6 The Mountford Gang Get Clever - Audio Drama By S D Hudson

Chloe, Jack, Cathy, Sam, Bradley and Elliot all live on the outskirts of an English town called Mountford West. It is the 1980s and life for the Mountford Gang is simple and fun. Until they discover a secret and are thrown into a world of mystery and intrigue. This audio drama was written as a cosy, mysterious, nostalgic trip to simpler times.

In this episode, Mrs Bantree offers a helping hand.

All rights reserved. Individual use only. Copyright Neworld Books Ltd.
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Written by S D HUDSON
Performed by Stephanie Poppins
Music by Jean-Miles Carter
Published by Neworld Books

Transcript

Welcome to sleep stories with Steph your go-to podcast. That offers you a calm and relaxing transition. Into a great night's sleep. It is time to relax and fully let go. There is nothing you need to be doing now. And know where you need to go. Close your eyes. And feel yourself sink into the support beneath you. And let all the worries of the day go. Drift away. This is your time. And your space. Take a deep breath in through your nose. And let it out with a long sigh. That's it! There is nothing you need to be doing now. And know where you need to go. Happy listening. Chapter 6 We were all in the shed the following morning, All six of us. And the atmosphere was pretty good. Even good actually. We didn't tell Bradley about much of what we'd seen in the big house. We were cautious about that, But we made sure to keep him in the loop with talk of a rich family turned poor who wanted help. We had to keep it elusive, You know. We didn't want him running to his parents with stories of an old butler who couldn't cope with a little boy who wasn't his. There was this feeling that comes when a group of people have done something that matters. We all felt proud and warm and purposeful like. We sat down at the table in the middle, Gathering together any ideas and any resources that we could possibly muster up to help out Mr Ocey and the little boy in need. These were temporary measures, Of course. We had bigger plans for him than that. But I'll get to that later. Anyway. Sam had bought some biscuits. Kathy was making a list of what food we could realistically gather without arousing suspicion. Jack had already eaten some of his contribution which was a bag of apples on the way over but he said he was sorry about it and offered to get some more. We had a plan now, We had a purpose and a little boy called William who was sitting on the arm of a chair in a beautiful forgotten room just the way we pictured him. We knew we were possibly the best thing to happen to him in a very long time and it was our job to make sure things got sorted. And of course we owed the old man that stood by him, Mr. Ocey. He needed just as much help as William himself, We reckoned. But as we were sitting there all full of ourselves, Suddenly Bradley piped up. It was only a matter of time, And we all knew whatever he had to say would probably be a problem. We looked at him with fear in our eyes. We'd said he could be part of things, But we were all beginning to regret that. And sure enough, He came out with. . . I've been thinking. He was picking at the hem of his jacket. It's just. . . Isn't this the sort of thing we should tell a grown-up about? " he said. He looked like he knew he was about to be unpopular and he decided to be unpopular anyway. A proper grown-up, I mean. You know, Like my parents. It was very quiet in the shed at that moment. But I was prepared. And no one was really surprised, Least of all his brother Elliot. Better the devil you know than the devil you don't, I thought. And now it's time for me to step up. I knew we had to keep Bradley close, Otherwise things would have been so much harder for us. But I had to find a way to keep him close and at arm's length at the same time. We talked about this, Bradley, " I said. We agreed. I know, " said Bradley, But a child alone in a house, And they've got no money, I just think someone should know, Someone official. He's not alone, He's just there poor. I haven't got much, That's all. I lied. They're going through hard times, You know. The problem was this, And I thought about it through very carefully the night before, With me notebook open and the torch under the duvet. William would be taken the moment an official adult became involved. He'd be taken from the house he loved by people who didn't know him to somewhere that was sanctioned and entirely wrong for him. Mr. Ocey'd have no claim on him, Because he wasn't family. Mr Osi was not a guardian in any legal sense. He was a butler with no income and a child who would ask him not to leave. And I suppose really That was not gonna cut it. We'd have to tell Mrs Bantry. I'd already decided that. And I told the others before we met up with Bradley. Mrs Bantry was a grown-up and I knew she'd know what to do. In fact, I'd already had a word with her that morning. I'd not told anyone about that yet. And she agreed she'd come and help. That was sufficient enough for me. Bradley didn't need to know anything about that. But, Of course, We'd have to keep him out of the way for the day, Otherwise he'd know everything. Oh, By the way, Bradley. . . I said, Nodding to the others. They knew what this nod meant. This nod meant I was about to think up a plan. I always did this when I had to think on me feet. There was that time Mr Paulson down the road was about to tell us off for taking some apples off his tree. I use this knot then. Then there was that bonfire night time when we'd taken our guy around to put it on top of the stack of wood. Only there was another guy on top of there and we wanted ours more so we dragged that one off and put it to the side. That didn't go down very well. I'll use my knob then, So we can make a quick getaway. My nod always came in handy at times like this. You haven't been through initiation yet, Bradley, I said. Initiation Yeah, We've all had to go through it, Haven't we? I looked around at everyone and they nodded enthusiastically. They seen me at work before. If you want to be in the Mountford gang, You've got to go through initiation. Everyone has to prove they can survive an hour in the clubhouse alone. It's tradition. And seeing as you're the last in the gang, You've still got to go through it, Haven't you? Otherwise it isn't fair. The Clubhouse. But God's sake, Bradley, In here! The garage, The bike shed, Whatever you want to call it. This is our clubhouse. Jack looked at Elliot, Elliot