adverts, because of course it wasn’t going to bring in any money. He knew from his deliveries that the Langfords read the
Stambleton Echo
and the
London Times
. He put his advert in the London paper, sincethey could get that anywhere, and he was pretty sure they weren’t in Stambleton.
A fortnight later, there was no response.
But the rest of Johnny’s advertising business was booming. Letters were still coming in from the lovelorn and the poets, one of whom was now writing to ‘PO Box 9’ with a new creation, and two shillings, every few days. A new advertisement –
Make Your Shoes Last Twice as Long –
was a big hit in a Norfolk newspaper. There were no complaints about the answer:
Hop everywhere. Remember to change legs
.
The rabbit on top of the wardrobe was becoming quite heavy with money. One Tuesday in December, almost a month after the Langfords had disappeared, Johnny thought he would cheer up his mother on her night off from the pub by spending some of his cash on a cake for tea. He told Hutch that Auntie Ada was paying for it, but he planned to knock it about a bit on the way home, and pretend to Winnie that Hutch had sent it because it was damaged and would otherwise be thrown away.
Both Hutch and his mother had forbidden him to approach the doctor’s house, and for weeks Johnny had gone home the long way round; but tonight it was raining and the wind was rising, and he couldn’tresist taking his old route past the Langfords’. The days were so short now that it was dark whenever he wasn’t at school, and he was sure that in the bad weather Miss Dangerfield wouldn’t be outside to spot him, even if she still cared what he did.
Did he imagine the light? He walked up the hill into the December gale, with his head down most of the time to keep the sharp sleet out of his eyes. But he looked up now and then, trying to make out the shape of the Langfords’ house against the moonless sky. He’d always thought that the house must have been built by someone who’d made up the plans as he went along. From one side it appeared to have four floors; from another, only two. Wings stuck out in all directions, each with its roof sloping at a different angle. By day it was easy to spot the house, but in the dark, with nobody home, nothing was clear.
But maybe the Langfords were back? Johnny was sure, even from halfway down the hill, that he saw a glow in one of the upstairs windows. He started running towards it, but it was gone. Then it was back again, lower down now, and moving. He caught a glimpse of a silhouette. Was it a person, or the shape of one of the branches between him and the house, bouncing in the strengthening wind? He ran to the front gate.Usually it squeaked as it opened, but tonight the sound couldn’t be heard above the din of the storm. There was a noise from the back of the house. Was it a car, or another blast of wind? The gale was so strong now that Johnny struggled simply to walk forward, clutching the cake inside his coat; trying to keep it dry.
He banged on the front door. There was no answer, and the shutters were still closed across the windows, but he had a feeling that something had changed – that someone had been there just before him. The drift of leaves that had collected on the front step over the past month had almost disappeared. Had it been blown away by the storm, or had somebody kicked it aside to open the door?
Johnny thumped again, rang the bell, and waited. But nobody came, so he set off for home, still protecting the cake, and bursting to tell his mother that someone might have been inside.
He arrived dripping wet and full of babble. Winnie stood silently by the table as he jabbered about what he thought he had seen. At first he didn’t notice that she wasn’t speaking – that she didn’t seem to be taking in what he was saying about the Langfords and the light. Then he sensed that she was angry. Of course! She had told him not to go there. She mustbe cross.
Stambleton Echo
and the
London Times
. He put his advert in the London paper, sincethey could get that anywhere, and he was pretty sure they weren’t in Stambleton.
A fortnight later, there was no response.
But the rest of Johnny’s advertising business was booming. Letters were still coming in from the lovelorn and the poets, one of whom was now writing to ‘PO Box 9’ with a new creation, and two shillings, every few days. A new advertisement –
Make Your Shoes Last Twice as Long –
was a big hit in a Norfolk newspaper. There were no complaints about the answer:
Hop everywhere. Remember to change legs
.
The rabbit on top of the wardrobe was becoming quite heavy with money. One Tuesday in December, almost a month after the Langfords had disappeared, Johnny thought he would cheer up his mother on her night off from the pub by spending some of his cash on a cake for tea. He told Hutch that Auntie Ada was paying for it, but he planned to knock it about a bit on the way home, and pretend to Winnie that Hutch had sent it because it was damaged and would otherwise be thrown away.
Both Hutch and his mother had forbidden him to approach the doctor’s house, and for weeks Johnny had gone home the long way round; but tonight it was raining and the wind was rising, and he couldn’tresist taking his old route past the Langfords’. The days were so short now that it was dark whenever he wasn’t at school, and he was sure that in the bad weather Miss Dangerfield wouldn’t be outside to spot him, even if she still cared what he did.
Did he imagine the light? He walked up the hill into the December gale, with his head down most of the time to keep the sharp sleet out of his eyes. But he looked up now and then, trying to make out the shape of the Langfords’ house against the moonless sky. He’d always thought that the house must have been built by someone who’d made up the plans as he went along. From one side it appeared to have four floors; from another, only two. Wings stuck out in all directions, each with its roof sloping at a different angle. By day it was easy to spot the house, but in the dark, with nobody home, nothing was clear.
But maybe the Langfords were back? Johnny was sure, even from halfway down the hill, that he saw a glow in one of the upstairs windows. He started running towards it, but it was gone. Then it was back again, lower down now, and moving. He caught a glimpse of a silhouette. Was it a person, or the shape of one of the branches between him and the house, bouncing in the strengthening wind? He ran to the front gate.Usually it squeaked as it opened, but tonight the sound couldn’t be heard above the din of the storm. There was a noise from the back of the house. Was it a car, or another blast of wind? The gale was so strong now that Johnny struggled simply to walk forward, clutching the cake inside his coat; trying to keep it dry.
He banged on the front door. There was no answer, and the shutters were still closed across the windows, but he had a feeling that something had changed – that someone had been there just before him. The drift of leaves that had collected on the front step over the past month had almost disappeared. Had it been blown away by the storm, or had somebody kicked it aside to open the door?
Johnny thumped again, rang the bell, and waited. But nobody came, so he set off for home, still protecting the cake, and bursting to tell his mother that someone might have been inside.
He arrived dripping wet and full of babble. Winnie stood silently by the table as he jabbered about what he thought he had seen. At first he didn’t notice that she wasn’t speaking – that she didn’t seem to be taking in what he was saying about the Langfords and the light. Then he sensed that she was angry. Of course! She had told him not to go there. She mustbe cross.
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