Free Archie's Battleflat Adventures: The Harriman Mystery by Rebecca King Page A

Scratching at the window,” Archie replied, nodding toward the
solitary window beside the kitchen doorway.
    Jack
nodded slowly, studying his son. He had no doubt that Archie had
been terrified by witnessing a murder. Anyone would have been
scared witless. It was possible that his imagination was running
wild with him and, given that he was undoubtedly unnerved by the
whole experience, was to be expected for a while. In all
conscience, although they could do without wasting too many
candles, he couldn’t begrudge the boy a bit of light if he got
scared. He worked hard enough for it, after all.
    “ I’ll check it out later, Archie. Meantime, off to bed with
you and try to get some sleep.”
    “ But it will soon be time to get up. There isn’t any point in
going to bed now,” Archie argued. He thought longingly of the warm,
soft sheets currently occupied by his brothers, and wished he
hadn’t been so hasty to leave the bed. Tiredness drew him down, and
he smothered a yawn.
    “ Take today off, Archie. I am sure Mr Tompkins will
understand,” Jack suggested reluctantly. In reality they needed
every penny they could get, but the last thing he wanted was for
anything to happen to Archie because tiredness had made him clumsy.
So many children died working in mills these days. The last thing
Jack wanted was for any of his children to be one of
them.
    Archie
was already thinking along the same lines. The family couldn’t
afford to lose another day’s wages. They had already lost one day
waiting in for the Justice. It would make life very difficult to
lose two days’ worth of money. Still, the draw to climb between the
soft sheets upstairs was so strong that Archie seriously
contemplated sending his apologies to Mr Tompkins for a second day
running. Reluctantly, he shook his head, sending his dad a tired
smile.
    “ I’m fine. I’ll get an early night tonight, that’s all.” He
jumped when his mum appeared beside him. He had been so lost in
thought he hadn’t heard her come downstairs. Rubbing a weary hand
down his face, he pushed to his feet.
    “ I’ll go and feed the chickens,” he muttered around a
yawn.
    “ No you won’t.” Jack’s voice was stern. “You will stay here
and get some breakfast. I’ll do the chickens.” Jack shot his wife a
warning look. “Archie heard someone in the night, and hasn’t had
much sleep. He isn’t to leave until he has had some rest and a good
breakfast inside him.”
    Archie
almost groaned as his mother immediately launched into a flurry of
fussing and fluttering. Ushering him back down into the chair, she
disappeared into the kitchen and began banging plates and
pots.
    Smothering a yawn, Archie listened to the blessedly familiar
sounds of his mum making breakfast and lay his head down on the
table for a brief rest.
    Within
seconds he was sound asleep.
     
    Outside,
Jack paused beside the back door. Studying the ground for a moment,
he couldn’t see anything amiss on the cobbled path that ran from
the back door to the small gate at the back of the house. It was
the window that drew his attention. At the bottom corner, the wood
had been scratched away, leaving bare wood open to the morning air.
Beneath the window was a small pile of the wooden scratchings.
Although there was no sign of the tool that had been used, someone
had definitely tried to break in by trying to get the window out of
the frame. Making a mental note to repair the window at the first
opportunity, Jack donned his cap. His eyes scanned every nook and
cranny of the garden as he headed toward the pig pens to feed the
animals.
    Lost in
thought, he missed the shadowy figure that slipped silently back
into the trees and vanished.
     
    Later
that day, Archie was practically weaving on his feet. He was so
tired, he was beyond yawning and had taken to simply rubbing his
eyes and trying hard not to growl. He had just had probably the
worst day of his entire life, and couldn’t wait to get home so he
could get to