Wardstone 7 - The Spook's Nightmare Read Online Free PDF Page B

forcefully, so I turned, shook my head at Alice and led the way further down the street.
    All the other inns we passed looked equally busy, but then I glanced down a side street that sloped awaytowards the harbour and saw what looked like another tavern. When I opened the door, it was almost deserted, with just a few men sitting on stools at the bar. I was about to step inside when the proprietor shook his fist at me and Alice.
    ‘Be off with you! We don’t allow riff-raff in here!’ he shouted.
    I didn’t need telling twice – the last thing I wanted was to draw attention to myself. I was just about to head back towards the main thoroughfare when Alice pointed in the opposite direction.
    ‘Try there, Tom. Looks like another tavern further down . . .’
    She was soon proved right. It was right at the end of the narrow street, on the corner, the main door facing towards the harbour. Like the last tavern, it was almost empty, with just a few people standing at the bar clutching tankards of ale. The proprietor looked across at me with interest rather than hostility, and that curiosity quickly decided me – it was better to get out. But just as I turned to go, a voice called my name.
    ‘Well, if it isn’t Tom Ward!’ And a large red-faced man with side whiskers strode towards me.
    It was Captain Baines of the Celeste , the ship that Mam had chartered for our voyage to Greece the previous summer. He operated out of Sunderland Point. No doubt he’d sailed here with a hold full of those fleeing the invaders.
    ‘It’s good to see you, lad. The girl too!’ he said, looking at Alice, who was standing in the open doorway. ‘Come across and warm yourselves by the fire.’
    The captain wore a long, dark, waterproof coat with a thick grey woollen jumper underneath: sailors certainly knew how to dress for cold weather. He led the way back to a bare wooden table in the corner, and we sat down on stools facing him.
    ‘Are you hungry?’ he asked.
    I nodded. I was starving. Apart from a few mouthfuls of cheese, the last thing we’d eaten had been the rabbits that Alice had cooked the previous night.
    ‘Landlord, bring us two steak and ale pies and make them piping hot!’ he called out towards the bar, thenturned back to face us. ‘Who brought you across the water?’ he asked, lowering his voice.
    ‘We came in a small fishing boat. We were dropped south of Douglas but ran into trouble right away. We were lucky to escape. A man with a club tried to arrest us but Mr Gregory knocked him out.’
    ‘Where’s your master now?’
    ‘He’s up on the hillside south of the town. He sent me down to see if I could hire a boat to take us further west to Ireland.’
    ‘You’ve little chance of that, young Tom. My own ship, the Celeste , is impounded and has armed guards on board. As for the people I brought here, they’re all in custody. Same with the refugees from the other ships. You can’t really blame the islanders though. The last thing they want is for the invaders to come here. They’re scared of witches fleeing the County too – and with good reason. A small fishing boat came ashore to the north. Both crew members were dead – they’d been drained of blood and their thumb-bones cut away.’
    At that Alice gave a little gasp. I knew what she wasthinking. The Pendle witches would no doubt stay put and wait to see what happened. But this could well be the work of another witch – some would have fled the County – and what if it was Alice’s mother?
    What if Bony Lizzie was at large on the island?

W e both tucked into our hot steak and ale pies while the captain told us what he knew. It seemed that almost all the refugees were being returned to the County. The leaders of the island’s Ruling Council were afraid that if they weren’t, Mona would be the next place to come under attack.
    ‘That’s why the Celeste is impounded. Soon I’ll be sailing back to Sunderland Point, returning those who fled to the tender