The Three Thorns Read Online Free PDF

was already halfway out of the window when the first boy in the crowd grabbed his leg.
    “I’ve caught one, Sir!” the boy cried.
    Jimmy called out to his friends for help.
    When Tommy and George heard him, they ran cautiously around the corner of the building. Tommy was the first to rush toward him. He frantically attempted to tug the rest of his body out of the open window.
    Inside, Mr. Porter pushed a group of boys out of his way to grab a hold of Jimmy’s legs.
    Tommy and George were almost pulled inside the window along with Jimmy by a huge tugging force. Jimmy kicked violently to break free until his large foot struck Mr. Porter’s chest, sending the man slamming to the ground. With one last heave, Jimmy flew out of the window and landed on top of his friends. The three boys quickly dusted themselves off and ran back to the gate.
    Each looked around for ways to climb the gate, but they couldn’t find anything to cling onto, for it was a solid rusted gate with singular poles running from its top to its bottom.
    “I’m afraid we cannot leave until Benjamin comes with us,” Peter said.
    “Why is that pip-squeak so important?” Tommy asked with a long sigh of frustration.
    “Because I told him we would leave together. I will not go back on my word.”
    Tommy reached between the bars and grabbed Peter by his collar. “What about the rest of us?” he rasped.
    Peter stood fearless in the face of Tommy’s sudden outburst.
    “I’m afraid your fate is in Benjamin’s hands now,” Peter replied bluntly. “He has the key, remember?”

 
     
5
     
     
Escaping the Barrier
     
     
    Mr. Jennings and Mr. Porter led the hunt for Benjamin. A heavyset boy from the crowd had briefly taken a pit stop near the double turn due to a stitch in his side. When he’d reached the double turn by himself, he was unaware of what direction the other boys and orderlies had taken. His group had outpaced him and was no longer in his view. This sudden dilemma proved too great a puzzle for one so dim-witted.
    The boy lifted a penny from his pocket and tossed it into the air.
    “Heads for left, tails for right,” he breathlessly muttered to himself. He glanced at the sweaty palm of his left hand, awaiting the coin, and then slapped it onto the top of his right.
    When he lifted his left hand off the coin, it was facing tails. The boy proceeded to slowly jog down the right corridor, rubbing the side of his torso to sooth the stitch. Right then Benjamin dodged him, running the opposite direction.
    The startled boy screamed. “Mr. Porter! Mr. Jennings! Come quick! I’ve found one! It’s him!”
    Upon hearing the boy’s scream, Mr. Jennings and Mr. Porter marched into view at the end of the corridor, leading the crowd toward Benjamin.
    “You, there!” yelled Mr. Porter, pointing his fat finger at Benjamin.
    Benjamin pulled at the side door at the dead end—just when Gatesville’s custodian pushed it open from the inside. The custodian carried a tall pile of fresh bed sheets that towered over his face. He didn’t notice Benjamin until the panicked boy ran into him, knocking him onto the floor.
    “Don’t let him pass you!” shouted Mr. Jennings at the custodian, but it was too late. Benjamin was already inside.
    Mr. Jennings stopped for a brief second to glare at the custodian who had unknowingly given Benjamin his last chance to escape.
    “You idiot,” Mr. Jennings scolded. “I’ll deal with you later.”
    Benjamin found another exit door inside the laundry room just when a crowd of prefects appeared behind it and blocked his path. Thinking fast, he jumped onto a row of wooden washing benches above them and struggled to avoid the multiple hands that reached up to grab him.
    He raced across the unstable benches, heading for the nearest window. It seemed utterly hopeless until a foot booted through the windowpane ahead of him.
    Speckles of glass splashed over the crowd. Just two more benches were all it would take to reach the