Daily Read- Day 11
Chapter 7 The Thin Man
The next morning, Kat shook Zet awake.
“Come on! Mother’s changing the baby.”
He wiped the sleep from his eyes and groaned. “What’s the big rush?”
“The third lunch. Remember? Unless you want to explain where we were last night?”
“Oh. Good point.”
In the kitchen, they quickly set out three clay bowls. Into each they put chickpea salad, left over from the night before. On top of the salad went a thick hunk of bread. On top of the bread they put a handful of sweet, dried apricots.
“Can I help you there?” their mother called.
“No!” Kat answered, quickly tying the bundles in linen.
“Hurry,” Zet whispered, and shoved them into his sack.
Packed and ready to go, they said goodbye to their mother and headed outside.
Despite the early hour, hot sunshine cooked the paving stones. In some streets, laundry hung overhead on lines that attached clear across the sky-from building to building. The laundry cast rectangular shadows on the ground. In their bare feet, they hopped from one dark rectangle to the next, enjoying the coolness of the shaded spots.
Every time they met a person, Zet stopped to describe the men they were looking for. But no one had heard of them. They must have asked two dozen people. And the answer was always the same. Kat wound her braid in her fist, then flung it over her shoulder.
“I can’t believe no one’s seen them! No one!”
In silence, they untied the linen coverings from the neat stack of pottery dishes, bowls and pots. Zet took a stand-up front. Despite Kat’s warning, he still asked everyone who came to browse their wares.
A young woman who’d bought dishes there before stopped to chat with Kat. Zet’s mouth dropped open when he overheard Kat ask about the two men. When the conversation broke up and Kat came out into the sunshine, Zet was grinning to himself.
“What’s that look about?” she demanded.
“Nothing.”
“I’m curious, too, all right? So there.” She stuck out her tongue.
He broke out laughing.
Kat fetched the sack of food. “Come on, jackal-head. Let’s go to Padus’s field. It’s lunch time.”
They closed-up the stall, tying sheets of linen over their wares. Zet picked up the sack of food. Time was short, so they ran most of the way. The clay pots thunked together in the bag, bouncing against his back. It was a good thing Kat had tied the bundles so tightly, or they’d spilled everywhere.
Both gasping and out of breath, they reached the entrance to Padus’s field.
The old woman smiled up at them.
“You’ve come back,” She said.
“How did you know it was us?” Zet said.
At this, her cheeks dimpled. “Still so little trust in my powers of observation, I see!” She patted the ground kindly, like a grandmother welcoming them to her house. Her hands were gnarled, but a fine gold chain circled her wrist.
“Come, sit,” She said. “It’s not that often I have such loyal visitors. Let me enjoy my treat.”
Together the three sat and ate, talking and laughing. The old woman asked them about their stall in the market. She asked about their mother and father, and baby brother. She asked what it was like to be young and have the freedom to run around Thebes with quick legs and healthy, seeing eyes. They talked, eager to entertain her. She listened, rapt, hanging on their every word.
Finally, the time came to go. Kat looked a little sad, and the old woman patted her hand.
“You’ve made me very happy today. Now go. And Zet?”
“Yes?” he said, bowing to her.
“Catch your thieves.”
“I’ll try,” he said.
She nodded, satisfied. “I know you will give it your best.”
After wrapping up their things, Zet and Kat hurried down the road. They needed to get back to their market stall. They couldn’t afford to miss any buyers that might come looking to barter for some clay pots.
They had walked for several minutes, when a tall man burst out of a neighbouring field. Dirt caked his calves. Scars marked his whip-like arms. His legs were long and thin.
Zet watched absently, wondering why the strange man was in such a hurry.
Reading Comprehension
1. Why did they need to make lunch quickly?
2. What were Zet and Kat doing in the story when it says, ‘In their bare feet, they hopped from one dark rectangle to the next, enjoying the coolness of the shaded spots.”
3. What do you think ‘thunked’ means?
4. What does, ‘a fine gold chain circled her wrist’ tell us about the blind beggar?