the fairground long enough to know every nut and bolt on every ride, and when the machines broke down he fearlessly scuttled round and underneath these massive structures, as if he was born to it.
The other men employed at Billy Joe’s respected him, and sought his advice whenever it was needed. What Eli didn’t know, they said, wasn’t worth knowing. As a general rule he did not interfere, though on this particular occasion, he could not help but speak out.
‘You’re hellbent on breaking that young ’un,’ he told the foreman, Brian Moult. ‘And he’s never once complained about the heavy tasks you’ve set him. What’s going on?’
The other man bristled. ‘I think you’d best explain what you mean by that.’
Eli was not intimidated. ‘What I mean is that we’ve had plenty o’ young ’uns come and go, and never a worry. So why is it you’ve taken against this particular one?’
‘Don’t talk so much rubbish, man!’ The foreman was clearly ruffled. There were things he didn’t want uncovered, and he knew how once Eli put his mind to something, there was no stopping him. ‘Your brain must be addled. You’re imagining things.’
The old man stood his ground. ‘My brain’s no more addled than yours is,’ he retorted. ‘And I’m not the only one who’s noticed how harsh you are with the lad.’ He glanced across to where Davie was carrying a heavy girder across his shoulders. ‘No man here could have done more than he has.’ His voice stiffened with anger. ‘What the devil have you got against the boy?’
Sighing exaggeratedly, Moult took a moment to look down on the old man. ‘I’ve got nothing against him,’ he replied drily. ‘We all have to pull our weight here, and he’s no different. He’ll do what’s asked of him, or he can take his wages and get the hell out of it. I’ll soon fill his place. There’s allus blokes looking for work.’
He lowered his voice to a more intimate level. ‘Matter o’ fact, old fella, you might do well to remember that.’
Eli was never one to cower and he didn’t cower now. Instead, he squared up to the bigger man. ‘Only a bully would pick on a young lad like that. You ought to be ashamed of yourself!’
Twisted in a cunning grimace, the man’s face bent to his. ‘Young lad, is it?’ he growled. ‘More like an escaped criminal. Where’s he come from, eh, tell me that? Turning up outta nowhere, his arse hanging out of his trousers, thin as a twig and looking like he’d been living out in the wilds. Oh, he works hard enough, I’ll give you that. But who is he, eh? And why does he never talk about himself?’
Eli rose to Davie’s defence. ‘He doesn’t have to “talk about himself”. Who he is and where he comes from is none of your business.’
‘Is that so?’ The big man gave another crafty half-smile. ‘All the same, there’s summat funny about him. He’s far too secretive for my liking … doesn’t mix in with the men and never lets it be known what he’s thinking. I’ll tell you this, matey, whoever he might be, I wouldn’t mind betting he’s been up to no good somewhere along the line. He needs to be watched and kept under, and that’s what I mean to do. So, if you don’t like the way I treat him, you can leave whenever you want.’
Eli enraged him by smiling. ‘Oh yes, you’d like that, wouldn’t you, eh?’ he chuckled. ‘You’d like to see the back of me, so you can carry on with your sly little deals. I know what you’re up to. I’ve had my eye on you for some time.’
Fear rippled over the other man’s face. ‘What the devil are you talking about, you old crow? What little deals?’
Winking, Eli tapped his nose. ‘Never you mind,’ he said. ‘All you need to know is that I’m watching your every move. I’ve said my piece and that’s enough for now.’
‘You’d best watch your step, old fella.’ The foreman was worried; how much did Eli really know? ‘This is a big site.’ His intimation was clear enough. ‘Accidents are bound to happen now and then.’
‘Is that right?’ Eli glanced at the Caterpillar ride; a snaking, iron monster of a thing. ‘Well, there’s your chance,’ he taunted. ‘I mean, I could be spreadeagled underneath the workings, and then …’ He clicked his fingers. ‘One flick of the switch, and I’d be mincemeat.’
Before the other man could respond, Eli called on the young electrician as he strolled by. ‘Isn’t that right, Josh?’ Satisfied that his remarks had been overheard, he registered the occasion in the electrician’s memory. ‘I was just telling the foreman here how easy it would be to shred a man, if he was ever caught underneath the belly o’ one of these rides.’
‘Mebbe somebody who didn’t know what they were doing,’ the electrican replied. ‘But I can’t see you ever being caught out. You’re a canny old devil, Eli. You always make sure you’ve switched off the engines and put all the keys in your pocket.’ That said, he walked on. Like everyone else on-site, he had no wish to stop and pass the time of day with the foreman, because if he did, it was a sure fact he’d find his wages short come Friday.
‘See that?’ Eli’s little ploy had worked as he intended. ‘It’s well-known how extra careful I am when it comes to being safe. I dare say there’d be an enquiry if old Eli was to suddenly get careless.’ He lowered his voice. ‘And once these officials start poking about where they’re not wanted, who knows what else might be uncovered?’
‘Well, I for one would have no worries,’ came the sharp reply. ‘I’ve got nothing to hide.’
All the same, he was wary of Eli. There was no way of knowing how much he knew. But from what he was hinting, the old scoundrel knew something, that was for sure.
‘You’d better watch your back, Eli,’ he warned. ‘There are more ways than one to be rid of vermin.’
With that ominous remark, he walked away, leaving Eli in no doubt but that here was a man who would go to any lengths to suit his own dubious ends.
For the rest of the day, they kept out of each other’s way. But when the day’s work was over, and the men drifted away, Eli made straight for the washroom, where he found Davie at the sink, stripped to the waist and swilling off the grime of the day.
With his mind on other things, Davie didn’t hear him come in, and for a moment Eli stood in the doorway, waiting for Davie to finish washing, yet still scouring the walkways, in case the foreman should happen this way.
He glanced at Davie as he towelled himself, and was amazed to see how the lad had matured these past few months. Cold, hungry and bedraggled, he had arrived one morning, a mere boy of fifteen, with the look of a lost and desperate soul. The skin hung on his back, and his face had the gaunt look of an old man. And there was such pain in his dark eyes; deep-down pain which had still not altogether gone away.
Yet here he was now, his frame muscled and toned by the heavy labour he was made to do. He was capable and confident, and though he kept a discreet distance from them, he was respected by the men who worked alongside him. He was a quiet soul though.
A real loner.
Eli had always thought Davie to be a good-looking lad. At his age, with his thick shock of dark brown hair and the brooding eyes that seemed not to miss a thing, Davie should have been out on the town, or flirting with the girls and planning a future. But there was no sign of it. Moreover, he had made no friends outside of the men he worked with, and when they went off to town, Davie stayed in the caravan, reading, writing and seemingly content in his own company. Eli thought it was an odd, unnatural thing for a boy on the brink of manhood.
But then he reminded himself how he had no way of knowing what had shaped a boy like Davie.
‘Davie?’ Satisfied they were on their own, Eli made his presence known.
Surprised to learn that he wasn’t alone