Midnight Dolphin by James Carmody Read Free Book Online Page B

Rachel
nodded to herself.
    ‘ Come on,
let’s go take a look at the books downstairs’ she said. I know
exactly where to start.’
    There were a
few people browsing the shelves in the shop when they went back
downstairs again and they squeezed their way through to the till
where Rachel’s mother was absent-mindedly reading a
book.
    ‘ Mum, we need
the key to the glass cabinet’ Rachel announced. Her mother looked
up.
    ‘ Whatever
for?’ she asked.
    ‘ Megan here’s
asked a very interesting question, and we need to do a bit of
research. You don’t mind do you?’
    Rachel’s
mother gave her daughter a questioning look, but handed over the
key. Just next to the counter was a glass-fronted cabinet where the
oldest and most expensive books were kept. Rachel turned the key to
open the case with an assured hand and pulled out a slim, leather
bound volume from one corner. She quickly relocked the cabinet, and
gave the key back to her mother.
    ‘ This is what
we want!’ she told Megan. ‘Let’s go back upstairs and take a look.’
Megan followed her back up the creaking stairs.
    ‘ Everyone
round here knows the story of Susan Penhaligon, and how she led a
group of children out into the stormy sea believing that they’d all
turn into dolphins.’ Megan nodded, pretending to have heard about
the story too. ‘But this journal that my Mum bought a couple of
years ago in a house clearance sale tells us a bit more about these
Dolphin Children’ continued Rachel.
    She opened up
the journal. Megan craned over to take a look. It was closely
written by someone in copperplate handwriting, that was as
beautiful to look at as it was hard to read.
    ‘ It’s the
journal of a clergyman called Jeremiah Smith which he kept in the
eighteen fifties I think.’ Megan watched as Rachel squinted at the
handwriting and stroked her chin, as if to help herself
concentrate.
    ‘ Old Jeremiah
Smith went round speaking to the country people and fisher-folk and
writing down their stories’ she went on. ‘He was quite the social
historian of his day. I’ve had a good look at this already and I
wanted to take it with me to University but Mum says it’s far too
valuable and that she wants to sell it for at least fifty
pounds.’
    ‘ Is there
anything about dolphins in it?’ asked Megan hesitantly. She was
acutely aware that Rachel was years older than her and talk of life
at University sounded incredibly glamorous and grown up in
comparison to her life at secondary school.
    ‘ That’s the
thing, yes there is’ replied Rachel thoughtfully. ‘Let’s see if we
can find it.’ Rachel started turning the pages carefully, looking
for the right passage.
    ‘ Yes, here it
is, look.’ Rachel showed her the page towards the end of the
journal but Megan had trouble reading the copperplate handwriting
so Rachel read it out loud for her.
     
    ‘ Word has come
to me of a young woman of the parish who is still a Dolphin-Child
despite having attained the age of fifteen years. It is common in
the district for a girl or boy to have what the locals call “the
gift”, but I have never heard tell before of a Dolphin-Child that
retained the peculiar ability to communicate with dolphins beyond
the age of twelve or thirteen. I interviewed this young woman but
was quite unable to extract from her how it was that she had
managed to retain the gift. She was quite evasive in her answers
and evidently did not wish to divulge these matters to me. I sought
to coax the answers from her with kind words and then bold
entreaties, but to no avail. She asked to be excused and near fled
down the street away from me. I was mightily intrigued by this
encounter and was determined to learn more from one source or
another if I could. ’
     
    ‘ Does he say
any more then?’ asked Megan expectantly when Rachel paused and
looked up.
    ‘ No, no he
doesn’t’ Megan replied. ‘I’ve read the remainder of the journal but
it ends a month or two later without any further