Cracksman’s Bird

Well into her third week, Dina roamed the markets with confidence, her sack slung round her shoulders with a piece of dirty twine that she had found in the gutter. She was filthy, her hair ratty, and her dress thick with grime, but she was eating surprisingly well and stockpiling any extra food in her sack every day, just in case. She had nicked a warm, knit shawl from a jumble cart, which helped to conceal both her sack and her ragged clothing. She worked the markets with skill, and although the merchants looked askance at the “filthy street arab”, she was too quick for them to catch her at it.

The only sort who might catch her at her game, in fact, would have been someone even better at it, and as it happened, someone did. One fine, cool fall day, Dina caught the practiced eye of a cracksman and his mate, who had come to the markets to find a quick, clever street child and to put it to work. Ian Brown was tall, angular and swarthy, narrow of face and very short of temper. He was renowned in certain circles for his ability to pick a lock - an expert cracksman - and in certain other circles he was known for a more violent, and often more profitable, line of work. His mate, Charley Rowe, was ruddy-faced and had the pleasant demeanour of a good father. He had taken the day from the cab and horse that he owned with his brother to accompany Ian to the markets. They leaned against a wall and scanned the thick crowd.

It was Charley who spotted her first, perhaps because he had a daughter nearly the same age. He watched as Dina worked round a wall of people crowding a colourful fruit stall. He elbowed Ian and cocked his chin, indicating the bobbing head of brown hair moving stealthily towards the cart. It disappeared just two feet away, but they watched with the practised eye of a thief, and within moments, as the coster was reaching in another direction, a small hand swiped an orange from the edge of the cart, then disappeared. After another moment, Ian spied her as she slipped out of the crowd and away, tucking the fruit beneath her shawl.

Her next stop was a jumble cart dripping with smooth woollen scarves, and the two men did not have to move from their post to watch her slip between the skirts of the shoppers and disappear under the cart. Moments later, one of the dangling scarves slipped slowly down the front of the cart until it seemed sucked into the dark underside. The men watched carefully, but nearly missed Dina darting out from behind the cart, not two feet from the salesman. She trotted away undetected, a new scarf round her neck, prompting raised eyebrows from Ian and Charley for her daring and her cheek.

Ian and Charley spend most of the afternoon following Dina and watching her move through the market, alternately stealing then hiding and eating. They saw and admired her row-inducing trick, which today brought two women and a man into the mix and which gained her a crusty bap. Wary as she was, Dina noticed that she was being watched, and early on she melted away so quickly and skilfully that neither man saw how she did it or where she had gone. They combed the market for nearly an hour before they managed to spy her again, and Ian decided then and there that she must be their next bird. Charley left the market, and Ian followed Dina undetected for the rest of the day, for he was even more stealthy that she .

The costers were just beginning to pack up and leave at the end of the afternoon when Dina struck out for Jacob’s Island. She did not notice Ian slip out of a doorway after she passed, but she stiffened and walked faster when she heard the footsteps behind her. She started to run when she heard them closing in, but Ian was upon her before she could take three steps. He swept her up under one arm, covering her mouth with his hand, and whisked her into the dark space between two buildings. He pinned her to the wall, one arm across her chest and arms, the other still covering her mouth, pressing her to the wall so that she could barely move. He squatted down to bring himself face to face with her.

“Listen close, girl. I been watching you all afternoon, and I saw every single thing you took,” he spat, his face so close that she could see the broken teeth and day-old whiskers. “Now, you can either do as I say, or I’ll make sure you never see those markets or anything else again. You understand me?”

Dina panted under his hand, too terrified to respond. He shoved her harder against the wall. “Understand?” he growled again. Dina nodded slightly under his hand.

“Good. Now, you come along nice and quiet-like, and we’ll make good use of you. But mind, if you make so much as a peep...” and he released her chest, reached into his coat, and pulled out a large, sharp knife. Dina pulled away as best she could as Ian held it close to her throat. The blade gleamed hungrily in the faint evening light.

“One sound, and I’ll quiet you once and for all and I won’t think nothing of it. Am I perfectly clear?” Dina nodded very, very carefully, eyeing the blade so close to her skin. Slowly, he pulled his hand away from her mouth as she watched him widely. He rose and pocketed the knife very deliberately, his eyes never leaving the trembling girl. Then he grabbed her by the hair and pushed her out in front of him.

“All right now, and not a word!” he hissed, and he marched her out of the alleyway and down the street.