, he squeezed even harder until his grip hurt. ‘Of course not, Mick. I won’t say a word.’

  ‘Good.’ Now Mick slapped him on the back. ‘Good lad.’

  Twenty-Eight

  On New Year’s Day, Emily waited in the park until it grew dusk. Everyone else had left now, hurrying home to the warmth of a fire as the evening grew even colder. She shivered and reluctantly walked slowly back to Garden Street. Where was Trip? Why hadn’t he come to meet her as they had arranged? Had something happened to him?

  ‘Where on earth have you been?’ Martha snapped as Emily entered the house. ‘I need help with your father. His breathing’s bad. Get your coat off and give me a hand to get him to bed. I’ve put a heated brick in his bed. He’ll be warmer there. You can take his tea up to him later and feed him.’

  Emily pushed her own anxiety about Trip aside as she saw that her father’s breathing was laboured and painful. His face was grey, his lips purple.

  ‘He ought to see a doctor,’ Emily muttered, but Martha waved her suggestion aside with a sharp, ‘I can’t be affording doctors. You still don’t bring enough in,’ she said nastily. ‘Even though you fancy you’re a businesswoman now.’

  They struggled to get Walter up the stairs and they were both breathless by the time he was lying on his bed.

  ‘Now,’ Martha gasped, ‘help me undress him.’

  ‘I can’t do that, Mam. Leave the poor man some dignity, for Heaven’s sake.’

  Martha waved aside her protests. ‘He left his modesty in the trenches, Emily. You have to help me. He’s a dead weight when he’s like this.’

  ‘Where’s Josh? He could help you.’

  ‘Out with Lizzie. He’s been mooning about the place ever since before Christmas. They’ll be getting engaged soon, I shouldn’t wonder.’

  Emily bit back the retort that her brother was already promised to Amy; it was not something her mother wanted to hear and Emily had no wish to aggravate Martha’s present bad mood. Not for her own sake, but for her poor father’s.

  Josh stumbled in very late, long after Martha had gone to bed. Emily had sat up waiting for him; there was something that had to be said. He was a little worse for drink, but not so drunk that he couldn’t understand what she was saying to him.

  For the first time in her life, Emily lashed Josh with her tongue.

  ‘Have you a thought for Dad? Mam says we can’t afford a doctor for him and here you are, wasting money on beer and the like.’ Her deep anxiety over Trip made her speak even more sharply to her brother than she would have done. But once started, there was no stopping her. ‘Have you been out with Lizzie?’

  ‘I might have been,’ he mumbled, startled by Emily’s anger. ‘Wha’s it got to do with you?’

  ‘Plenty! Have you forgotten Amy?’

  Josh blinked and stared at her for a moment, almost as if that was exactly what he had done. Then he laughed – the silly laughter of the inebriated. ‘Amy? Who’s Amy?’

  ‘Your fiancée, Josh. The girl you left behind in Ashford and haven’t bothered about since.’

  ‘I have,’ he muttered, suddenly morose once more. ‘But she doesn’t care about me any more. She’s never written. Not once.’

  ‘Don’t you want to find out why she’s not written to either of us? You asked her to marry you and I thought I was her best friend. We’ve both written – several times – so why have we heard nothing from her in return? And, if you are getting close to Lizzie –’ Emily noticed at once that Josh now avoided meeting her gaze and looked a little sheepish – ‘I think the least you can do is to go and see Amy first. See how you really feel. And be honest with her – with both of them, if it comes to that. Lizzie and her mother have been very helpful to us. I don’t want you hurting her either. I’ve tried to warn her, but she doesn’t listen to me.’

  ‘Or me, if it comes to that,’ Josh said ruefully. ‘I . . .’ he began and then hesitated.

  ‘What?’

  ‘I don’t really know how I feel, Em, and that’s the truth. I loved Amy – I know that.’

  ‘Loved? Past tense?’

  Josh sighed. ‘I still do, I suppose. But she’s not here and—’

  ‘Lizzie is.’ Emily finished the sentence for him.

  Josh nodded, looking so woebegone that Emily felt sorry for him. He was such a kindly young fellow, he wouldn’t hurt a fly and he certainly wouldn’t want to hurt either of the girls.

