closing
in. He whispered to his friends. 'Get out of here, make a run for it. It's me they want!'
Alex was about to dash off, but his sister caught his arm. 'We're not going without you, Ben!'
Before she could say any more they were surrounded. There was a panicked squeak from Tommo, the fat boy,
followed by a deep, rumbling snarl. The gang froze!
The black Labrador had come up behind them like a phantom. Hair bristling, muscles bunched, he stood
panther-like, ready to spring to the attack, quivering lips pulled back to reveal his powerful canine fangs.
Ben's hand went up. 'Stay, boy. ... Stay!'
Regina pulled a small gang member in front of her for safety. 'It's the dog! Do you own it?'
Seating himself on the steps, Ben shook his head. 'Who, me? No, I don't own him, he just follows me about.
Haha! He must like me, 'cos he's not too friendly with anyone who tries to harm me or my friends. Ned, come on, boy,
good dog!'
Stiff-legged and growling with menace, the big, black dog stalked up to stand beside his mate, throwing out a
thought. 'Let me chase 'em, just for exercise. That big one, Wilf, I'll rip the seat out of his pants! I don't like him one
bit!'
Ben took hold of Ned's collar. 'Thanks anyway, but you stay put for the moment. Carry on with your fierce dog
act.'
Ned strained against Ben's hold on his collar, rearing up on his hind legs as if trying to get at the gang. Ben did
his part by showing difficulty holding the dog back and calling, 'You'd best get going, pals, but walk, don't run,
whatever you do. Go on, I'll keep him here until you're well out of the way!'
Amy had never seen the Grange Gang go so carefully. They retreated as if they were walking on eggs. From a
distance, Wilf turned and pointed a finger at Ben.
'I'll see you again, when you haven't got that dog with you!'
The blue-eyed boy waved cheerily. 'That'll be nice, Wilf, take care of those scratches on your nose. It's red
enough as it is!'
Mr. Braithwaite emerged from the library, scratching his head. 'Er, could you stop your dog barking, please ?
Hmm, I can, er, hear it, y'know, in the, er, er, library. Oh, it's stopped, hmm, very good, very good. Nice doggie, er,
run along now.'
Ned sent Ben a thought. 'Huh, if I scratched as much as he does, you'd prob'ly say I had fleas and make me take
a bath!' The towheaded lad could not help laughing aloud.
Amy stared at him. 'What's the matter, Ben?'
He flicked the hair from his eyes. 'Oh, nothing really. You were right, Amy, Mr. Braithwaite is funny. I like
him.'
16.
OVER BREAKFAST ON SATURDAY MORNING, Ben had a request to ask of Mrs. Winn.
'Miz Winn, that room across the landing from my room upstairs, the one with the thick door and brass lock.
What do you use it for?'
She looked at him over the rim of her teacup. 'I don't use it for anything, that was Captain Winn's study. He
called it his den. All his stuff is in there. I only go in once every couple of months to dust around.'
Ben had made an educated guess that the room would be the captain's private sanctum. Apart from one or two
souvenirs he had brought home for his wife and some photographs that decorated the mantel, there was not much
evidence of a Royal Navy ship's commander about the rest of the house. Evidently Mrs. Winn kept the room as some
sort of shrine to her husband's memory. She watched Ben's eyes carefully.
Knowing what he was going to say next, he hesitated a moment before speaking. 'Miz Winn, would it be
all right if I took a look in there?'
The black dog had wandered up to the table. She patted his head, feeding him buttered toast crusts, and kept
Ben waiting on her answer, which she gave after a lengthy interval. 'Is it important that you look in the captain's room,
Ben?'
The boy nodded earnestly. 'Time's running short for your village. We might find something up there that could
help.'
She took a final sip of tea. 'Right, then, you may take a look this afternoon, when we get back from shopping in
the village. I'll need your help to carry things, I'm not just shopping for myself anymore. Come on, then, let's make an
early start!'
Hiding his frustration at not being able to search immediately, Ben thanked her and passed a thought to Ned.
'Never mind hiding under the table, you're coming, too!'
Morning sun dappled through the trees growing behind the village square. The place hummed gently with that
Saturday morning sound of folk doing their weekend shopping. Ben carried Mrs. Winn's basket dutifully, wondering
when she was going to finish getting her supplies. They had gone from shop to shop, the old lady bustling about,
dropping items into the basket, talking aloud to herself. 'There, sugar and rice and some nutmegs for my Sunday rice
pudding. Come on, young man, keep up!'
At last they emerged from the shop. Mrs. Winn pursed her lips, mentally itemizing the grocery list. 'Oh dear, I
forgot the tea! Maybe I'll get some cocoa, too, a mug of cocoa's nice at bedtime. Do you like cocoa, Ben? You stay
here, I'll go and get it.' She vanished inside the shop again.
Ben changed hands, swapping the basket from right to left and tightening his hold on a package beneath his arm.
He caught a thoughtwave from Ned. 'Good boy, don't let that basket drop now. Over here, Ben, look who's with me.'
The Somerses were sitting on the post office steps, stroking Ned, who was enjoying the attention
