After every boy was woken, Wendy sat them down as Dodger and Charlie prepared their speech. " So wot's up then " one of the boys shouted after several minutes of silence. Dodger cleared his throat " We are goin' to find Fagy by travelling to another town ". " another town?" James asked confused " Yes we believe that the thieves think that we will only search for Fagin here in London instead of someplace else so they probably think that Fagin will be missing forever." Wendy concluded " Ok... so whose goin' " James asked. " Wendy Charlie an' me " Dodger said " An' we will leave Will in charge while we are gone ". Will a tall gangly boy stood up " When will ya be back". Wendy, Dodger and Charlie glanced nervously at each other " We ain't sure, but look after the boys until we return" Will nodded " We leave in the morning " Wendy announced.
The boys nodded and seeing that the talk was over got up and shuffled back to bed. The rest of the night was spent packing three bags full of items the trio thought they might need, like bread, money, and trinkets that they could pawn off for money as well as a knife for each of them that would be used in case of protection. Finally at one in the morning they finished packing and double checking everything. Dodger suggested they go to bed for a quick nap and leave around six, that left them five hours of sleep which was plenty for all of them.
" Hey hey Wendy wake up now ya 'ear " Wendy groaned and pushed Dodger's face away. She threw the blanket off and sluggishly closed the curtain and got dressed. Ten minutes later they were outside and squinting into the bright orange sun. " I don't think I've eva been up this early Dodge wot 'bout ya " Charlie said rubbing his eyes. "nah mate me neither" " I used to... when mother and father were still around and I went to school " Wendy said softly " Well we should get started " Dodger said cheerfully interrupting the awkward silence. "yeah I suppose we should" Wendy said plastering on a smile
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Two hours later they were on the main road, trudging mindlessly " My feet hurt Dodge" Charlie complained " Well so do mine but I ain't whining 'bout it , I've traveled this road before an' I can do it agin" " When did you travel the road? " Wendy asked " When I left me old man we lived in a different town ya see" Wendy nodded " Luckily though the town I lived in is close ta here and that's where we are headin' " " But what if we run into your dad " Wendy asked worried " nah my dad is probably dead got too drunk an' died or was murdered or somethin' " " I hope you're right..." Wendy said. " I'm always right I'm the Dodger for God's sake an' the Dodger don't never make mistakes" he said grinning broadly. " At least that's what he says Everybody else I'm not so sure " Charlie said laughing. Wendy blushed and giggled, and Charlie smiled. " alrigh' lets go then " Dodger said snapping Wendy out of a daydream she would have rather stayed in.
30 minutes later they reached a small town with a few houses sprawled on the hills and windmills here and there. " Are we here?" Wendy asked
" Nah the town where we is headin' is bigger than this but smaller than London, but maybe we could eat 'ere there must be pies on the window sill or somethin' " " Okay!" Charlie and Wendy said. Dodger quickly ran around the little houses scoping them out for an open window but came back empty handed " So what do we do now, I'm hungry" Charlie said " We pick a lock " Dodger said grinning " " pick a lock are ya crazy in broad daylight when everyone's awake they'd catch all of us even ya Dodge". Wendy who had been doing some thinking of her own while the two boys had been arguing spoke up. " We create a scheme" Dodger and Charlie looked at each other " a scheme?" they asked her bewildered " Haven't you guys ever created a scheme while you were out there stealing... never mind, anyways One of these houses has chickens in the front so here's my plan; Charlie you let one of the chickens out and yell " Chicken loose"! until the person who lives in that house comes out and then you disappear. Then I run after the chicken some to get the person farther out of the house. Then Dodger you run into the house a steal some food then come back out that way the person won't suspect a thing" " Wait don't we 'ave bread an' money ?" Charlie asked " yeah but we are in the middle of nowhere see so where would we spend the money? An' secondly I forgot ta tell ya guys the bread is rubbish an' moldy " "DODGER"! Wendy and Charlie groaned " sorry mates at least we 'ave Wendy's wonderful plan!" He said grinning his usual cocky grin.
Wendy nodded " come on let's hurry before people start figuring out what we are really up to." " Wot people "? Dodger said busting up with laughter " ya know wot she means Dodge, I'll do me part Wendy... Darling " Charlie said smiling shyly " Thank you Master Bates"Wendy said curtsying like a proper lady. Charlie ran up to the gate fiddled with the lock. Managing to get in he ran around like a mad man and got all of the chickens squawking and one of them out of the pen. Then disappeared around the corner just as a rather large lady burst through the front door. " Not agin chickens don't do this ta ya poor ol' mum"! she cried chasing after the escaped chicken. Dodger slipped by and went into the house, where he found the kitchen in a corner. Dodger wasted no time stuffing his pockets with bread rolls and milk bottles. He than retreated out the back way. Wendy on the other hand led the lady far from her house where she found the chicken strutting around. " Ma'm here I found your chicken for you" Wendy said grabbing hold of the chicken " Thanks ya lots child without ya 'e would've gotten away my Bert " She said cuddling the chicken like a dog " Glad to be of help" Wendy smiled. She turned and saw Dodger waving at her to come over " Well I best be going " She said and skipped behind the house making it look like she vanished.
" What did you get Dodge" Wendy asked " bread an' wot not" He replied taking the bread and milk bottles out of his pockets " Cor!" Charlie said grabbing the bread and a bottle gulping down the milk with big thirsty swigs. Wendy ate slowly savoring the taste of the milk and bread since she didn't know when she would next ate the bread but didn't drink that much milk " Milk ain't me favorite" He had stated " I'll wait till we reach the town where I can git some gin ta better suit me taste "
After they finished, They kept to the main road Wendy skipping several steps ahead of the boys as they kept to walking. During this time Dodger chose to ask Charlie a question that had been bugging him " 'ey Charlie mate can I ask ya somethin' " Charlie nodded " Sure wot is it Dodge " Dodger cracked his knuckles before saying in a rushed manner " Do ya like Wendy!" Charlie blushed deep scarlet and looked at his feet " Why would ya fink tha' Dodge" " Just the things ya say and the way ya blush when your around Wendy " Charlie went pale " I I blushed?". Dodger laughed " Ya sure did if I didn't know what faces were I woulda thought that it were a tomato mate, Why don't ya ask 'er mate " Charlie grew confused " Ask 'er what?" " Ya know wot I mean Charlie " " Ya mean ask 'er if she wants ta be me girl like Bill did with Nancy all those years ago" Dodger's face hardened but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes " Yea but treat 'er right " " Promise cross me heart on me da's dead body tha' is if I decided ta ask 'er " The silence was interrupted by Wendy shouting back at them " hey you guys come on at this rate we will be as old as Fagin by the time we get to him" Dodger shook his head " Just like Nance Charlie just like 'er " then ran to catch up ,Charlie following .
They walked for the remainder of the week which was four days to be precise they spent the nights sleeping on the grass and eating one bread for each of them every day until they reached the town thirsty and ravished but high in spirits as they found a market place suitable for thieving. Wendy proved to learn fast in a time of need and stole 5 apples and a loaf of bread while Dodger and Charlie stole wallets for more money. After an hour of this they found an alleyway and sat down dividing the apples and bread among them. Feeling full they started for a plan. When a hand grabbed hold of Dodger's collar " 'ey 'o do ya fink ya are grabbin' a gentleman like tha' " Dodger said fiercely " memba me boy" a deep voice hissed in his ear. Dodger grew pale " Pa..." " Say goodbye ta yer little friends " The strange man hissed as he disappeared around the corner with a struggling Dodge screaming " 'elp me Wendy Charlie somebody 'elp me "