Chapter 6. A midnight feast
Albert finished the trap the next Saturday. It was a relatively simple modification, putting a drop-pin under the entry end of the see-saw, so that when the prey tipped it over the seesaw stuck and could not return to its previous position. However it was tricky to get right. James stole more carrots from the kitchen, and they were back in business.
Adam meanwhile was failing to hit notes at music.
"Adam," said brother Bernard, the music master, "can I have a quiet word with you?"
With some trepidation Adam let himself be taken aside.
"If you can't make the notes at the office, just keep quiet." said the brother, "Otherwise it puts the others off."
Adam said a few words in agreement, and left him. After two minutes alone in the corridor outside the chapel, his eyes began to fill with tears. He tried to stop them before anyone saw him, but blonde Mary was walking down the same way, passing the arched doorways with a confident stride.
"Adam" she said, "why are you crying."
Through sobs, Adam explained about the humiliation over music.
"Was brother Bernard angry with you?" asked blonde Mary?
"No" said Adam.
"Then why are you crying?" said blonde Mary, genuinely perplexed. "Adam, I'm not sure this school is the right environment for you. Notice how tough and controlled everyone else is. Even Mandy. We haven't cracked her and she's been in Coventry for a week. Why don't you ask your parents if you can leave? I'm sure father Abbot would allow it."
"No" said Adam, "it would be the same everywhere."
"Well try not to cry" said blonde Mary, "it humiliates Abbey."
Abagail was shocked and disappointed that Mandy had hardly been punished, much less expelled, and even that her plot had backfired, landing Cecilia with yet another punishment run. She began to suspect that Father Abbot was favouring Mandy because of her background.
"Learn to act, Cecilia", she told the girl as they left Mass, Cecilia still exhausted from her run. She had learnt the lesson of last time, and put maximum effort into her agonised legs, ignoring the taste of lactic acid in her throat and the stitch in her side, bravely pounding the rough track in a successful effort to beat fifteen minutes.
"I tried," she said, "but he just saw straight through me."
"And Mandy sneaked on you?" asked Abagail.
"I don't think so, Abbey" replied Cecilia.
"Then why did she go to see Father Abbot?" asked Abagail? "If it was nothing to do with her, it was nothing to do with her. It must have been to sneak."
Cecilia didn't like to admit the truth, which was that Mandy had been afraid of being expelled. That was why she had falsely admitted guilt to Father Abbot, in a desperate attempt to stay at St Tom's.
Short Mary had not been privy to Abagail and Cecilia's plan, and so assumed that Mandy had been responsible for tying up Cecilia.
"She thinks she can go round terrorising the whole of the first year" she said, "whilst Father Abbot just sits and does nothing. I don't call that being a good headmaster."
On Sunday James, Adam and Albert reinstalled Albert's modified trap in the ruined graveyard, with James and Albert hiding it over with brush whilst Adam kept lookout for patrolling monks or prefects. At one point brother Dominic came into view, but the boys just pretended to be talking, and were ignored. James baited the trap with fresh carrots. On Sunday James checked it, on Monday Albert, to no avail. Then on Tuesday it was Adam's turn. Taking a torch from the dormitory, he made his way from the calefactory after dark. It was rough underfoot with scrub and fallen stones, and slightly scary to think that he was in an ancient graveyard. However he put his fears to one side, and performed his duty to check the trap. The pin had dropped, and the seesaw was in the tipped position. At first Adam thought that the trap was empty, then when he shined his torch directly at the seesaw there was an unmistakable sound of something scuttling.
"Albert's done it" he thought. They had caught a rabbit.
Barely able to contain his excitement, Adam ran back to the calefactory. Albert and James were there. James hustled him out of the crowded room.
"A rabbit" said Adam, excitedly.
"Well don't tell everyone. Just calm down. Have a cup of tea. We'll meet up in the dorm." James said, taking control of the situation. However Adam could see that he too was excited.
There was a frission of excitement before lights out. James put his watch on the top of his locker. "Give it two hours" he said. The two hours passed slowly, like at Christmas time, with Adam unable to sleep but banned from speaking. Eventually James reckoned they were safe. The torches came on, and all five boys dressed in shoes, dressing gowns, and outdoor coats. Because of fire regulations the door from the house had to be left unlocked, so it was almost too easy to get out. The girls however had a fire escape and so were locked in. Adam climbed the escape and knocked at the window to wake Abagail. It took a while and more violent knocks than Adam would have liked, but eventually she stirred from her bed and got a nasty shock as Adam turned the torch on her. After thinking for a moment that she was to be murdered, Abagail realised it was Adam and the other boys. She unhooked the window from her side and Adam from his, then James came and passed it safely through the opening and onto the softness of Abagail's bed. Quickly Abagail woke the other three, with the exception of Mandy, and the girls dressed.
