Read Online William The Outlaw by Richmal Crompton - Free Book Online Page A

which he
never offered to the Outlaws, and which never seemed to leave any traces on his face. Whenever any elders were in hearing Georgie would raise his voice and say in a tone of horror, ‘Oh, you naughty boy! What will your mother say?’ and having attracted the elder’s attention and interference he would say sorrowfully, ‘I told him not to. I knew you
wouldn’t like it.’
    Yet such was the power of his white suit, his clean face, his sweet smile, his beautiful manners that Georgie was always referred to by the grown-ups of the neighbourhood as ‘ Such a
dear little boy.’
    The Outlaws bore it as long as they could, and then they held a meeting to decide what could be done about it. It was not on the whole a very successful meeting. William kept muttering,
‘We’ve gotter do something . . . him and his white suits.’
    But not one of the Outlaws, usually so prolific in ideas of every sort, could think of any sort of plan to meet the case.
    ‘’S no good doin’ anythin’ to him ,’ said Ginger bitterly, ‘’f you just touch him he goes an’ tells your mother.’
    ‘Oh, you naughty boys!’ mimicked Henry shrilly. ‘What will your mothers say? I told him not to, I said you wouldn’t like it.’
    As an imitation it was rather good, but the Outlaws were not in a mood to be entertained by imitations of Georgie.
    ‘Oh, shut up!’ said William. ‘’S bad enough hearin’ him sayin’ it.’
    ‘Well, let’s think of something to do ,’ said Ginger again.
    ‘I wish you wun’t keep sayin’ that,’ said William irritably.
    ‘Well, I’ll stop when you’ve thought of something,’ said Ginger.
    ‘Think of somethin’ yourself,’ snapped William.
    As you will gather from this conversation the perfect little gentleman was having a wearing effect upon the Outlaws’ nerves. Henry, with a sudden gleam of inspiration, suggested haunting
the Murdoch homestead by night, robed in a sheet, till the Murdochs should depart in terror to some other part of England, taking the perfect little gentleman with them, but it was decided, after a
brief and acrimonious discussion, that this was not feasible. It was more than likely that the Murdochs would investigate the alleged ghost and discover the concealed Outlaw, and also it might
prove difficult to gain egress from the parental home and ingress into the Murdoch home at the rather awkward hours suitable for ‘haunting’.
    The only other suggestion came from Douglas who had got full marks for Scripture the week before.
    ‘I think Joseph must have been a bit like Georgie,’ he said. ‘I – I s’pose we couldn’t take him right away somewhere and leave him in a pit same as what they
did – an’ take his coat home an’ say a wild animal ate him?’
    The Outlaws considered this alluring suggestion, but feared that it would be impracticable.
    ‘There aren’t any pits or wild animals like that in England in these days,’ said William mournfully.
    The Outlaws sighed, thinking – not for the first time – that the vaunted benefits of civilisation were more than nullified by its hampering elements.
    ‘Well, we aren’t any nearer doin ’ anythin’,’ said Ginger.
    ‘There dun’t seem anythin’ to do,’ said William, whose gloom had been deepened by the thought of the simplicity of Joseph’s brethren’s problem compared with
theirs.
    ‘An’ he’s gettin’ worse an’ worse ,’ groaned Douglas.
    ‘They’re havin’ a garden party next week,’ contributed Henry, ‘an’ we’ll all have to go.’
    ‘An’ watch him in his white suit,’ put in William bitterly.
    ‘Handin’ cakes an’ tellin’ tales,’ put in Ginger to complete the picture.
    ‘What do they want goin’ havin’ garden parties for?’ said William fiercely.
    Henry, who was rather ‘up’ in the Murdoch news owing to the fact that Mrs Murdoch had been to tea with his mother the day before, answered him.
    ‘Well, they’ve got a sort of cousin what’s famous