Page 32 (1/2)

6

The toas named Coal Not Coaltown or Coalville Just Coal The stuff was everywhere, piled in gritty drifts by the side doors of houses, wafting up from the chi to work We hurried past theht pack

"Quickly now," E Eyes down"

It was a well-established rule that ere to avoid unnecessary eye contact with normals, because looks could lead to conversations, and conversations to questions, and peculiar children found questions posed by normal adults difficult to answer in a way that didn’t invite stillto invite questions, it was a group of bedraggled-looking children traveling alone during warti, sharp-taloned bird of prey perched on one of the girls’ shoulders--but the townspeople hardly seemed to notice us They haunted the laundry lines and pub doorways of Coal’s twisting lanes, drooping like wilted flowers, eyes flicking toward us and away again They had other worries

The train depot was so s there The only covered portion was the ticket counter, a little hut in the middle of an open-air platform Inside the hut was adown his nose

E the clerk awake "Eight tickets to London!" she said "We must be there this very afternoon"

The clerk peered at us through the glass Took off his bifocals and wiped the properly I’ht: our clothes were les We probably stank, too

"So sorry," the clerk said "The train is full"

I looked around Aside fro on benches, the depot was empty

"That’s absurd!" said Emma "Sell us the tickets at once or I shall report you to the rail authority for child discriht’ve handled the clerk with a softer touch, but Emma had no patience for the self-important authority of petty bureaucrats

"If there were any such statute," the clerk replied, his nose rising disdainfully, "it would certainly not apply to you There’s a war on, you know, and s to be hauled about her ave Miss Peregrine a hard look "Which aren’t allowed in any case!"

A train hissed into the station and squealed to a stop The conductor stuck his head out of one of its s and shouted, "Eight-thirty to London! All aboard!" The bench-sleepers in the depot roused thean to shuffle across the platforray suit shoved past us to theHe pushed e, and hurried off toward the train

"You said it was full!" Elass "You can’t do that!"

"That gentleone with you, pestilent little beggars! Go find pockets to pick somewhere else!"

Horace stepped to the ticketand said, "Beggars, by definition, do not carry large sums of money," and then he reached into his coat pocket and slapped a fat wad of bills down on the counter "If it’s first-class tickets you’re selling, then that’s e’ll have!"

The clerk sat up straight, gaping at the pile of aped too, baffled as to where Horace had gotten it Riffling through the bills, the clerk said, "Why, this is enough to buy seats to an entire first-class car!"

"Then give us an entire car!" said Horace "That way you can be sure we’ll pick no one’s pocket"

The clerk turned red and stammered, "Y-yes sir--sorry, sir--and I hope you won’t take ive us the blasted tickets so we can get on the train!"