"Get some newspapers," said Albert, "I already have matches"
That entailed an expedition to the girl's calefactory, undertaken by Abagail and Cecilia. Fortunately no-one seemed to be disturbed. Then, one by one, all nine made their way out of the girls' dormitory and down the fire escape.
"How do you make sure the rabbit doesn't escape?" asked Sebastian.
"We've thought of that" said Adam, "string".
The trap was upended so that the rabbit sat in the bottom, and couldn't escape. The Adam tied the string into a lasso. The hardest part was getting two back feet of the rabbit into the lasso at the same time. It was obviously distressed, and trying to escape. However eventually they caught its feet and twined the string several times around. Then they did the same to the front paws, which were easier, though they had to avoid the rabbit's mouth.
"Now we kill it" said Albert.
"Me and James," said Adam, "Albert, you and the others go and make a fire down by the beach. We'll join you."
"Have you done this before?" Adam asked James.
James shook his head. Adam grabbed the rabbit firmly by the head and the shoulder. Because its legs were tied it could not struggle away. James bandished the knife, then hesitated. Then he placed it on the rabbit's neck and make a sawing motion. The rabbit struggled vigorously and blood spurted out.
"Do it, do it" Adam whispered, desperately. James brought down the knife firmly on the open wound, then dragged with the knife. The knife caught Adam's thumb and caused a deep cut. However Adam hardly noticed that, too busy holding the frantically thrashing rabbit steady. James ripped at the rabbit's throat again and again. Blood was everywhere and flowed over Adams chest. At last the rabbit lay still, its head half severed at the neck.
Adam looked up, and saw that blonde Mary had stayed behind to observe them. "Go away" he told her, suddenly self-conscious. Blonde Mary left without saying a word. James hacked at the belly with a long, sawing cut, then they pulled the fur off like a jacket, exposing naked limbs. Now it looked like meat instead of an animal. James then made another, more surgical incision along the belly, and entrails and all manner of complex things spilled out. They separated these, and obtained two convincing carcass halves.
"Just hide the offal" said James, "these will do".
Adam saw a figure loom out of the darkness, by the inscription he had uncovered the week previously.
"A monk" he whispered to James. "No" said James, just a trick of the light. Your imagination."
"I was sure it was a monk." said Adam "Maybe blonde Mary then." suggested James, "If it was one of the monks, they're gone."
Meanwhile Albert and Sebastian had got a fire going on the beach. There was a metal grill which had previously been used for barbecues, so it was only necessary to damp the fire down with seawater, then cut the rabbit to pieces and cook the portions, as one would in a modern kitchen.
"To you, Madame, the honour of instigating this feast" said Sebastian, offering the first piece to Abagail. Abagail flushed, and stuffed the succulent and now roast meat into her mouth with pleasure. In truth it may have been a little burnt on the outside and undercooked on the inside, but in the darkness she couldn't see and didn't care. This was the first really decent food since arriving at St Tom's. It was completely unlike supermarket meat, strong tasting and chewy.
"If only we had something with it" thought Adam.
One rabbit didn't go far amongst nine people, and the last in the queue only got a bit of a leg. But everyone had something. They lay on the beach in the light of the dying fire, laughing and talking, warming themselves by the embers. James and Sebastian stripped off for a swim, but it was too cold, and the swim turned quickly into a brief paddle. Adam checked the sailing boats drawn up on the beach with interest. "How would we go about nicking one of those?" he asked.
"Next time." said Albert.
It was time to take the girls back to their dorm. Mandy was still asleep in her bed. There was only one difference, the glass pane was not on Abagail's bed, but on the floor next to it.
"Someone's been in." hissed James. "Or out" said Abagail.
