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‘Take your boots off before we go in, Jeff; Ma will only grumble if we trail muck in. Damn rain, I’m soaked. Come on then, bring him in.’
They opened the door and Nab was met by a wall of heat and greasy cooking smells which made the air so heavy that he immediately began to gasp for breath. He was amazed to find it brighter than daylight in the room and he was forced to screw his eyes up to avoid being dazzled. Everywhere was full of a cacophony of noise; he could see two more Urkku and these two were shouting excitedly with his two captors, who were still holding an arm each. Much of the heat seemed to be coming from a great red crackling glow in one wall of the room; Nab guessed that this was fire from the description Bibbington had given him and he was both frightened and fascinated by it. Steam began to rise from his bark as it began to dry and he could see the same thing happening to the clothes of the Urkku. They were all looking at him now, eyeing him up and down and turning away to talk to one another before turning back to him. Nab felt both exposed and trapped and he looked around desperately for a way out but there was none; he felt crushed by the weight of the walls around him and the thickness of the air. The woman began to speak. ‘Get on with your di
‘Watch him, Mother, you’ve seen what he did to Jeff,’ said the brother.
‘I know. He’ll be all right with me. Come along, come and have a bite to eat,’ she said, putting her hand gingerly on Nab’s arm, and trying to pull him gently towards the table.
Nab felt from her tone of voice that the woman meant him no harm and he allowed himself to be led. He was then pushed on to a chair and found himself sitting, like the rest of them, at the table. His fear was now begi
‘It’s only a stew, ’ she said. ‘It looks like he’s never seen proper food before, Dad. Look at him. He doesn’t know what to do with it. Well, I can’t understand it, I’m sure. It’s a fu
The woman gave Nab two implements, one in each hand, and once more pointed to the plate and his mouth. He was at a loss as to what to do with the things in his hands so he put them down where they had been before and picked up the only thing that he could recognize in any way. It was a sprout and, being green, was at least similar in colour to the leaves and plants which he was used to eating. He put it in his mouth and was surprised to find it warm but he chewed it and there was no denying that it tasted good. He smiled with satisfaction and was surprised to hear laughter once again. Slowly he picked up all the sprouts and ate them one by one. Then he turned to the mashed potato and began to scoop it up with his fingers. When he had finished he turned to the stew and picked a lump of something brown from the mixture on the plate. Again he placed it in his mouth as he had with the rest and chewed, but this tasted foul and the consistency was unlike anything he’d ever had before. He quickly spat it out to the obvious consternation of the Urkku.
‘He must eat his meat; it’ll do him good,’ said the woman and she Put a lump on a fork and, crooking her arm around the back of his neck, tried to insert the meat into his mouth. Nab clenched his teeth shut and shook his head from side to side in an attempt to escape the pungent greasy smell.
‘No, he won’t have it. Pity, it would have built him up,’ she said.
Just then the other brother, Jeff, came loudly through the door; the sight of him reminded Nab of all the terrible events of that night and he jumped up suddenly from the table and leapt back, coweringinto a corner. His chair went flying and the plate crashed on to the floor.
‘He doesn’t care for you much,’ said the father. ‘What have you done to him?’
‘I paid him back for my scratches – he won’t attack me again,’ the brother said, staring aggressively at Nab.
‘Well, sit down and eat your supper. Here!’ and the woman put a plate in front of him at the table. ‘I’d better take him upstairs and get him to bed. Father, will you phone the police and tell them what's happened. Come on, son, you and me’ll go upstairs and find you some pyjamas.’
Nab got up from his crouching position in the corner by the fire as the woman took his hand and led him towards the door through which Jeff had just come. When she opened it all Nab could see was darkness but suddenly everything was lit up again and he could see another room opposite which was lit only by the red glow of a fire. Lying stretched out in front of the fire he saw, to his utter amazement, a familiar sight. It was the dog, Sam. Nab looked again in disbelief; he was certain that he was not mistaken; he could make out, in the flickering firelight, the golden coat and long bushy tail that he had seen so often making its way across to the wood. The dog suddenly raised its head and looked up. Sam was as surprised to see the boy as Nab had been overjoyed to see him but he quickly overcame his initial shock, and, leaping up, he bounded across the room and down the three stone steps into the hall where the woman was about to lead the boy upstairs. Nab squatted down and stroked the dog whose tail was going furiously from side to side. He put his mouth against the dog’s ear and spoke quietly in the language of the wood.
‘They’ve killed Rufus. You must tell Brock what’s happened and get me away from here. Sam, it’s lovely to see you, but look, you ought not to appear too friendly, we don’t want them to think we’ve met before.’
‘Well, you two seem to get on together,’ the woman interrupted. Go and lie down, Sam, ’ and she pulled Nab to his feet before leading him slowly up the stairs. The boy watched Sam turn around and walk back to the fire. He couldn’t believe his luck and his heart began to beat faster at the glorious prospect of escape and freedom.
When they reached the top of the stairs they turned right and walked down a long narrow corridor, past three doors, and then at the end they turned right again to stand in a little landing with just one door on the left. The woman opened the door and they went into a small room with one window looking out over the farmyard. The walls were white and there was a bed along one side with a little wardrobe at the end. Along the other wall was a small dressing table and kitchen chair. The light came from a bulb with no shade that hung from the ceiling and the only break in the monotony of white was provided by the dark wooden beams that were set in the walls and the occasional picture. The room smelt musty and unused and although Nab had been pleased to escape the stifling atmosphere of the kitchen he found this room chill and damp.