The Criminal Escapades of Geoffrey Larkin Page A

had blown his whistle which was a signal to stop work, telling the class to put away their tools and whatever project they were working on, when the sudden appearance of the principal’s secretary, Miss. Weatherhall, entering the workshop stopped the buzz of conversation amongst the boys.
    Miss. Weatherhall never left her office and it had never been known for her to venture into the workshops. Derek Bolton’s heart missed a beat as he saw her in deep conversation with Ashness. ‘This was it! They had definitely been caught. They had spilled the beans and he was going to be dragged up before the principal, Tattersall, and then given over to the police; he knew it!’
    â€˜Carry on putting your tools and work away boys!’ shouted Ashness as all the class had stopped and were curiously looking at Miss. Weatherhall. It was the first time that Whiplash had called the boys, ‘Boys’ without either an insult or a name before or after it. The bell rang; it was three o’clock. ‘Class dismissed!’ shouted Ashness.
    â€˜Bolton, you stay behind.’ The work shop quickly emptied of lads followed by Miss. Weatherhall, leaving Derek standing at his bench, supporting himself by his hands as his legs had suddenly gone very weak and felt as if they had turned to jelly. Ashness was sorting out some timber for the next class.
    He’s enjoying this,
thought Derek,
the bastard! He’s making me sweat.
Ashness finished stacking his lengths of wood and turned to Bolton, still standing by his work bench.
    â€˜Go and find Larkin, Bolton, tell him the principal wants to see him in his office. If he is too sick to go to the principal, go and tell the matron that he’s ill. Have you got that Bolton? Oh! And tell your brother to come and see me. If he’s too ill, tell the matron about him as well!’
    As the teacher watched Derek Bolton scuttle off, he could not help but feel a little sympathy for the boy Larkin; there was probably nothing wrong with him or the older Bolton boy, they were just skiving a lesson. Still, the bad news the lad was about to hear was, by far, much worse than a few hours detention.
    As Derek left the workshop, he did not know what to think, it was obviously very serious to bring Miss. Weatherhall out of her office. First he would try the playground, but he couldn’t hurry as his ribs were really sore after the beating from Higgins and Norton. Still, it had been worth it to see Higgins having his nose rubbed in the urinals by Sutton; it was a good job for him the big lad had got involved when he did.
    It was a tremendous relief when he saw his brother and Geoff Larkin at the far end of the playground. They were both smiling broadly as they came towards him so things must have gone OK, he thought.
    The smiles left their faces as they got closer to Derek and saw the black and puffy eye that was forming and the scratches on his forehead. They quickly exchanged stories, Geoff omitting to say about the condition in which he had returned Mr. Shelly’s clothes, but what Geoff had done was to remove the bulb in the changing room so it would be dark when Slipper Shelly got changed and left the school.
    With a little bit of luck he would be back in his lodgings before he saw the condition of the garments he had travelled in from the school. He had decided to dump the odd shoe; Shelly would have to go to his digs in his trainers. What was the use of only one shoe anyway?
    John Bolton went to see Whiplash Ashness, getting a warning about missing any future lessons, feeling he had got off quite lightly. He liked woodwork; some off his efforts, especially his carvings, had been put on display at the school open day. Ashness had received some favourable comments from several of the governors, which he knew would please his uncle. The teacher also felt there was some hope for this boy, Bolton, as long as he kept clear and didn’t mix with the rest of the hooligans in