Endymion Spring by Matthew Skelton Read Free Book Online Page A

nightcap with a fur trim on it.   Blake had never seen anything like it before.   It was as if one of the many statues in the city had come to life and was resting unnoticed on the pavement.   Was he homeless?
    All the while the boy stared at him, the man didn't move, didn't even turn a page, but concentrated on his book.   In fact, he could have been carved out of stone; he was motionless.
    Most of the people passing by didn't pay him any attention, but those who did dropped a few coins at his feet and hurried on.   The silver coins glistened like gobs of spit on the ground.   The man, however, neither noticed their looks nor pocketed their change.   He was lost in his own private world.
    A wiry hound with perky ears lay on a tattered blanket beside him, a bright red bandanna wrapped around its neck.   Duck walked straight up to it.
    "I like your dog," she said, bending down to stroke the animal, which thumped its tail lethargically.
    Even then, the man didn't look up, but continued reading.   He clutched the volume in grubby fingers that looked like gnarled tree roots.
    "Duck!" hissed Blake, trying not to disturb or offend the old man.   The dog might have fleas, or, worse, might bite her; but neither possibility really worried him.   He was much more concerned with what his mother would say if she found Duck talking to a stranger.   He was supposed to be looking after her, after all.
    "Duck!" he hissed again.
    This time she heard him and looked up, smiling.
    "What's your dog's name?" she said, but still the man ignored her.
    Blake went to drag her away by the arm.
    Then, suddenly, the man lifted his head.   It was as if he had come to the end of a complex sentence or an extremely long paragraph.   He looked at Blake with an expression that was not altogether hostile, but not entirely friendly either.   It was a searching, penetrating gaze, as though he was surprised to find a young boy standing in front of him, casting a shadow over his book.   He seemed to have woken up from a deep sleep.
    Blake felt uncomfortable and immediately turned away, pulling Duck after him.
    Just then the shop door opened and Juliet Winters returned, without the book she had wanted.   She gave the man a quick, dismissive glance and led the children away.
    "What did he want?" she asked idly as they drifted towards the main shopping area and blended in with the crowds.
    Blake didn't answer.   He had looked back just once — as they were crossing a side street — and was alarmed to see that the man was following them with his eyes.
     
     

4
     
    B lake tried his best to ignore Duck.   She had assumed that smug expression she sometimes got when she knew she had a secret he would want to hear, and which she was secretly dying to tell; but, as usual, she would wait for him to beg her for it first.   He decided to ask his mother about the book she had wanted instead.
    "Oh, it was a book I used to like when I was a girl," she said vaguely, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.   "A book about butterflies.   I saw it in the shop window and it brought back some memories.   Only, I don't have time to read such things now.   I have more pressing things to do instead."
    "Well, I think you should have bought it," he said simply, but firmly, thinking it wouldn't do her any harm to be a child again for a few hours.
    "Perhaps you're right," she answered, but he could tell from the sound of her voice that she was already miles away.
    Duck's eyes were now the size of marbles.   Blake couldn't stand the suspense any longer and slowed his steps to fall in line with hers.   "Go on," he growled.   "Tell me."
    She clutched him eagerly by the arm.
    "Did you notice the strange man?" she squealed.
    "Of course I did."   He disentangled himself from her grasp.   "I was standing right next to you, idiot."
    "No, I mean, did you notice what he was reading?"
    Blake shook his head.   "It was just an old book, but it must have been exciting,