典范英语 9
Sing for your Supper
Nick Warburton
Red Beard
The smell of mutton pies woke Jamie up. His nose twitched before his eyes opened. Jamie’s mother was dead. His father had gone to sea and not come back. He remembered the big round sails as the little galleon moved out of Plymouth harbour, but he’d forgotten what his father looked like. For two years he’d lived on the streets and begged for his food, so he got used to sniffing out pies.
He’d been dozing on a pile of straw beside the horse trough when the man walked by with his tray.
Pies, Jamie thought at once. Fat warm pies.
He didn’t have a coin to his name, but he jumped up and followed the man. He was heading for The Boar’s Head.
Jamie saw him push his tray into the crowd at the door and disappear. ‘After him,’ Jamie said to himself.
He dropped to his knees and crawled through a forest of sturdy legs. Jamie could tell by a sniff that the pie man had stopped by a table in the corner. Keeping an eye open for the innkeeper, he crawled on. The pie man had set two steaming pies on the table. He was counting a handful of coins into his purse.
His customers weren’t ordinary sailors. They wore stiff ruffs and a line of fancy buttons down the front of their tunics. Jamie had seen one of them around Plymouth before – the one with the red curly hair and the pointed beard.
He must be important, Jamie thought. Whenever he goes there’s bustle and talk. But he looks like a man who might share his pie with a hungry boy. Jamie saw him push his tray into the crowd at the door and disappear． ‘After him。’Jamie said to himself．
He dropped to his knees and crawled through a forest of sturdy legs．Jamie could tell by a sniff that the pie man had stopped by a table in the corner．Keeping an eye open for the innkeeper, he crawled on．The pie man had set two steaming pies on the table．He was counting a handful of coins into his purse．
His customers weren’t ordinary sailors．They wore stiff ruffs and a line of fancy
CHAPTER 1
buttons down the front of their tunics．Jamie had seen one of them around Plymouth before--the one with the red curly hair and the pointed beard．
He must be important，Jamie thought. Wherever he goes there’s bustle and talk .But he looks like a man who might share his pie with a hungry boy.
‘No mutton pies after we set sai1,' the man with the red bead was saying to his friend. 'Ship's biscuits and hard cheese and not much else. '
‘But may be some Spanish gold to spend when we get back, eh, Francis?' his friend said.
Francis. So that was his name. And Spanish gold. That meant sea-fights, didn't it? Maybe they were pirates.
'Well, Master Francis,' Jamie said to himself, 'I can't wait for your gold but I'd like to share a bit of your pie.'
And he popped up from behind the table as the redheaded man was about to eat. 'Can I sing you a song, Master Francis?' Jamie asked him. Francis blinked at him with his mouth stil1 open.
'Please, Master,' Jamie said.' A song for a mouthful of pie.' The man laughed and asked him if he had a good voice. 'A wonderful voice, sir. Sweet as the birds, I promise.'
‘If you want to earn the Price of a Pie,' said Francis's friend, 'you can go down to the harbour and help load our Ship.' what ship is that, sir?' Jamie asked.
'The Pelican. And it's being loaded for a voyage to…'
But before he could say another word, Francis held up a hand to stop him. 'Quiet, Wi11,' he said. 'A busy inn is not the place to talk about our plans.'
Will shut his mouth and looked round the noisy room. Jamie looked round, too. And sure enough- or so he thought- there was a thin man at the next table, leaning towards them as if to catch every word. For a second Jamie's eye met his, and the man scowled.
A face to sour the milk, Jamie thought. And full of trouble, too. After two years on the streets, Jamie knew trouble when he saw it.
A shiver of fear ran up his spine. But Francis was speaking to him again. 'Come on then, lad,' he said. 'Sing up.'
Jamie opened his mouth to Sing, but a broad hand took hold of his neck and he felt himself jerked to his feet.
'I've told you before,' boomed a voice. 'You leave my gentlemen in peace.'
It was the innkeeper. He crooked an arm round Jamie's throat and crushed him against his greasy apron.
Jamie kicked out and flailed his arms but it was no use. The innkeeper hauled him backwards to the door and swung him out into the night.
He twisted through the air and landed with a thud in the street. Instead of the smell of mutton, his nose was fi1led with the stench of straw and horse dung. It was the second time he had been thrown out of The Boar's Head that night.
He stood up and shook himself. Across the street he saw the g1ow of candle-light from The Swan. The hum of voices inside tempted him to try his luck there, but he'd been thrown out of The Swan, too. He didn't feel like being dumped in horse muck a fourth time.
'Oh well,' he mumbled as he wiped himself down, 'maybe I should go down to the harbour. If they're loading for a voyage, maybe I can pick up some scraps.'
Soon he heard the lap of water against wooden hulls and ropes slapping in the breeze. He saw masts swaying against the blue-black sky. The ship in front of him was The Pelican. There were others, too, lined up behind it.
The harbour was busy for the time of night. Dark figures with sacks on their shoulders hurried backwards and
forwards. Some dumped their loads on the harbour wall and others tottered up planks onto the ships.
He stopped one of the sailors and asked if he could help.
'Clear off, little 'un,' the sailor growled. You'll only get under our feet.'
Jamie sighed and sat down in the shadow of a wall. His stomach grumbled with hunger in the dark. His head hurt. He watched the men loading their stores. He'd seen ships being loaded many times. Once he'd seen a sack drop and split open, sending cheeses rolling over the cobbles.
A good round cheese would do nicely now, he thought. Maybe someone'll drop a few sacks tonight. Sack after sack he saw carried onto the ships. But no one stumbled. Nothing spilled. At last the men stopped work and went off together, laughing and joking.
For a while Jamie watched the moon climb s1owly in the sky. Then he stood up and stretched.
'Nothing doing here,' he said softly to himself. He was about to wander back into
典范英语singforyoursupper
