Free A Bridge to the Stars by Henning Mankell

UN.'
    Joel has only a vague idea of what the UN is. A sort
of place where people give speeches for the rest to listen
to. But he doesn't ask.
    I can go to the library and look them up, he thinks.
Leonardo da Vinci and the UN.
    'Why do you have two radio sets?' he asks, so as to
avoid having to talk about the UN.
    'So that I can listen to two programmes at the same
time,' says Ture. 'Sweden and foreign stations at the same
time.'
    Once again Joel is angry with his dad. Here we have
a boy aged twelve with two radio sets. His dad is over
forty, but he has only one. And that's much older than
the two Ture has.
    'What kind of a radio do you have?' asks Ture.
    'A Luxor,' says Joel.
    Ture sits on the floor, on a cushion. 'The Secret
Society is good,' says Ture. 'But we could do more than
just look for a dog.'
    'But you're going to run away soon,' says Joel. 'I
thought we could find that dog while you're still here.'
    'A Secret Society must create fear,' says Ture. 'We
have to show that we're dangerous.'
    'How?' asks Joel.
    'I can show you tonight,' says Ture.
    In fact Joel had intended staying at home tonight.
He's frightened of falling asleep at his desk if he goes
out every night. But he doesn't say that.
    They agree to meet at midnight, among the goods
wagons. Then Joel has to leave. The stove and potatoes
are waiting for him.
    'Why are you in such a hurry?' asks Ture.
    'That's a secret,' says Joel.
    He's in a bad mood when he goes home. He has too
many lies to keep track of. And it's all his dad's fault. He's
not a captain, he has only one radio set, and he hasn't got
a wife which means that Joel hasn't got a mum.
    Samuel has nothing. Only an axe that he uses to cut
down trees in the forest.
    Even worse, he's never said anything about who
Leonardo da Vinci is, or what they do at the UN.
    And to top it all he comes home with that slut in the
red hat in tow.
    Joel remembers that he has to go to the shop. As he's
nearly home, he has to retrace his steps. That makes him
even angrier.
    I'm going to move in with Jenny, my mum, he thinks.
I don't care what she looks like, I don't care what she
does. Nothing can be worse than living with Samuel.
The only thing he'll take with him is Celestine .
    He'll take that blue stool he got for his birthday to the
railway bridge and hurl it into the river.
    There's a queue in the shop. Svenson smells of strong
drink as usual, fumbles with the goods and has trouble
in working out the bills. Joel waits and waits.
    It will never be his turn. That's his dad's fault as well.
    When Joel gets home he starts the fire in the stove,
then lies down on the kitchen bench while he's waiting
for the potatoes to boil. He falls asleep, and is woken up
by his father shaking him by the shoulder.
    The meal is ready and the table set. Samuel is in an
extremely good mood. He's humming one of his sea
shanties. He keeps smiling at Joel.
    After dinner he gets shaved. That's enough to worry
Joel. His dad only ever gets shaved once a week, on
Saturday afternoons. It's only Wednesday today. Samuel
is humming away non-stop.
    Joel decides he'll have to keep a close eye on his father.
    Can Sara with the red hat really put him in such a
good mood? Or is it something else?
    After dinner Joel takes out his thirteen tin soldiers and
builds a fort out of some books. But he finds it hard to
concentrate because he can hear his dad humming away
in his room all the time.
    In the end he gives his model soldiers a kick and they
all end up under the bed.
    They can stay there until they're buried in dust, he
thinks.
    Then he goes into his father's room. Samuel is lying
on his bed, listening to the radio and wiggling his toes.
    'Hi, Joel,' he says. 'What are you playing with?'
    'I'm not playing,' says Joel. 'I want to know who
Leonardo da Vinci is.'
    'Who?'
    'Leonardo da Vinci.'
    'That's a name I've heard before. Why do you want to
know who he is?'
    'I just do.'
    'Hang on, I'll have to think a bit. Leonardo da
Vinci . . . '
    Joel stands in the