The window had been left as a gaping hole, blowing cold air into the dorm, and so Mandy had swiftly awoken. She realised immediately that the others had left, and left her alone and out of it. She tried to pretend to herself that she didn't care, but the cold bit bitterly into the duvet, and it was impossible to go back to sleep. So she decided to dress and venture out. Quickly she slipped on her outdoor clothes, took a torch, and stepped onto Abagail's bed to make her way down the fire escape. She entered the yard between the main school buildings and the girls' boarding house. Sound travels far in the countryside, and she could hear excited voices from the ruins, close to where she had had the disastrous fight with Cecilia. Dipping her torch, Mandy eased herself up to the children. By now the main group had gone, and Mandy hid behind an old bit of ruined wall that might have been part of a tomb. She could overhear James and Adam discuss how to kill the rabbit.
"I can't believe they are really going to do this" thought Mandy to herself. Suddenly, she saw blonde Mary, also carrying her torch dipped, and walking in the opposite direction from which the majority of children had departed.
The two girls confronted each other through the gloom.
"Mandy", said blonde Mary, "what are you doing here?" "What are you doing here?" asked Mandy.
"Adam, Albert and James have caught a rabbit. We're going to have it. Mandy, they'll never let you live it down if they find you here. In fact they'll think you are sneaking on them. Go immediately, Mandy, dearest."
She spoke quietly, then took position at Mandy's station to peer at the boys. There were two little pools of light illuminated by the boys' torches. The girls could just make out Adam holding the rabbit, and James preparing to strike. Both girls averted their eyes as the rabbit was killed.
It really was too dreadful to watch.
Then Adam looked up, and saw blonde Mary. He told her to go away, and blonde Mary obeyed. Mandy huddled further under the wall. The boys didn't see her and continued butchering the rabbit. Mandy became aware that a cowled figure was also watching them.
"That's one of the monks" she thought, "blonde Mary was right, they'll think I've been sneaking on them."
The monk continued watching the boys. Mandy switched off her torch and waited, frightened. Then the monk turned to her, as though he had seen her, and Mandy caught a glimpse of the face behind the cowl.
Then suddenly the monk was gone. But for the rest of her life, Mandy would never forget that face. She remained rooted to her station, her heart frozen in pure terror. Adam and James passed carelessly past, swinging the carcass of the dead rabbit as they went. They passed within inches of Mandy without seeing her in the dark.
Eventually Mandy summoned up the courage to return to the dormitory. She entered the empty window frame by the fire escape, and attempted to replace the glass. But it was too difficult for her to manage on her own. Forgetting that the pane had originally been on Abagail's bed, she replaced it on the floor, dressed in her nightclothes, and pulled the duvet tightly around herself.
That night, for the first night she had been at St Tom's, Mandy didn't wet the bed.
Next morning, Matron was shocked to find Adam and James' bedclothes soiled with copious quantities of blood, feebly explained by a nasty cut on Adam's thumb. However there were no other obvious injuries, so Matron had to accept that this was the source.
"How did that happen?" she asked Adam.
"It was an accident", Adam explained, truthfully, "I was holding some wood whilst James whittled it, and his pocket knife slipped.", he added, less truthfully.
"You shouldn't be playing with knives" said Matron, "and you should have taken this straight to me. Get me up, if necessary, it's what I'm there for. It will still heal, but it won't heal as nicely, now it has been left. You'll have a scar at the base of your thumb for the rest of your life. As for your pajamas, Lord knows. Will those ever come clean?"
Adam missed Matins as Matron tended to the wound. He then let himself off music, which was the first lesson of the day. He rejoined the others for brother Robins' English lesson. Brother Robin had another poem for them.
The Tyger
Tyger Tyger, burning bright, In the forests of the night: What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder, & what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat, What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain, In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil? what dread grasp Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears And water'd heaven with their tears: Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger, Tyger burning bright In the forests of the night: What immortal hand or eye Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
"This," said brother Robin, "is the companion piece to the previous poem, 'The Lamb'", by the same poet. Who's going to volunteer to read it out?"
Mandy and James put their hands up, and brother Robin chose James. "So comments and criticisms." invited brother Robin.
"It's much the better poem" said Adam.
"Instantly you say that" said brother Robin, "but why? What makes you instantly pass such a judgment?"
"It's real," said Adam, "the lamb wasn't."
"Yet you have seen lambs. There are flocks of sheep running on the mainland less than a mile from this island. Have you ever seen a tiger?" asked brother Robin.
"In zoos" said Adam.
"That doesn't count," said Abagail, "it has to be a wild tiger."
"What I mean," said Adam, "is that it gives a realistic impression of life. Not everything can be sweet and tender, like the lamb."