looked at Sam, Sam had already looked at Kathy and Kathy looked back at me. The whole conversation happened in about a second and a half without a single word. The way it does when you've been a gang long enough. Right, I continued, Here's what's going to happen. All the while I was planning on how long we needed to get to see Mrs Bantry, Get her to come to the big house, Get Mr Ocey to talk to her, Get her to talk to William, There were so many things that needed to happen in between. You've got to make yourself at home here, " I said to Bradley, Gesturing to the table. You've got to make a list of what you think our Mount for Gang rule should be. That will take him ages I reckon. Bradley wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. Then you can have some lunch and we'll be back. I grabbed the biscuits that Sam had bought and there was a little bottle of water on the side. This is like an endurance test. You've got to see how long your brain can stand it. How long you can stand being alone? How strong your mind is. You are strong, Bradley, Aren't you? I winked at Elliot. Elliot said you were. I am, Right? Well that's good then. Oh, And you've got to be in disguise just in case anyone wonders what you're doing. Disguise Kathy stepped forward at this with a big smile on her face. You have to camouflage up! Dug deep into her bag and got out some green and grey face paints. Bradley was now looking very worried, So that was when Sam stepped in. And if you see anything of major interest you've got a call on this. He handed Bradley a walkie talkie. Little did Bradley know, He'd taken the battery out of his end, So we didn't have to hear Bradley whining while we were out on important business. And what about if I need to wee? Everyone froze. We hadn't thought of this. There's a bucket in the corner, Said Jack, Giving Elliot a secret smile. He'd been wanting Elliot to get his own back on his brother for ages, And this was the perfect opportunity. Bradley, Meanwhile, Sat there with his arms folded as though he was mulling over how much he wanted to be part of our gang anyway. It's only for today, Oppressed. But this is illegal. Sid Bradley We're eleven, Said his brother Elliot. Most things we do are probably illegal. And he wasn't wrong. Bradley knew he wasn't wrong. He sat back down again. I was glad. We needed Bradley to be in the gang so we could keep an eye on him. I didn't really care what Bradley thought he was going to get out of it. And seeing him resigned as to what he had to do to be a member. We left him to it and sighed with relief the minute we locked the clubhouse door. This was a great way to test Bradley's nose, I thought. If he was up to the stands we set for ourselves, He would keep his mouth shut and get on with it and he'd be in. But if he didn't, He'd be out. And, Of course, This was a great excuse to make sure we could get him out if he gave us any problems. We all went round to Mrs Bantry's at half past ten. It was a fine morning, Cool and clear, And the lane smelled of autumn. I knew we would be back at school soon and I wasn't particularly looking forward to it because this was a great adventure and I liked it when we were all together. But autumn was coming, So it was up to us to make the most of the summer holidays as we could. And what better than this adventure? As we walked, Sam skipped ahead. He was the youngest of us and I must admit I quite liked seeing him skip. It gave me a sense of energy. And this was exciting! We were about to save an helpless boy! We would be heroes! Then before we knew it, We were at Mrs Bantry's house. She was already ready, She had a good coat on, The green wool one she kept for special occasions, And she was carrying a large basket covered with a checked cloth. It smelt lovely. Good morning, " I said. I see you're well prepared. Thank you for helping us out. It's the least I could do, Dear. She said, Giving me one of her lovely smiles. She didn't know the whole story yet. I hadn't had a chance to tell her. I'd only just had a quick word that morning. But she was happy to come and help. And that was something. So down the lane we all walked. Pass the green triangle. Then round the back through the passage into the other line where the front of the big house was. Now Mrs Bantry walked with a stick. But she used it like a conductor's baton, Gesturing with it as she talked, Pointing things out as we walked along the way. Obviously, We knew all the things to say because we'd walked down there a hundred times before, But that didn't matter. It was nice being with an adult. We kind of felt even more important than we usually did. It wasn't long before Mr. Ocey came to the door. We knocked three times. We told him it would be three times, So he knew the code. When he stood in the doorway he looked at Mrs Bantry and Mrs Bantry looked at him. And something happened. It was the look of two people that hadn't seen each other in a very long time. Kofi said Mrs Bantry. Her voice sounded different then, Quieter. All great. He said, Back. Walking through the door she didn't look back. So we followed her into the kitchen, Where William sat alone. Elliot walked right up to him and sat next to him to teach him a complicated clapping game. Sam, Meanwhile, Took a careful stock of the larder situation and Kathy kept Jack from eating the contents of Mrs Bantry's basket. Mrs Bantry, Meanwhile, Sat across the table from Mr Osey and they talked away. I could not believe it. They'd known each other, It turned out, From a long time ago. Before Mr Ocey had come to work for the Aldertons. They'd been young and grown up in the same town. They'd known each other the way people know each other when they're young as mates. They played out together and had shared times. I couldn't believe it! Then Mr. O. C. Started sharing all the information about what had happened to him. When the Aldertons died, He said, He saw it in the paper. It was a shipping accident. And he didn't know where to turn. He had no idea Margaret, Mrs Boundary to us, Was living round the corner. Mrs Bantry said she saw the story too and she couldn't believe it either. William, Meanwhile, Seemed very happy now that we were all there with him. And I have to say, What with the news about Mr. Ocey and Mrs. Bantry knowing each other. . . And the fact that we were all sitting together. Here to fix things for good. I was feeling very optimistic. Now all we needed to do was get Mrs Bantry to help Mr Rosie and make things right again. Before the officials found out. And it was all too late.