Witch's Business (17 page)

“Shall we have a go pulling his hand open?” Buster offered.

“Later,” said Vernon. “Let's try to get out first.”

This raised a wail from the rest of the gang. “There ain't no door!”

“There's walls, though,” said Vernon. “And there's crowds of us.”

“Yes,” said Martin. “Let's try rushing at the walls. Come on, everyone. Charge.”

“Charge!” shouted the gang.
“Charge!
” screamed Frankie and Jenny. Everyone set out at a run toward the nearest huge wall, yelling and stamping like savages. Fifteen people, even if some of them were small, would surely be able to burst out of a place like this, whatever it was.

They ran and they shouted. Then they left off shouting and just ran. After a while, they became too breathless to run, and they trotted. The trot slowed to a walk, and the walk to standing still. They stood in a scared and panting crowd and looked at the nearest wall. It was as far away as ever. For all the good their running had done, they might not have started.

“This is
silly
!” said Jess.

“You got to remember,” Stafford said, “she's a maggot-gutting witch.”

Jenny burst into tears. So did the smaller boys in the gang. Ray sniffed. Martin's face twisted into lumps and all his freckles showed. Jess found her eyes were hot and prickly. It was frightening to see what a strong witch Biddy must be.

“I say,” Frank whispered to her, “these Eyes don't seem to do much good, do they?”

“No,” Jess said miserably. “They don't.” As far as she could see, the Eyes did not even stop the gang coming near them now. But then, she thought, that was probably because the gang was not evil anymore. They were just nine damp, dirty, scared boys. Buster was able to come right up beside her.

“What'll we do now?” he said.

“Heaven only knows,” said Jess.

“Let's sit down, anyway,” said Martin. “Let's not give in.”

With a great deal of shuffling and thumping, everyone sat down cross-legged in a ring. Jess found Frankie and Jenny one on each side of her. She put an arm around each of them and did, almost, feel as if she was their big sister. It was comfortable like that, even though there were great echoing spaces all round them. Everyone in the circle pressed up against the people next to them and felt cheered by feeling they were not alone.

“But,” said Buster, “what'll we do when she comes? She's zombie-juiced well caught us, ain't she?”

“Not give in,” Martin said again. “She may be a jolly strong witch, but that's no reason why she should have it all her own way. She's got no right to keep us here, has she? If she keeps us here very long, our parents are going to start looking for us, and then they'll find out what she's like. So I vote we keep cheerful and don't let her frighten us. Stand up to her. After all, we're fifteen to one.”

“Cheek her, you mean?” said Frank.

“We mustn't make her angry,” said Jess. “Every time we make her angry, she does something worse.”

“I didn't mean make her angry, actually,” said Martin. “I just meant not be frightened. Maybe we can think of some way to get round her.”

“Yes,” said Stafford. “You Piries better think of some way to get round her. Us lot'll back you up.”

“Back 'em up!” said Buster dejectedly. “Like bowel pancakes we do! The moment Biddy gets here, she'll have us lot her servants again. What can we
do
?”

“No, she won't,” said Vernon. “I got the tooth. You're my servants now.”

Perhaps it was the way he said it, or perhaps it was just the idea, but as soon as Vernon spoke, everyone burst out laughing. The echoes took the laughter up, until the whole huge space was filled with laughing. And, when the echoes died down, everyone was in much better spirits.

“Down with Biddy!” said Jess. “Three cheers for us!”

“Let's sing,” suggested Jenny.

Ray and Squeaky Voice began:

Before they could get any farther, the echoes boomed, and Biddy herself came hurrying up to them in great swooping strides, very much out of breath and even more out of temper.

“I have had about enough of you children,” she said. “How dare you keep interfering like this! First you poke your noses in where you're not wanted, and now you burgle my house. I'll have you know you've interrupted me in something very important indeed.”

“We're sorry,” said Martin, perhaps not as politely as he could.

“Sorry be blowed!” said Biddy. “And I have to come running back to deal with you instead. You're very naughty little boys and girls!” She ran all round outside their circle, swooping and puffing, flapping her plimsolls on the ground, shaking her skinny plaits and peering through her thick glasses. Everyone found her frightening, but they found her rather silly, too.

Somebody gave out a whisper, “Nose like a squashed tomato!” Everyone giggled.

“That will do!” said Biddy. “I can see I shall have to teach you a lesson—all of you. Why are there so many of you? You'd think all the brats in town had broken into my hut. Which is which?”

Quite suddenly, Biddy hopped over the heads of Ray and Squeaky Voice and arrived in the middle of their ring. Everybody moved back a little. Biddy chuckled.

“You must have got your charms wrong, if you were trying for an enchanted circle,” she said. “Here I am, you see.” She began peering round at their faces, muttering: “Who have we got? Who have we here?” until she had picked out Frank and Jess. “You,” she said. “I gave you two a clear warning not to steal my business. Own Back indeed! Don't you realize that's witch's business, not yours?”

“Yes. That's why we've given it up,” said Jess.

“Given it up!” said Biddy. “You're still meddling.”

“Because we're putting it right,” said Frank.

“I'll put
you
right, my lad,” said Biddy. “You'll be lucky to get out of here alive, all of you. As for you—” Biddy pounced round on Buster, who moved back rather quickly. “As for you, you great blubbering bully, you've hardly been my servant three days before you're whining to get out of it. Don't you have any stuffing, boy? I've a good mind to set you emptying the river with a teaspoon, just to show you who's your mistress.”

“You try it,” said Buster. “You just try it! You've not got the disemboweled tooth.”

