Just Joshua Read Online Free PDF Page A

mountain man put one foot on the bottom step and paused, swaying and trembling. He looked backover his shoulder and caught Joshua’s eyes and held them with his own. He kept his head trained on Joshua as he was helped slowly up the steps, one by one.
    Joshua could not tear his gaze away. He began to lift a hand to wave goodbye but found that he couldn’t. He was trapped in the man’s pleading eyes. It wasn’t until the mountain man was swallowed up by the dark hospital entrance that Joshua felt able to move. Then he ran. He ran round the corner of the hospital, down the dusty path at its side, across the flat stretch of grass where coconut palms grew in stately rows, back to the road and on to the edge of the clearing. He stopped outside Robert’s house, panting.
    ‘Hey! Joshua!’
    He turned and saw Robert under the jamalac tree, helping two of his younger brothers to build a miniature house with broken-up branches and leaves.
    ‘Watch out,’ one of the small boys warned crossly as Joshua sat down beside Robert. ‘It isn’t very strong yet.’
    ‘What’s up?’ Robert asked over the small boy’s head.
    ‘There’s a mountain man,’ Joshua began and stopped. He wasn’t sure exactly how to explain a feeling with facts. ‘They’ve brought him in to the hospital. I saw him. He … looked at me.’
    Robert was puzzled. ‘So?’
    ‘His eyes … I thought he was asking for help.’
    ‘Help? But he’s a mountain man. You just said so.You can’t help mountain men,’ Robert said scornfully.
    Joshua nodded, then shook his head. ‘Maybe this one can get better.’
    ‘Don’t be silly. They never do. Mum says government medicine’s wasted on them. The only way they come out of hospital is lying down, in a coffin.’
    ‘Yes, but I thought –,’ Joshua shifted on the hot ground. ‘I mean, let’s go back and see if we can do anything .’ Suddenly the words were rushing out. ‘Maybe mountain people die because they’re lonely here and it’s strange. And this one had a crocodile on his blanket, like the man in the market. It might be the same man, you see. Maybe we’re the only people who know him.’
    Robert considered. Then he nodded. ‘Okay.’ He turned to his younger brothers. ‘See you later.’ He got to his feet.
    Five-year-old Solomon let out a wail. ‘What about our house?’
    Robert cuffed him gently. ‘You finish it and you can show me when I get back. Build a wall of stones around it so the chickens don’t peck it over.’
    Solomon beamed. He liked building walls. He was already starting to gather stones as they left.
    The whitewashed hospital gleamed in front of them.
    They drew closer, looking up at the tall windows. Unlike Joshua’s house and most of the house in the village , these windows had glass in them, and you couldpush down the top halves to let the air in. There were ten windows on each side, but they were too high for Joshua and Robert to see in. They prowled around the building, heads craned upwards, gatching glimpses of the black mountains that brooded threateningly behind the hospital, making it look small and vulnerable. A curtain fluttered in the breeze, but no mountain man came to the window.
    ‘I really thought he was trying to tell me something,’ Joshua said. ‘But how can he if he doesn’t know I’m here?’
    ‘Let’s go and tell him then,’ Robert suggested.
    They stared at each other.
    ‘Do you think they’ll let us in?’ Joshua asked.
    ‘Come on. We’ll find out.’
    They went round to the front of the building, Robert leading the way. They started up the steps. Joshua stopped and rubbed one foot against the other till he was sure the dust had fallen off. Then he ran to catch up with Robert and together they went into the entrance hall. It was empty and cool. A staircase ahead of them went up to a gallery. The fan set high in the ceiling ruffled their shirts. Joshua stamped his foot and whirled in the wind below it, arms spread wide.
    A nun bustled