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 The
rain was pouring down one night when the children splashed their
way up the cobbles and hammered on the door of the refuge. They
shook themselves on the step like wet little dogs, and surged forward
towards the fire, puffing and blowing and sniffing. The English
nurse felt especially sorry for them, for she thought she had never
seen them look so wretched and sad. Yet they lifted their merry,
cheeky faces to her and their dark eyes were still bright. She marvelled
at their courage.
But there was one well-known little figure still missing, and this
was the second night he had not turned up-an undersize shrimp of
a boy who had come regularly for months. “ Where is Abdel-Kader?”
the nurse asked. “He can’t come,” replied one
child in a careless voice. “His rags fell right to pieces,
and he hasn’t a father. He has nothing to wear at all, and
he must stay at home til his mother can save enough to buy a sugar-sack.”
No one seemed to care or seemed surprised, and the evening passed
as usual. But when supper was finished the nurse turned to Hamid,
who always lingered to the last. “Do you know where Abdel-Kader
lives?” she asked. Hamid nodded. “Up at the top of the
town by the prickly pear hedges,” he replied, “but the
path is like a muddy river. You could not go there tonight.”
“I think I could,” said the nurse, “and if you
would like to earn a little money, you can take me there.”
Hamid nodded enthusiastically. He liked Abdel-Kader. He waited at
the bottom of the stairs while the nurse went uostairs to sort out
some old clothes, and while he waited his bright eyes roamed round
the house. He had never been left alone before, and he found it
very interesting. He poked his nose into the room on the left and
found himself in a little kitchen. On one shelf stood a china bowl
of eggs, just low enough for him to help himself. Hamid hesitated.
He could not count, but perhaps the nurse could, and would notice
if he took two. On the other hand, raw eggs sucked through a little
hole in the top are delicious, and Hamid had not tasted one for
a long time. He decided it was worth the risk. If he waited outside
the door, the nurse would never see in the darkness. Even if she
noticed later, she would not be able to prove it was him.
So he took an egg in each hand, nipped out into the street, and
stood waiting in the dark. Soon the nurse appeared with a bundle
and a key, and, what Hamid had not bargained for, a powerful torch.
“Come along,” said the nurse, turning on her torch.
“Walk with me in the light.”
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