Black Powder Read Online Free PDF

Your thanks will do for now. Cowdray lies up yonder.’ He pointed up the streetwith the stem of his pipe. ‘There’s a causeway at the edge of town. Follow it across the water meadows. You shall come on the house, by and by.’
    â€˜Thank you, sir.’ Tom nodded and limped on up the road. When he glanced back, the man had vanished.
    He had been so outlandish, and had disappeared so quickly, that he wondered if he’d imagined him. He shook his head. He was so tired he couldn’t be sure. But the man’s directions proved real enough. Just beyond the last cottage, he spotted the start of a gravel track. He followed it up on to a causeway, lined on each side by a row of tall, leafless trees.
    The meadows beyond were dotted with shimmering pools. A scattering of early stars reflected in them like strange, ghostly jewels. The dank air clutched at his face and neck, sending a cold shiver down his spine. He swallowed. Courage. I must have courage .
    A muffled squeak came from his bundle. His heart lifted. He opened it, pulled out the box and pushed back the lid. Jago peeked out, beady eyes shining and sniffed the air. Tom stroked his head. ‘Not far to go now, boy.’
    They came to a small stone bridge which carried the track across a river of rushing black water. Beyond it, a building loomed above them, floating like a great grey ship on a sea of grass.
    Tom jerked to a stop and stared open-mouthed at its soaring walls, the rows of gleaming black windows and the clumps of twisted chimneys dotted across its roof. Was he seeing things again? He blinked and shook his head, but thewalls of the house stayed where they were. Mother had said his uncle was rich, but Tom had never dreamt anyone could be as rich as this. And she had lived here too, once. He frowned. Why would she ever have wanted to leave?
    â€˜Best keep out of sight for the time being, boy.’ He stroked Jago’s head again, then shut him back in the box and pushed it inside his bundle.
    He gazed up at the turreted gatehouse in front of him. Time to meet this mysterious uncle of his. As he started towards the pair of heavy-looking entrance gates, a light flashed from the top of the right-hand turret. He dashed over to the nearest bush and crouched down behind it. As he peered up through the tangle of twigs and branches, a small figure dressed in a cape and carrying a lantern appeared on the battlements.
    A sudden gust of wind tugged the figure’s hood back revealing a pale oval face and a head of blonde ringlets. He drew in a breath. A girl. What was she doing up there?
    The girl raised the lantern above her head and swung it to and fro, shining the light up and down the causeway. After a few moments, her shoulders slumped. She pulled the hood over her head, lowered the lantern and disappeared back into the darkness.
    He frowned. A servant? No, she couldn’t be. Not with curls and ribbons like that. He shrugged and got to his feet. He’d find out who she was soon enough.
    As he neared the gates, there was a rattle of metal and a creak of wood. A small door in the left-hand gate opened and the figure of a man slid out. Tom’s heart lurched. Whatif the girl had seen him hiding there and raised the alarm? He backed away, getting ready to run. But something about the way the man moved, keeping his head low and his body stooped, made him hesitate. It looked like he didn’t want to be spotted either.
    The man skirted round the side of the gatehouse and along the wall of the house. Then, with a quick glance over his shoulder, he darted towards a nearby tree. As he reached it, a figure stepped out from the shadows to meet him and the pair disappeared from view.
    Tom shot a look back at the door. The man had left it ajar. He should get inside, while he had the chance. But it was strange, two men meeting in secret like this right outside his uncle’s walls. What were they up to? He rubbed a hand across his forehead.