An Irregular Reading Group

"We have received a report of stolen personal property …"

The door shut out the rest of the announcement. Sighing, I pushed the book cart into the Room, then stopped short. Five grubby children were huddled against the big table, trailing their dirty fingers beneath words on a cardboard sheet. An older looking boy stood at the head, haltingly reading aloud, "Thieves … at … work."

"That's us, innit Wiggins?" the smallest boy piped up.

Wiggins rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Alf. That's us."

Alf contemplated the picture on the card. "Don't look like us. Looks like some spook or shadow."

The other urchins laughed, then caught sight of me. Ten eyes, pseudo innocent to outright defiant, raked me.

I gave them the 'vexed librarian' voice. "You took our warning signs!"

The others wriggled but Wiggins grinned. "Well, it don't 'elp if they're on to us, do it?"

"'Does it'." I corrected. "Doesn't Mr. Holmes disapprove of stealing?"

Wiggins shrugged. "'E pays us tolerable, but not often. So we nick to buy eats."

"Do you 'nick' for Mr. Holmes?"

"On occasion. Mostly we lurk."

"Lurk?"

"'Ang about an' listen for 'im," Wiggins explained with exasperation. "That's our main job. Nobody notices us cause we're not important."

There was some hurt deep in his voice. "Who says you're not important?"

"Well we're not. Our mums send us out to fend for ourselves. Find work – if there is work – or beg or steal." He shrugged. "Too many mouths. Not enough food. Some of us … well, the street's better than living at home."

I could see tears in their cautious, feral eyes. "Do you do other things for Mr. Holmes?"

Wiggins shrugged. "Get cabs or run errands for 'im. Sometimes we trail blokes and 'ope they don't see us. The Family men'll twist your guts out if they catch you."

"Family men?" Probably "god-fathers". "Professor Moriarty's?"

"Or others. The Professor's was worst cause you never knew who 'e'd bought. Could be the beggar at the corner. Could be your best mate."

"'E knew everyfing about everyone," Alfie piped up. "Just like Mr. 'Olmes does – only 'e 'as us to find out for 'im."

"Are you 'lurking' here for Mr. Holmes? Or 'nicking'?"

Wiggins scuffed one dirty foot over the other. "We was havin' a readin' class. Sorry we're in yer way." He motioned the others to follow him outside.

I stopped them. "Please stay. You're welcome here."

They gaped at me. "Really?"

"Really. The Room needs readers. Besides, I'd like your opinion of some books you're in."

The children goggled. "We're in BOOKS?"

I nodded. "You're in books." I picked one off the cart and handed it to Wiggins. "See?"

He slowly read the title aloud. "Wiggins & Company." He flipped through the pages. "This guy wrote poems about us!"

The other urchins crowded around him, craning their necks.

"Cor' Blimey!" they cried out, awed. "Read some of em, Wiggs!"

"Look at this one." I held out The Irregulars … in the service of Sherlock Holmes. "I warn you, it's scary."

"Huh! You're soft." Wiggins scoffed. He opened the book and gasped. "Pictures – just like us!"

"It's called a 'graphic novel' – a story told with pictures and words. Doctor Doyle would probably like them. He wrote scary tales. I admire the artwork, but ..."

Wiggins awkwardly patted my arm. "It's all right, Miss. Each to 'is or 'er taste."

"Thank-you." I smiled back. "Mr. Holmes is one of the few 'real book' heroes in graphic novels."

"Wow!" The group snatched the graphic novels off the shelves. I heard "oohs", "ahhs", and "Look at that!" "There 'e is!"

Wiggins looked up at me with proud eyes. "I'm ever so glad Mr. 'Olmes isn't forgotten."

"Or us!" piped up Alfie, his face beaming.

"He won't be – and you won't be." I plucked two books from the 'new books' shelf. "Here's a series by Anthony Read called The Baker Street Boys."

"Cor!" said Wiggins. "Does it ever end?"

"Do you want it to?"

"Oh no! But we should write the books about us." Determination shone in his face. "And I'll do it, once we learn to read."

Books cited:

Ruyle, John : Wiggins & Company : irregular verse. -- Berkeley : Pequod Press, 1999

Read, Anthony : The Baker Street Boys

Dicks, Terrance : The Baker Street Irregulars in the Case of the Blackmail Boys. 1979

Dicks, Terrance : The Baker Street Irregulars in the Case of the Missing Masterpiece.

same for Dicks, Terrance: ... crooked kids; ...ghost grabbers ; ... cop catchers; ... cinema swindle

The Irregulars -- in the service of Sherlock Holmes / written by Steven-Elliot Altman & Michael Reeves; illus. by Bong Dazo. -- Milwaulke, OR : Dark Horse Comics, 2005

An old favourite of mine:

Newman, Robert - The Case of the Baker Street Irregular : a Sherlock Holmes story. 1978

I searched the Toronto Public Library's website catalogue under "Baker Street Irregulars" under title keyword for Special Collections. [The Arthur Conan Doyle Room is a special collection. If didn't strip the URL's ...! There are quite a lot of books. Many are about the organization based in New York. Many are novels about Wiggins & Co. Good luck searching!