"Surely the poem is about images of God" said brother Robin.
"So what is the reality of God?" asked blonde Mary, "tender and merciful, or vicious and judging people."
"Tender and merciful" said short Mary, "Jesus is compassion and love."
"Compassion includes the word 'passion'" said Cecilia, "I prefer the tiger. God loves it in all its fierceness, as much as he loves the lamb."
"He created it" said Abagail.
"The lamb is Christ" said Sebastian, "so is God also the tiger?"
"The lamb is God the Son," said Cecilia, "the tiger is God the Father."
Brother Robin was delighted with the way the discussion went. For prep, they had to write a comparison of the two poems.
That evening, Adam sat in the prep room with a pen in his hand, poised to write. He thought for some while, then began to put down his ideas
The Tyger and the Lamb
I think the most confusing lines of the poems are
When the stars threw down their spears And watered heaven with their tears
The stars are the heavenly host of cherubims and seraphims, angels and archangels, powers, dominations, and thrones. They are boy angels not girl angels and they carry weapons. Even though they are boys they still cry at the horror of the tyger. But their tears water heaven, and make it fertile. Sometimes it is good to cry.
The next lines tell us that Blake wants us to compare the two poems, which I am doing right now. “Did He who made the Lamb make thee?” Who made the lamb? It is what we say every day at Mass, of course, “Angus dei, qui tollis peccata mundi” Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. The lamb is food, it is there to be slaughtered.
That’s what lambs are for. Br K|ieran says that the wool trade is not economic and a woolly fleece costs only 10p, so lambs are not bred for their wool as some people think. They are bred for eating. The lamb is not told this. It is living in a fool’s paradise, a world of illusion. It doesn’t even know who made it, or why.
The lamb also eats. But it eats grass. The poem is saying that this is not enough. People cannot live on a diet of cabbages and boiled potatoes and be happy. That sort of food will make them ill and weak. They also need meat. Meat is nicer, but you have to kill something to get it.
The lamb is called into being, it just says “gave thee”, the tyger is manufactured, with hammers, chains, anvils and furnaces, its heart beats and has its sinews twisted. Tygers take more effort to make than lambs.
So is the tyger evil? That brings us back to the confusing two lines with which I started. The stars cry. But their tears water heaven. The lamb dies, but it takes away the sins of the world.
That’s why He creates the tyger, He is insanely ambitious, He will have the innocence of the victim and the glamour of the predator, at the same time. The poem starts with “could” and ends in “dare”. How could God create the tyger? Then we understand, and the question becomes, “how dare God take that sort of risk?”
This I think is the meaning of the two poems, “the Lamb” and “the Tyger”. Adam put his pen down. It had taken about forty minutes to write that.
Ibrahim, meanwhile, was having difficulty. He could see that one was a poem about gentleness and one was a poem about fierceness, but beyond that bald statement he couldn't think of anything to say. He scribbled down a few words, then stared into space, wasting the time for prep.
Mandy had had a bad scare, but she couldn't talk to anybody about what she had seen, because no-one but blonde Mary was speaking to her, and that secretly.
"Have you written to Chris, yet?" blonde Mary asked her, when the two were together in the dorm that evening.
"No," said Mandy, "I'm not sure that I ought." "Look, he can get a message through to your mother, probably" said blonde Mary, "Isn't your mother important to you? I know I would do anything to get a letter from my mother, if she was forbidden from contacting me."
"The social worker wouldn't like it." said Mandy.
"No, I'll get one from the office tomorrow" said Mandy.
"Use mine" said blonde Mary, "I find it always helps to use quality notepaper. It sets off the letter in a much nicer way. And I always dab a little perfume onto the paper, just to give a hint of me. It make people much more receptive to what you say."
She took out the notepaper, which was tinted pink round the edges and slightly yellowish in colour.
"For goodness sake Mandy, don't use a ballpoint," blonde Mary protested, "you must have a fountain pen. Blue ink."
Mandy got out her fountain pen, and complied.
"Dear Chris," dictated blonde Mary, "I know this letter will come as a bit of a surprise to you. I am at St Thomas' More school in the Hebrides on a scholarship. I think of home every day and all the good times we had together. New paragraph. Chris, I want you to help me. My mother hasn't replied to my letter and I know she would never ignore me. It must mean that the letters are being held up in the prison. I would do anything for you to get a letter out from her. I know you have contacts and can do this. I love you very much. Also pass on my love to my dear mother. Love, Mandy. P.S. There must always be a postscript. What did you do with him, Mandy?"
