The Book of Everything Read Online Free PDF Page B

policemen took no notice of her. They pushed the man flat down onto the backseat of the jeep. Two of the policemen sat in the front. The third one climbed into the back and sat on top of the man’s shoulders. He wrapped his long trench coat around himself so the man became invisible. Only his shouting could be heard over the roar of the engine.
    â€œWhat sort of manners is that?” Mrs. van Amersfoort yelled. “Haven’t you learned anything?” But the jeep tore off, screaming around the corner.
    â€œDid you see that?” Mrs. van Amersfoort shouted angrily.
    Nobody answered, so Thomas said, “Yes, I saw that.”
    People walked away. “Serves him right,” someone said. “He was even worse than we thought.”
    Mrs. van Amersfoort pulled a packet of Golden Fiction cigarettes from her coat pocket and lit one. Then she looked at Thomas. “I should not have shouted like that, Thomas,” she said. “But I can’t bear to see people treated so roughly. And now I’m completely out of breath.”
    â€œShall I carry your bag in again?” asked Thomas.
    â€œLet’s do it together,” said Mrs. van Amersfoort. “It’s full of books.”
    She took one handle and Thomas the other one. “What did that man do?” he asked.
    â€œAh, he belonged to a club that supported the wrong side.”
    â€œOh,” said Thomas. “I see.”
    Â 
    Mrs. van Amersfoort drank her coffee and Thomas his cordial. One of the cats purred on his lap. It made his legs feel warm.
    â€œI’ve finished the book,” said Thomas.
    â€œAnd? What did you think of it?”
    â€œGood,” said Thomas.
    â€œWhat did you think was good about it?”
    â€œWhen all those children helped Emil,” said Thomas. “When they caught the villain together. And that business with the pin, that was really good.”
    Mrs. van Amersfoort nodded.
    All you could hear in the silence was the cat’s purring.
    â€œI want to ask you something,” said Thomas shyly. “It’s rather a silly question.”
    â€œI’ve got a silly question too,” said Mrs. van Amersfoort. “You go first.”
    â€œCan I take the cordial home with me?” asked Thomas. He didn’t dare look her in the eyes.
    â€œYou can finish it here, can’t you?” asked Mrs. van Amersfoort, surprised.
    â€œI mean the bottle,” said Thomas. He did not look at her. Of course she was going to ask what for, and he couldn’t answer that.
    â€œThe bottle …” she said. “All right, I can buy a new one.”
    â€œThank you very much,” said Thomas. She hadn’t asked what for. Maybe she knew what for, because she was a witch.
    â€œMy turn,” said Mrs. van Amersfoort. “A silly question. Here it comes. Thomas, do you ever get hit at home?”
    Thomas felt the shock like a punch in his stomach. “Me?!” he blurted. “Of course not!” He thought, “I get a thumping sometimes, but Mama gets hit.” “Mama!” he wanted to say. “She’s the one who gets hit!” But his throat felt like a tightly screwed-down lid.
    For a long while, Mrs. van Amersfoort said nothing. The cat jumped off Thomas’s lap and stretched. Thomas quickly emptied his glass. She knew everything, everything. But his mouth was locked. He could not talk. “Jesus … Mama …” he thought. “What am I going to do?”
    â€œThank goodness for that,” said Mrs. van Amersfoort. “Shall we listen to some music?”
    Thomas looked at the clock on the mantelpiece. “It’s just about time for me to go home,” he said.
    â€œGood,” Mrs. van Amersfoort got up. “I’ll just pick another book for you. Here, take this one. But I will want it back. Alone in the World .”
    She saw him to the front door. “I’ll lend you this book precisely because