THE DEPRIVED...Part 11.

A continuation of my book.

Going out into the night, Michael made his way towards the fire beacons, the blazing fires which the stallholders used to light their wares and to keep warm by. Michael moved through the night as he wandered through the late night market, his eyes seeking for what he wanted and at last he approached a small wizened man who stood by two hand carts, push barrows which seemed quite sturdy.
“I want to buy one of your handcarts.” said Michael.
The little man looked at Michael suspiciously, knowing that the Irish people rarely had money, at least not enough to buy one of his barrows.
“Show me your money!” he demanded.
Michael pulled out the piece of cloth which served as a purse and untied the knots, holding out two of the shillings.
“Two bob?” said the little man, seeming unimpressed by the amount.
“I’ll give you three of these shillings for one of your barrows and that length of rope. Also some of those empty sacks on the ground.” said Michael.
“Three bob? That’s not enough!” declared the little man.
Michael shrugged and walked away.
“Wait a minute!”
Michael turned back when the man shouted.
“Okay. I’ll sell you the handcart, the rope and sacks for three bob.” said the man, holding out a hand.
The deal was struck.
Pushing the handcart towards the house, Michael stopped and turned down a small side ally where he began to tie the sacks round the wheels of the barrow and having finished the job he pushed the barrow back out of alleyway, the sacks muffling the sound of the iron-bound wooden wheels as they trundled over the cobbles. Creeping back up the stairs to the room, Michael knelt beside Mary and put his hand across her mouth and woke her by shaking her shoulder.
“Shush!” he whispered in the dark. “Get up and get dressed. Don’t talk, darling. Just do as I say.”
Mary did not speak, doing as Michael asked. Michael rose and moved over to where Patrick snored loudly beside his wife. Waking Patrick up, he begged him to be quiet and began to whisper quietly. Patrick sat up and the pair gravely shook hands in the dark.  Now returning and going from Beth to Sam, Michael also woke up the children and had them dress. Rolling up the blankets, he hefted them over his shoulder and asking that they all hold each other by the hand, he led the children down the stairs and out into the night.
“Where are we going, Michael?” whispered Mary as she stared at the handcart outside the house.
“We are going to London.” determined Michael.
“We’ll get caught!” whispered Mary fiercely. “You’ll go to prison.”
“I would rather see myself in prison than do the work these monsters want me to do.” countered Michael.
Mary said nothing, understanding his stubborn mood.
Throwing the blankets into the handcart, Michael spread them out and shaped them into a bed. Lifting Beth and Sam onto the cart he told them to get under the blankets. Tying the rope to the handles he ducked under it and pulled it tight to his chest and with his hands on the handles he hurried like a rickshaw boy down the dark streets, with Mary hurrying along beside him. Michael pulled the barrow through the night, leaving Liverpool and heading out into the countryside. Once they were beyond the lights of Liverpool, the roads became no more than rough dirt tracks and furrows left from horse-drawn carriages which travelled the road between Liverpool and Stoke -On-Trent.
Michael pulled the barrow through the night, deciding it was better to hide up in the day rather than chance getting caught by the company men. It was towards sun-up that he came upon a small farm which was tucked in between a range of hills and pulling the barrow down into a dip hidden from the farm, he decided to rest up. Beth and Sam had risen and Mary fed them as Michael made up a bed beside the barrow.
“Beth, you keep Sam safe and don’t go too far. Me and your mother are going to catch up on some sleep so keep a sharp lookout for us.” said Michael.
“I cannot sleep, Michael. I can’t allow Beth and Sam to be alone as we sleep.” said Mary.
“I’m not a child, Da!” cried Beth. “I will stay close and keep Sam safe with me. Please lay down with Da and get some sleep.”
“Beth is a good girl, Mary. We will be safe with her watching Sam.” said Michael.
“I will lay down beside you Michael, though I doubt if I will get much sleep.” promised Mary as she settled herself beside Michael under the blankets.
“Well just lay here with me and close your eyes.” coaxed Michael as he stretched out on the blanket and pulled the covers over himself.
He was exhausted from pulling the barrow throughout the night and within a short while both he and Mary were sound asleep. Beth and Sam played happily among the trees and flowers, picking the wild blossoms as a present for their mother, a surprise for when she woke up from her sleep.
“What are you doing?”
The voice made Beth jump up in surprise and she turned to see two small girls who stood holding hands.
“We are on our way to London.” said Beth, her arm round Sam who had run to her side.
“My name’s Tessie and this is my sister Megs. We live on the farm just over there.”
Tessie cast an eye over the sleeping forms of Michael and Mary.
“Why are they sleeping on the ground? Are you all Gypsies?” she asked.
“No.” answered Beth, defensively. “We have come from Ireland and are going to London where my Da will find work.”
“Where’s Ireland?” asked Tessie.
“Across the sea, it’s a long way.” answered Beth, who sat down and began to blow the pods from a dandelion.
“Can we play?” asked Megs in a high voice.
“What do you want to play?” asked Beth.
“We can play at being on a stage. We can sing and dance.” answered Megs, who immediately began to dance and sing loudly.
While Beth and Tessie joined in, Sam walked away with a scowl and sat with his back to them.