Star of Light by Patricia M. St. John Read Free Book Online Page B

truly one of them.
    It was a strange gang that he joined that day—they were all dirty, ignorant, and poor, dressed in rags and tatters; children who had never been loved. Tough and hardy they were, crafty and quick through living by their wits. Thieving, lying, and swearing were regular habits, yet they made the most of their pleasures. Hamid, watching silently, felt proud to be sitting among them. He had never met boys like these, and he thought they were wonderful—so tough and manly, easygoing and independent. He longed to become like them, and he wriggled nearer.
    He realized that they earned their livings in lots of different ways. Some worked on looms certain days a week, and others, like himself, helped in the doughnut shops. They all begged in between and hung around the hotel on the off chance of carrying a bag for a tourist or washing a car. Some slept withtheir families at night in hovels they called home, while others crept into the mosques. Life was uncertain and exciting, and there seemed only one sure thing in the day—and that was their supper at the home of the English nurse.
    Now they were all discussing the extraordinary things that had happened the night before. None of them had ever seen the strange little girl before, they said. No one knew where she came from. She held up her arms to the English nurse and called for her mother, but she would not say anything else. So the nurse had picked her up and taken her in, and today she was going to look for the baby’s parents.
    “And what if she doesn’t find them?” asked one little boy. “Will she put her out in the street?”
    Ayashi looked up quickly. “She will not,” he replied with complete confidence.
    “How do you know? Why not? It is not her child!” exclaimed the other children all together.
    “Because,” answered Ayashi simply, “she has a clean heart.”

Supper at the Nurse’s Home

    T he rest of the day passed pleasantly. Ayashi, pleased by Hamid’s admiration, took him around the town and up onto the hillside to show him the spring of water welling up from the heart of the mountain. It never failed and kept the city supplied and the fields around it fresh and green.
    At midday they hung around the door of the hotel. After a time, a waiter flung them some broken rolls and meat that guests had left on their plates, and the boys fell upon the food like hungry dogs. Then they curled themselves against the trunk of the eucalyptus tree and slept in the shade.
    Evening came, and Hamid stuck close to Ayashi. They sat on some steps together with a few friends, watching the country people crowding into thesquare. Tomorrow was market day, and those who had come from a distance would spread out their sacks against the wall and sleep beside their wares. As darkness fell, the shopkeepers lit their lamps again, and other little boys sauntered up from their various jobs and collected on the steps.
    “Come,” said Ayashi, who seemed to be a sort of leader among them. “She will soon open her door now.”
    He beckoned Hamid to follow him, but Hamid hesitated. He felt torn in two. Hunger and his great longing to see whether all was well with his little sister urged him on, but caution held him back. What if he should be forced to speak while Kinza was there? She would certainly recognize his voice and run to him, and then everyone would be suspicious.
    “Come on,” called Ayashi impatiently, looking back.
    Hamid shook his head. “I’m not coming,” he replied, and sat down again on the steps with his head in his hands, staring gloomily into the market. Then he got up suddenly, for he had had an idea. He would not go in, but he would creep to the door of the house, as he had done the night before, and peep through a crack. Perhaps he would catch a glimpse of Kinza.
    Like some guilty little thief, he darted into the quiet back street and sneaked along the wall toward the open door.
    He peered around very cautiously, but there was no sign or