Awakening: The World Dreamt and Imagined by Otto Mäkilä Page #2

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a dozen times at least.

It's on my bookshelf next to the Bible.

I've never met an educated lady before.

Not Cambridge and everything.

Never mind someone famous.

Oh, the Kaiser was famous, Miss Hill.

I... I just wrote a book.

Maud.

Mr Mallory told you to call me Maud.

Maud.

- Hello.

- Hello.

Did Mr McNair not say

all boys inside, Thomas?

Tom.

Everyone's nerves are shot to pieces.

I've been here 14 years.

I know this place.

And I don't hold with

any ghostly nonsense.

I just wanted you to know

I'm at your service.

Hello.

Stop it. Go on.

Howell, stick up for yourself.

And get that hair cut.

All of you, downstairs.

Thank you, Maud. I'll take

Miss Cathcart to the headmaster.

Came with the building.

It's the boys' favourite.

John the Baptist, I think. This way.

It's actually Judith

slaying Holofernes.

Story of a woman

who stole into the enemy camp

and seduced then beheaded

their highest general.

Hmm. Those were the days, eh, Maud?

I'm not in, I'm out.

At least I was out. Now I'm in.

You must be the ghost lady.

Come through.

Reverend Purslow,

this is Miss Florence Cathcart.

An educated woman.

Well, well, well. Glad you're here.

Presume you know

you've a matron to thank.

So I believe. Glad I can be of service.

Child dying before a parent.

Dreadful thing.

I lost three of them.

I imagine you don't believe

in the afterlife, Miss Cathcart.

No, I don't.

Terrible, isn't it?

Mr Mallory will give

you a tour of the school.

I'm on my way to the dining room

should you wish to see it.

Mr Mallory.

So I'm the guide now?

He's coming. He's coming.

After supper there's an hour of scrubs,

that's compulsory reading to you.

Then lights out at 8:00.

I'll show you where Walter was found.

I'd like to see everywhere

the boys claim to have seen the ghost.

And perhaps you'd ask Maud to join us?

Most of the sightings

were in here, including Walter's.

In fact, he was found outside

here on the terrace.

Many of the boys are now

too frightened to come in here.

Mr Mallory.

She doesn't like any superfluous sound.

"Ego contemno Latin." I hate Latin.

That you, Mallory?

Walter was found there.

Mr Broad found him

just before breakfast.

- And these doors were locked?

- Mmm-hmm.

Did he have a bear or a toy animal?

- It's in the front office, yes.

- Could you?

You don't like him.

I have my reasons.

It would be indiscreet.

Where are his glasses?

He used to keep up the pretence.

Used to have a limp, too.

Kept him out of the trenches.

- His mother couldn't bear to keep it.

- Thank you.

And this was still on his bed

the morning he was found?

Yes.

You said there were other sightings

elsewhere in the house?

Yes. Mostly in the west dormitory.

Maud, perhaps I could

leave this to you?

- Why aren't you at scrubs?

- My book, sir.

Are you all right?

And it's half-term tomorrow?

Boys with parents in

far-flung places stay behind.

Apart from that,

we have the place to ourselves.

Was he bullied?

They called him "Wheezy Walter".

He was asthmatic.

Who were his friends?

Did he have any friends?

Miss Cathcart, this is a good school.

But if you're different,

the wrong kind of different...

His isn't the only mattress like this.

"Then spake King Arthur

to Sir Bedivere."

"The sequel of today unsolders all"

"The goodliest fellowship

of famous knights."

"Whereof this world hold record.

"Such a sleep they sleep,

the men I loved."

"I think that we shall...

"We shall never more, at..."

"I think that we shall never more,

at any future time,

"Delight our souls

with talk of knightly deeds."

Dowden!

Now.

Matron, I presume you've brought this

young lady to my classroom for a purpose

besides subjecting her to the

outrageous behaviour of Mr Dowden?

Mr McNair. Boys,

I know you're all upset and

frightened at the moment.

Well, Miss Cathcart is here

to put your fears to bed.

She's one of the cleverest people

in England. Miss Cathcart.

Stand.

- Good evening.

- Good evening.

Sit. Please sit.

How many of you did

Walter Portman talk to about this ghost?

Well, did any of you

see this ghost boy for yourselves?

I did, miss. I saw it.

Stand, boy.

Would you like to come with me

and describe...

It was horrible.

It was on the upper corridor.

- Wouldn't you rather...

- His face was twisted.

Blurred and sort of twisted.

Like in the photographs.

But he was in pain. Crying out.

It was him. Please kill it, miss.

Yes, please. Kill it, miss.

Silence.

Pocket Premo,

Sound recorder, part Bell-Tainter.

Fumigator for measuring contact traces.

Can Walter's dormitory sleep

elsewhere in the house?

We could move their mattresses

to the dining room.

Marconi magnetic field detector.

Third of an ounce of magnesium

and potassium chlorate per tray.

As the wire is tripped the aperture

opens for a thirtieth of a second,

and an electrical charge

ignites the powder.

- What about these?

- Those are footprint catchers.

Ghosts have footprints?

No, people pretending to be ghosts do.

They must hate you.

Who? The spiritualists?

No, the ghosts.

Be quiet.

You'll be quiet or so help me!

Victor, you did the run today.

- What's the matter?

- Nothing.

What's this mess?

Will she do what they say? The lady?

And what do they say?

That she'll kill the ghost.

And that one boy a night will die

until she does.

She's not here to catch ghosts.

She's here to catch

naughty boys up to mischief.

Silence now. Eyes closed.

It'll be dark soon.

Pary.

Parry.

Nobody...

Likes...

You!

Be quiet.

You'll be quiet or so help me!

Shh! Keep still.

Hello?

I heard bells. Are you all right?

First bell!

First bell!

Next three boys, please.

Quieten down.

Next.

Boys who have been seen

can go to their classrooms at once.

They couldn't have

been made with socks?

The prints I followed

were definitely barefoot.

- Get back!

- Come on. Come on.

Why are we here, sir?

All right, turn around,

stick your feet up.

Headmaster.

Parry.

- Sir.

- Parry.

What would your father have thought?

The night Walter died,

he got up to use the latrine.

He wasn't wearing his spectacles.

Mr Parry here frightened him,

using this to blur his face.

I didn't. I didn't do it to Walter.

And last night he tried to do

the same thing to me. Didn't you?

Victor.

They said if I did it

then they'd be nice.

- Stop snivelling.

- Malcolm, please.

Who?

- Them.

- Scab!

- Quiet!

- But I didn't do it before.

Not to Walter.

I liked Walter. We shared grots.

- Victor.

- I didn't scare him.

- No one knows who did.

- A boy is dead.

- Wasn't me!

- All right, it wasn't just him.

There was another boy last night.

I saw him down in the stairwell.

What?

Dowden?

- There wasn't another boy.

- Ah-ah-ah. You're behind this.

- Honestly, sir.

- You will name this other boy now.

There wasn't another boy. Please!

You will name this boy or you'll be

thrashed where you stand. Mr McNair.

Honestly. No, there wasn't

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