"PS I still have that Black Sabbath album you downloaded for me. I listen to it in the dorm in the evenings." suggested Mandy.
"That will do" said blonde Mary, "Now what is his full name and address?"
The letter was sent by the next boat. Blonde Mary, had begun to hang round with two third years, Olivia and Jade. They were beautiful, like her, and also from rich families. Blonde Mary felt more at home with them than with the other first year girls. She was tired of playing queen of the dorm, because it was a title hardly worth having. In any case she had a nagging sense that Abagail and maybe even Cecilia were more popular than she was. Her money counted for very little at St Tom's, because there was nothing she could spend it on, no way of getting better food or clothes than the ordinary girls, no real way of bestowing largess of the other girls. Blonde Mary had always thought of herself as special, not as just one of the crowd. Olivia and Jade were also from the entertainment industry families. Olivia's mother was an actress, and Jade's father was a pop star who had been very successful in his youth, and who still kept a reasonable career going, though his name was no longer on everyone's lips. They had both been at St Tom's for two years, and were firm friends with each other.
"Mary's the only one of the first years who's any fun" said Olivia to Jade, "short Mary is just a sourpuss, Cecilia is a brat, and Abbey has got too big an opinion of herself. As for Mandy, that dreadful thing, who let her into St Tom's?"
"Oh Mandy's alright" said Jade, "you've got to understand she's the only one in her position. If we had three or four care home kids, she'd be fine. But as the only one, that's tough."
"But she's vicious" said Olivia, "I've no objection to her as a person, but what's she doing at St Tom's?"
"Well Abbey is also a vicious little creature" said Jade, "you're wrong, Olivia, we need people like Mandy in the school. Who else would listen to my Dad's music?"
"Well, OK" said Olivia, "I've no objection to Mary. If she wants to make friends with Mandy, I won't hold it against her."
"The other first years will," said Jade, "they've sent Mandy to Coventry."
"Really?" said Olivia, "how childish."
"So Mary can't admit to liking Mandy. I think she feels sorry for her. As do I. It's cruel." said Jade, "Yes, there's nothing so cruel as first years."
"As if we've got any interest in their doings" said Olivia, "but Mary, yes, she's got something about her." So the two agreed to accept blonde Mary as a friend, and to tolerate Mandy.
Adam was uneasy about the figure of the monk. They had apparently got away with the exploits of the previous night, certainly Father Abbot hadn't asked for any culprits to own up after morning Mass, although you never knew exactly how much Father Abbot knew. He returned to the graveyard at lunchtime. The inscription was there, the trap was where they had left it, and blood from the rabbit still stained the ground, but otherwise there was nothing. He was aware that he was putting their activities in danger, should some monk or prefect chance upon him, so after a minute or two he left. It was perplexing. The monk had seemed too real to be, as James said, "a trick of the light". But had it been one of the brothers, surely he wouldn't simply have ignored a two boys out at night.
The others were impatient to start football when Adam returned. The first years had a rare victory over the second years, despite the fact that Adam's mind was not on the game.
"Why didn't you wait until evening to check the trap?" asked James.
"I wanted to see if there was any evidence of that monk" said Adam.
"There can't have been a monk" said James, "Adam, just forget it, will you? You'll get us all into trouble if you're not careful. And try to pass up to Sebastian. You missed a perfect chance with Sebastian in front of an open goal."
The next day the first years played their next external game of five a side. It was with a comprehensive school in Saltcoats, on the mainland and local by Scottish standards. It was played indoors, in a sports hall marked out for many other games, so it was difficult to see where the goal area was. The Saltcoats boys all seemed the same - short, with short dark hair, and serious faces. It emerged later that they were all cousins or cousins once removed, the school drew pupils from a very closely-knit community. Saltcoats had most of the possession. Adam and Sebastian found themselves hard pressed to defend the goal from relentless Saltcoats attacks, with Sebastian doing the bulk of the work. Albert saved three good shots. Then an attack on the left flank, which Sebastian dealt with, was followed with a quick pass to a Saltcoats defender coming down on the right. Albert was at the other side of the net, so he had a shot at open goal. Adam ran forwards to intercept with his body, successfully, but with the confusing markings he had forgotten that it was in the goal area. Penalty. The Saltcoats boy put the ball straight into the top right hand corner of the net, and Albert didn't have a chance. However after that Saltcoats got too confident, pushing all their men forwards. Sebastian managed to get the ball up to James, who had a shot on goal. The Saltcoats goalkeeper saved it by a miracle, pushing it over the top of the bar. James got another shot five minutes later, but it hit the post and went out of bounds. After that Saltcoats thought twice and began to hang back. However they got lucky just before halftime, with a long shot bouncing past Albert and into St Tom's net.
