Tommy didn’t protest, but hung his head as he walked alongside her. They were soon in the alley which led to the back gate. ‘Remember, just like last time, quiet as a mouse,’ Sarah said, and pushed open the gate.

Once inside, Tommy made himself comfortable on the deckchair. ‘My soldiers, I can play with them now,’ he said as if just remembering them, and pulled the tobacco tin from his pocket.

As he played quietly and happily, Sarah found an old broom and swept the floor. She pushed the big pile of dust to a corner, and then arranged some of the newspapers to fashion a bed. The moon was veiled by clouds, so the shed wasn’t as illuminated as it had been the previous night. It’s not too bad, she thought, at least no worse than her mother’s flat.

Half an hour passed, and Sarah strained her eyes in the darkness to see that Tommy had fallen asleep. She carefully took the toy soldiers from his hands and placed them back in the tin, then covered him with the grey blanket. He’d be as snug as a bug in a rug, she thought, grateful for the oversized army jacket George had given them.

She took her own coat off and lay down on the newspaper, then pulled her coat over her like a blanket. She’d sleep better tonight knowing she had money in her pocket to feed Tommy tomorrow.

Chapter 10

‘Wake up, Sarah. Time to go.’

Sarah awoke with a start. She rubbed her eyes and tried to focus. The morning sun was beginning to stream through the small window. She looked at Tommy and was surprised to see him still soundly asleep. Who had spoken to her?

‘Who’s there?’ she whispered.

She stood up and tiptoed to the window, but couldn’t see anyone, though she was sure she’d heard someone speak to her. Tommy began to stir and yawned as he stretched.

‘Tommy, have you been playing tricks on me? Did you tell me to wake up and then pretend to be asleep?’ she asked, keeping her voice light.

She could tell from the confused expression on her brother’s face that he didn’t have an inkling of what she was talking about. Time to go, she thought, recalling the words she’d heard. It was a warning, it had to be. They had to get out of the shed, quick! ‘Come on, Tommy, get up, hurry! We’ve got to go.’

‘All right,’ Tommy said slowly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Sarah was irritated to see he wasn’t rushing himself. ‘Now,’ she said firmly.