The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade Read Free Book Online

a new headline:
    WOLF BOY DISCOVERED IN REGENT’ PARK
    A T M ARYLEBONE IN R EGENT ’ S P ARK , Henry Carr, a carpenter, was walking and heard what he described as a loud growl. Upon further inspection he discovered in the trees a young boy, who was naked and dirty. The boy spoke no words and could only snarl. Mr. Carr was able to subdue the feral child and deliver him into custody. He has since been identified as one of the orphans who have been declared missing from their orphanages. He was examined by Dr. Severn, who reported a perplexing discovery. The boy had several clean cuts along his shoulders, recently stitched together by someone with expertise. Who did this, and why, remains a mystery.
    Modo touched his own shoulder, felt his hump. He wished a surgeon could remove it. Did the young boy in the articlefeel as unsightly as Modo did? Is that what drove him to become feral?
    He looked up from the paper to find Mr. Socrates staring at him.
    “So tell me, Modo, what have you been reading?”
    Modo sucked in a breath, the air whistling between his crooked teeth. He was about to be tested.
    “Mammoth tusks have arrived in London.”
    Mr. Socrates nodded. “Geologically interesting. What else?”
    “Uh, Parliament passed a bill about …” His voice trailed off.
    “They are always passing bills while others do the hard work of running this country. That’s not news.”
    “A body was discovered in the Thames,” Modo offered.
    “Tragic but common enough. There are more than three million souls in London—you can’t expect them all to behave in a civilized manner. Anything else in the paper catch your eye?”
    “A wolf boy was found in the park.”
    “Yes, that was a curious item. What would cause such a condition in a young boy, I wonder? Was his regression natural? Or was he the foster child of some wild beast? The way in which a child is raised will stay with him for life.”
    Modo now saw what the lesson was. “Thank you for raising me properly.”
    Mr. Socrates chuckled. “I wasn’t looking for gratitude, Modo.”
    “Oh … well … why did the child have stitches?”
    “That, I cannot say. There are men in London who have unsavory minds. The poor child must have been captured by one of them.” He paused. “I assume you feel some kinship with the boy. After all, you are an oddity like him. Many would look at you and be frightened or disgusted. That’s why I insisted on the mask.”
    Modo’s guts began to churn. If Londoners saw his real face would they think he was the offspring of an animal?
    “I have invested a great deal of thought into your upbringing and education. You must wonder what my purpose is.” Mr. Socrates leaned forward as though he were about to reveal a tantalizing secret.
    Modo had thought about that very thing nearly every day for years, but he said, “It isn’t my place to ask.”
    Mr. Socrates rubbed his chin. “Perhaps you are too meek. Even Tharpa has learned to challenge me from time to time.” Modo looked at Tharpa, who raised his eyebrows as if to say this was a revelation to him as well. “It is imperative that you understand how complicated the world is. What you read in the paper is what many would call reality. But under those stories about governments or murders are layers of meaning. When you read about a body found in the Thames, is it just another drunkard stabbed for his pocket watch? Or is it a secret agent prevented from accomplishing his task?”
    “You think that man was a secret agent?” Modo exclaimed, now on the edge of his seat.
    “Perhaps. Organizations exist whose sole purpose is to undermine everything we British are doing to make the world a better place.”
    “Organizations?”
    “Every country, enemy or ally, has its spies. We must vigilantly guard against them all.”
    Modo shot another look at Tharpa, hoping to receive confirmation of what Mr. Socrates had said, but Tharpa continued to gaze out at the blurring fields of