"Pull James back" urged Albert at half time, "I can't keep up this level of saves"
James shook his head, and they went into the second half with James forwards and Ibrahim back. The game from that point on was effectively dead. Saltcoats didn't need any extra goals to win, and just sat on their lead. St Tom's outnumbered them three to two, or four to two including Albert, in their own half, and started getting possession. Time after time the ball was passed up to James, who could make nothing of it with no support. But it was enough to keep Saltcoats on their toes and not risk putting too many people forwards.
Eventually Saltcoats scored one more goal, battering past James, Sebastian and Adam by sheer force of playing, and effectively dribbling the ball into the net. However that was their only real chance. At full time, the score read 3 nil to Saltcoats. The boys shook hands. Being a day school, tea was just sandwiches and biscuits. "Bad luck with the penalty" said one of the Saltcoats boys to Adam. "I got confused by all the lines on the pitch" said Adam.
"Then it's accidental" said the Saltcoats boy, "accidental entry into the penalty area is not considered a penalty."
"Not if you play the ball" said another.
"Isn't" said the first.
"Here, I've got a copy of five-a-side rules" said Albert, he fingered it to find the right place. "Section 3.2 Entry to penalty area". He passed the book to the boy, "see."
The Saltcoats boy looked embarrassed. "Isn't a penalty if it is accidental" he said. He passed the book to the second boy, "You check."
The second Saltcoats boy put a finger under the line. "Section 3.2 Entry to the penalty area" he said, "No one except the respectable goalkeepers may enter the penalty area. Punishment for - can't read that word - penalty kick. Note referees should distinguish between accidental and deliberate entry to or exit from the goal area. Only deliberate actions where the player plays the ball, tries to play the ball, or gains an advantage should be penalty-ised. Accidental entry or exit that has no affect on play should be ignored." He furrowed his brow, "So what is it?"
"Adam deflected what would have been a goal, so it's a penalty" said Albert, "hard for us, but that's the rules"
Sebastian gave Albert a kick under the table.
"Have you played much five-a-side before?" he asked the Saltcoats boys. "Not much", they admitted, "we play regular football, but we was asked to form a side, just for you. We volunteered."
"Awfully good of you to agree to play us" said Sebastian, "it gets us out of our island prison." "You go to school on an island?" asked the Saltcoats boys.
"That's right" said Sebastian, "sea all around. It prevents unauthorised escapes." "I couldn't do with that," said the Saltcote's boy, "how do you get to support your team?"
"We can when they play us at home" said Albert. "He means one's favourite association football club", said Sebastian.
"I don't support a team" said Albert.
"You don't support a football team?" said the Saltcoats boy, incredulously. "Ex-rugby man", said Sebastian, hastily, "we've only been doing footie for the past few weeks".
"It shows", said the Saltcoats boy.
"Didn't you see" said Sebastian as they got into the minibus after the meal, "that those comprehensive chappies could hardly read? The first one, he was in utter panic when you handed him that rulebook. Albert, you'll really offend people."
Albert looked contrite.
"It's a completely different culture" said James, "different games, different attitudes, different everything."
"They were trying to be nice to us" said Sebastian.
"Well I'm glad I can read properly" said Adam, "it must be terrible to have to live like that."
"Don't be so judgmental" said Sebastian. "At least we only went three down," said James.
"Funny, isn't it" said Sebastian, "how three nil down seems like a victory. At least it was a playable match."
"Boys", said brother Gwilliam, "you've got to show more spirit. Everyone was hanging back, apart from James. But when he got the ball up, there was no support. You need more spirit. And Adam, what were you doing? In a dream, as always, throwing away the first goal with a penalty. At least it wasn't a complete disaster, I suppose. But I want to see a bit more action from you from now on."
At last the minibus returned to the dock and was loaded aboard the ferry. Brother Gwilliam paid the boatman, and they were back.
This time Father Abbot announced the result at morning Mass.