Biddy put her hands on her hips. “We'll see about that,” she said. Then she swung around and came swooping down on Vernon. For a moment, she peered at him through her glasses. Vernon stared back at her. Then, slowly, Biddy reached up and took off her glasses. She looked quite different without them: all shriveled, mean, and snakelike. Things were suddenly very much more frightening.

Frankie squeaked, “She did that to Jenny. Stop her!”

“Please, Miss Iremonger,” said Jess, “let us go. Please. We haven't done any harm. Go back to your important business and we won't say a word.”

Biddy took no notice. She stared at Vernon with her new beady snake's eyes. “Move your hand, boy,” she said. They saw Vernon's hand—the one that held the tooth—twitch, and its fingers move a little. Vernon looked panic-stricken. “That's right,” said Biddy. “Good boy. Now open your hand and give me that tooth.”

Vernon's fingers twitched once more. His hand came up and went down again. They saw his fingers opening as if he could not stop them.

“Don't!” shouted Stafford. “Stop that, Vernon!”

Vernon clapped his left hand over his uncurling fingers and held them down. “No,” he said. “I won't. You're not having it.”

“Do as you're told!” snapped Biddy, and went on staring at him, twiddling her thick glasses under her chin. Vernon seemed to have to fight with himself. His left hand could not hold his right hand down. Whatever he did, his right hand came open and tried to pass the tooth to Biddy.

“Don't!” wailed Stafford and Ray.

“Can't you see he can't stop it?” said Martin, and got up on his knees to help.

Vernon's hand came up toward Biddy with the tooth in its pink palm. Biddy put out her fat mauve fingers for it.

“Bung it here, Vernon!” shouted Buster.

Vernon shut his eyes and managed to jerk his hand. The tooth shot away sideways. Buster dived for it and Biddy dived for Buster. Buster got the tooth, and before Biddy could stop him, he passed it to Ray. Ray at once tossed it to Stafford. Everyone knelt up and closed in, shrieking, as if it were a mad game of Pass the Parcel. Biddy ran round and round the circle, shouting that they were naughty children. They all shouted back, and fumbled and rolled and waved their hands, so that she should not see who had the tooth. It went from person to person. Frank had it. He gave it to Martin. Martin put it in Frankie's hand and Frankie clapped it in Jess's. Biddy pounced round, and Jess threw it into Jenny's lap.

“I got it!” screamed Squeaky Voice, on the other side of the circle. “Here, Ray!”

Biddy was fooled and dived at them. Ray pretended to pass it to Stafford, and Stafford held out his empty hands to show her she was fooled.

“That will do!” said Biddy. “Sit still, all of you.”

Somehow, they all found they had to sit still.

“That's better,” said Biddy. “Don't move.”

Nobody moved. Nobody could. They sat cross-legged in a ring, like the most obedient class at school. Biddy looked all round them with her uncovered piercing eyes.

“Own up, the one who has the tooth,” she said.

Nobody answered. Nobody gave a sign. Jess wondered who had it by now. Whoever he was, he was not giving it away. Everyone looked defiant, but nobody looked guilty.

“Very well,” said Biddy. “You can stay like that and see how you like it. Perhaps, when I come back, you'll be ready to tell me.” Saying this, she hopped over their heads again and went shuffling away into the vast space, leaving them all sitting in a ring, quite unable to move.

“Mean slime-drooling trick!” said Buster.

“The one who's got it mustn't tell us,” said Jess. “We might give it away if we know.”

They sat there for ages. They sat for what seemed to be hours. They sat until they were so uncomfortable that they all wanted to scream. The worst of it was that, although they could not move, they were not numb like Vernon's hand. They felt things in the usual way. The floor had been hard to start with, and it got harder and harder. Their legs ached with being crossed. Their arms had pins and needles. Their necks hurt with having to stay in one position. They were so uncomfortable that they became crosser and crosser. The gang quarreled among themselves and jeered at the others.

“Shut up,” said Frank. “It was you lot wanted the tooth in the first place.”

“And who was it got it for us?” said Buster.

“Me,” said Vernon. “And you ought to see Silas.”

“I say,” said Jess. “Do you think he's better now?”

“He should be,” said Martin. “We must have broken the spell, surely.”

That seemed to cheer everyone up, until they remembered that Biddy had been up the London Road. Everyone was sure she had gone to the big house to see Silas. Frankie suggested singing again, but no one had the heart even to start. They sat without talking for another age, until Jess noticed that Biddy had come back. Half the circle could not see her, because she was behind them, but Jess had a clear view of her.

Biddy was sitting outside the circle in a cane chair. There was a table beside her with plates on it, as if she had just finished supper. Biddy was leaning back, smoking a cigar and taking no notice of the children. None of them noticed she was there, except Jess, until the cat jumped up on the table and tried to lick one of the plates.

Biddy knocked the cat on to the floor. “Get down,” she said to it. “I told you no supper and no breakfast, and I meant it. You were supposed to tell me what these brats were up to. Instead, you let them plot and plan and break into the hut. Get away. I'm very cross with you.”

She tried to kick the cat. It backed away and spat at her plimsoll. Jess did not blame it. She watched the cat, looking very ruffled and angry, creep under the table and pretend to wash itself. She felt as angry as it looked. As soon as Biddy talked of supper, Jess had realized that she was terribly hungry. So had everyone else.

“I'm sorry I threw those spoons,” said Frank. “I know just how it feels.”

“Be quiet,” said Biddy.

“We'll talk if we want to,” said Martin. “You were saying, Frank?”

“I was saying,” said Frank, “that Christmas is coming and the geese—”

“Hot cross buns,” said Vernon.

“Steak and kidney pudding, you mean,” said Buster.

“Disemboweled fish and chips,” answered Stafford.