  Emily moved to him and put her arm through his, smiling up at him. ‘Listen to your big sister for a moment. Go back to Ashford – just for a visit – to see Amy. It might help settle things in your own mind – one way or the other.’

  ‘What if it doesn’t?’

  ‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. But,’ she added, lowering her voice, ‘if you’ll take my advice, don’t tell Mam you’re going. Get up early next Sunday morning and just go. Trip said he’d take you once he got a sidecar. But he wasn’t at the park today.’

  ‘Wasn’t he?’ Josh said mildly, but Emily could see that his mind was elsewhere.

  ‘And for Heaven’s sake, stop going out with Mick Dugdale and his mates and spending all your hard-earned money when Mam’s saying we haven’t enough for a doctor for Dad.’

  Suddenly, Josh put his hand in the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a fistful of pound notes. He threw them on the table with an angry gesture. ‘There, is that enough for you? That should pay for several visits from a doctor. Might even get him a bed in the hospital, if that’s what you want.’

  Emily stared open-mouthed at the money. ‘Josh – where did you get all that?’

  Suddenly, Josh realized what he had done. In his frustration at her nagging, he’d forgotten to guard his tongue. He tried using the same ploy he’d used to his mother.

  ‘It’s what I’ve got left from my Christmas bonus.’

  But that wasn’t going to work on Emily as it had on Martha. She was far too shrewd and knew a lot more about the cutlery industry than their mother did.

  ‘Don’t give me that. Waterfall’s doesn’t give bonuses. Come on, tell me.’

  ‘You’re to promise not to tell anyone.’

  ‘Just tell me, Josh,’ Emily said, her tone tight.

  ‘I’ve been out with Mick – not Lizzie – and we go up to Sky Edge and play pitch and toss.’

  Emily pulled in a startled breath. ‘Gambling, you mean? But – but that’s illegal, Josh. Oh my goodness! What if you’d been caught?’

  ‘We nearly were,’ he admitted. ‘On Boxing Day. That was the first time Mick took me up there and these two coppers came up and—’

  ‘And you haven’t had the sense to keep out of it since? Oh Josh, what have you got yourself into?’

  He shrugged. ‘I can’t see the harm in it, myself. It’s like we used to play when we were kids, Em. You know, heads or tails. That’s all.’

 
; ‘Maybe, but we didn’t bet on who was going to win, did we? It’s the betting that’s illegal, unless you’ve got a licence. And I don’t think Mick Dugdale has one, do you?’

  They stared at each other in the soft lighting. Neither of them could think of anything else to say but they were both fully aware now of the enormity of what Josh had got involved in.

  At last, Emily said, ‘You’d better get to bed. We’ve work in the morning, both of us.’

  As he paused at the stairs, he murmured, ‘I’m sorry, Em. I’ll sort it out, I promise. And I’m sorry about Trip. But he’ll be all right. Maybe he hasn’t come back after Christmas yet. I expect his mother wanted to see a bit more of him.’ He grinned suddenly. ‘There must be some compensations for being the boss’s son.’

  He crept quietly up the stairs leaving Emily thinking, Not when Arthur Trippet’s the boss, there aren’t.

  Now she had two worries and she didn’t know which frightened her the most: Trip not turning up to meet her or Josh being involved in activities that were regarded as criminal.

  Twenty-Nine

  Trip wasn’t in the park the following Sunday or the week after.

  ‘Haven’t you heard anything from him?’ Josh asked her.

  Emily bit her lower lip to try to stop the tears from starting in her eyes. But the lump in her throat prevented her from speaking. Sadly, she shook her head and turned away.

  She felt Josh’s hand on her shoulder and heard him say, ‘If you don’t hear something soon, I’ll go to Trippets’, if you like. Mr Bayes might know something.’

  ‘Thank you, Josh,’ Emily said huskily. ‘What about you? How’s – everything?’ He’d been out again the previous weekend, but this time he’d persuaded Mick to let him take Lizzie out to the theatre. Anything, he thought, was better than getting in deeper and deeper with Mick Dugdale and his exploits. Even if it meant giving Lizzie the wrong idea. For the rest of the week, Josh had seemed distracted and he had made two serious mistakes at work, which had resulted in another warning from Mr Crossland.