to strangers Mr Seamus leaned closer for a better look at him It was his experience that blind children made especially successful beggars And where are your parents he asked I don’t have parents the boy answered By now Peter’s hunger was getting the best of him and so he quickly reached a hand behind his back and stole an apple from the fruit cart Mr Seamus glimpsed this action out of the corner of one eye and it nearly took his breath away The boy had stolen the apple not from the top of the stack but from somewhere deep in the middle leaving the outside completely untouched For an ordinary person such a feat would be impossible but for this filthy child it was second nature Mr Seamus knew at once that he was standing before a very gifted thief The man leaned closer eyeing the boy’s delicate fingers Well Pete he said in his sweetest voice My name’s Mr Seamus and I’m ruddy glad we met You see I’m a great important businessman but I’ve got no son to share my riches with Mr Seamus took the apple from Peter’s small hands biting into it as he spoke How would you like he bit again to become my business partner You could live with me in my mansion eat my food and play with my dog Killer What kind of dog is it Peter asked hoping very much it was big enough for him to ride It’s a Siamese Mr Seamus said after thinking a moment Are Siamese big The biggest I suppose he could swallow you whole if he wanted Mr Seamus tossed the apple core into his mouth and swallowed it whole Now what do you say boy There was no mansion There were no riches servants or feasts Killer was real enough but he was missing a leg and quite old and like most old things he hated children Instead of giving Peter rides he spent most of his time limping growling and lapping the drip off his disgusting snout Mr Seamus gave up beggarmongering and never looked back He sold off his other orphans and devoted himself entirely to Peter’s education in thievery For the first year he locked all the boy’s meals inside an old sea chest If Peter wanted to eat he had to pick the lock with his bare fingers This not only taught him valuable burgling skills but also saved Mr Seamus a great deal in expenses The boy went hungry for over two weeks before getting a first meal in his new home When he did finally manage to unlock the chest by stumbling across the McNeery Twist maneuver the scraps were long spoiled But eventually he grew more adept at picking locks until at last he had gone through every one in his master’s collection
Mr Seamus also trained Peter in the fine art of sneakery how to creep over floorboards rooftops and even gravel so as not to make a single sound The boy proved a fast learner and soon mastered the gamut of thieving crafts from window-cutting to advanced rope-work By the age of ten Peter Nimble had become the greatest thief the town had ever seen But of course no one actually saw him they only saw the open safes and empty jewelry boxes that he left behind Every night Mr Seamus sent Peter into the town to steal And every sunrise Peter returned to Mr Seamus with a burgle-sack full of loot Worm which is what the man had taken to calling him you done ruddy well Now get out of my sight With that he would lock the boy inside the cellar leaving Killer to stand guard Peter didn’t actually mind the cellar all that much Being blind he didn’t care about the lack of light and sitting down there was far better than looting honest people’s houses Whatever wrongs he may have committed and stealing things is wrong Peter was still a good child who wanted nothing to do with burgling Every morning as he curled up to sleep on the damp cellar floor he would pretend that he could sneak past Killer break into Mr Seamus’s great treasure room and return all of the stolen goods to their rightful owners He would imagine thankful townsfolk rescuing him from cruel Mr Seamus and inviting him to live forever in a big warm house full of food and singing and other joyous children In short he would dream of being happy But this was only a dream and every sunset he would wake once again to the shouts of Mr Seamus and be kicked back outside for another evening of pilfering the possessions of honest citizens And so it went for Peter Nimble He was miserable mistreated and forced to commit misdemeanors day after day season after season year after year until one very special very rainy afternoon when he met a stranger who would change his life forever
on top of his nightly thievery Peter also had household chores Every second Tuesday he was sent out by Mr Seamus to fetch steal food from the market This particular second-Tuesday was no exception Get up worm Mr Seamus hollered as he clumped down the cellar stairs shortly after dawn It’s grocery day I don’t feed you just to loll around here all morning Peter had spent the night burgling and had just gotten to bed an hour before You don’t feed me anyway he muttered in what can only be called an act of sleepy stupidity The next moment he felt a big meaty fist grab hold of his hair and yank him to his feet Don’t forget who you’re talkin to worm Mr Seamus said dragging Peter’s scrawny frame upstairs and through the main house Just for that it’s a double-shift You’ll bring me food and money and a chew toy for Killer The dog licked his chops appreciatively as they passed Yes sir Forgive me Peter said with genuine remorse He knew better than to talk back but words as you know sometimes have a way of slipping out Save your sorries for the hangman Mr Seamus shoved the boy into the street and threw his burgle-sack after him That had better be full when I see you again Or else he said slamming the door Peter picked himself up and slung his bag over one shoulder Hearing fat raindrops percolating in the clouds high above he sighed Rain presents a unique problem for those in Peter’s line of work You see when it
rains rich people seldom come out for fear of melting If they do venture out of doors they are usually accompanied by umbrella-bearing servants who keep a close watch for pickpockets There is nothing a town loves to do more than hang pickpockets and any criminal hoping to steal a wallet under such circumstances is putting himself at great risk It was for this reason that Peter had hardly managed to nick a single thing over the course of this unpleasant rainy afternoon He was rounding a corner with his shirt full of broccoli and kippers thinking about how much trouble he would be in if he didn’t bring any money back for Mr Seamus when he happened upon a crowd of people gathered by the dock This was a great stroke of luck as a rule pickpockets thrive on tightly packed crowds Even better all of the umbrella-bearing servants were just as distracted as their masters The boy ditched his groceries and set to work at once He carefully picked his way through the crush lifting billfolds from eager onlookers and trying to figure out what was causing such a commotion Do you tire of looking like a friar a voice boomed from somewhere beyond the crowd Is your scalp as bare as an Alp Not anymore This fine turban made of bearskin from the dark South Seas will restore your luscious locks overnight The voice belonged to a man standing somewhere to Peter’s left Hats for every head Whatever your need look no further His voice was confident and smooth his words like a spell holding the crowd captive It might be wise to pause a moment and explain the many details of this scene that were lost to Peter Nimble He was unable to see the leaning tower of hats perched atop the man’s head He was also unable to study the speaker’s sharp jaw crooked red nose and long owlish eyebrows The only thing Peter knew was that this man had provided a perfect opportunity for a young pickpocket to practice his art on a hapless crowd Peter continued wallet shopping slipping his fingers into pockets and purses with ease He had to suppress a grin the people were so focused on the Haberdasher’s patter that none of them felt a thing The man was presently sharing an account of where he found his wondrous wares He claimed he had journeyed beyond the borders of the map to the great uncharted waters of the world There he discovered hats made from tapestries toadstools and dragon scales All of which I offer today at a special discount he exclaimed Peter considered the man’s words as he loaded his burgle-sack The boy found himself half wishing such magical places really did exist they would certainly be more appealing than his port town But of course they weren’t real he reminded himself it was all just fairy-tale nonsense Nonsense you say the Haberdasher’s voice broke in Perhaps I can convince you otherwise Peter stopped mid-nick It almost sounded as though the man had just addressed him directly But of course lad the voice said