"We can't win with all our players back" said James, at the postmortem.
"Our object is only to avoid humiliation" said Sebastian, "look James, we'd have gone five, maybe ten down with a weaker defence. Our only hope is to kill the game, and then sneak in with a surprise goal. We've got to accept that we will always be the weaker team, because they can pick and choose, and we're stuck with who we've got, and that's Ibrahim and Adam."
"I am the weakest link," said Adam.
"No you're not" said Albert, "the team wouldn't be the same without you. Just try to keep out of the penalty area next time, kick the ball up, and you'll be fine."
Abagail was getting restive again.
"We need some action on the food" she said, "permanent action. One rabbit every couple of weeks isn't going to satisfy our hunger."
"What do the second years and third years do?" asked Adam.
"They smuggle stuff in from the supermarket" said Abagail.
"And how do they manage that?" Adam asked. "Fifth years and sixth formers take them sailing" Abagail explained, "so they just drop them off at Tescos. Buy your tuck, hide it away in the bottom of the boat, and you've done it."
"Why don't they take us sailing?" asked Adam.
"Can't imagine" said Abagail. The two spent a moment in silence.
"Adam," Abagail asked, "can we nick a boat?"
"I checked them all that night we spent out" said Adam, "they're chained up and locked when not in use. It isn't that easy, Abbey. Then Tescos is closed at night. So it wouldn't do us any good, even if we could get hold of one."
"Maybe we need a different tack" said Abagail, "but think of something quickly, Adam. Your sister is dying here."
Adam went to discuss the matter with Albert.
"We need to case the joint" was Albert's only reply, so that night the two of them got dressed and slipped away to the beach. Two sailing dinghies were drawn up on wheeled chassis, and chained by long chains which ran into the sand. The older pupils were taught to sail, and often took the younger ones out on trips. However not the first year. Adam and Abagail had seen to that.
Adam and Albert pored over them with their flashlights.
"The chains are permanent" Albert explained, "and they pass them through brackets in the boats' hulls. They have to be long in case a high tide comes along, and the chain holds the boat under water. There's some sort of concrete block under the sand. What I suspect is that its the same chain, passed through the concrete. That would be stronger than trying to anchor it."
"So what can we do?" said Adam.
"A hacksaw should get these chains off" Albert said, "but I don't like to think how long it would take. Hours. And you'd break a lot of blades."
"That's not practical" said Adam, "And we need to cut two chains." "What we need to do" said Albert, "Is cut where the chain goes into the sand, and then replace the links with some sort of weak link, which we can easily cut. Then when we're done with the boat we replace the weak link, and nobody's the wiser. I suggest twisted wire."
"But won't it eventually break?" said Adam, "and send the boat out to sea?"
"Eventually" said Albert, and the boys laughed.
They returned to the dorm and reported to James, Sebastian, and Ibrahim. "My parents have been on sailing holidays" said Sebastian, "I'm quite au fait with sailing boats. I think Cecilia has as well. Don't worry, we'll have a skilled crew." Adam went back to bed, thinking how this plan would work. Stealing a boat would get them off the island, but the question was what to do then.
It was Abagail who came up with than answer.
"Let's get a lamb." It was Sunday, and Albert, Adam and Abagail, as was becoming their custom, had climbed to the highest point on the island.
"Abbey, I don't think there are any lambs" said Adam, "it's autumn."
"A sheep then" said Abagail, "look, you can see hundreds of sheep, on the hillside on the mainland. All we need is to capture one and kill it. The meat will last nine of us a week."
"Sheep belong to farmers" said Adam.
"Oh yes" said Abagail, "and the land belongs to the farmers as well. No-one asked us who it should belong to, but we were born in this country. Look at the sea, all around us. Sometime soon, someone will be claiming to own that. I just don't buy property rights. It's a way of depriving us of what we need to live. You can't own another living creature, that's arrogance."
"What about the boats" said Adam, "don't they belong to the school?"
"To which we pay fees" said Abagail, "you can worry too much about who owns what. There are hundreds of sheep, and we will put the boats back."
"It's starting to get cold to come up here" said Albert.
"Yes," said Abagail, "it's a bleak island. Why can't we live in the South Seas, and sit under coconuts all day. And not have to do algebra."
"How's the lobster pot?" asked Adam.
"Nearly finished," said Albert.
"Albert" asked Abagail, "what does lobster thermidor taste like?"