https://Voice.club - Harry trudges through the low tide of the river. He is a Mudlark, scouring the Thames for discarded items, anything he can scavenge and sell to help his family living in squalid poverty in Cheapside. He is filthy; the Thames is no stranger to human waste, and the mud has stuck to him with the pervading smell of sewage. His search has been unsuccessful; a few pieces of worthless pottery and the corpse of a dead cat his only finds. In the distance he hears shouts and whistles coming from beyond the Embankment.
Mellors stops, doubled over, his breath gasping like bellows. His latest robbery has not gone well. Having stolen the jewels from the wealthy house, a maid saw him and raised the alarm. Fortunately, his face was well covered, but the commotion was picked up by the peelers, a new force of law keepers introduced by the Home Secretary to combat the rising crime in London. He escaped from the scene, but the peelers’ whistles are picked up by answering blasts and they are closing in.
Clutching the bag of stolen bounty, he starts to run again through Covent Garden towards the Embankment although he knows his path will soon be cut off by the Thames. The shouts are getting louder. He must not get caught with the stolen goods. If he gets stopped, he needs to pretend he is a gentleman out for a stroll. But what to do with the jewels? As he reaches the river parapet, he lobs the pouch, watching it arc towards the river, and marks the spot where it lands.
Harry looks up to see the source of all the shouting only to see a tall figure throw something towards the river. He moves quickly towards it and, as he picks up the object, he looks up at the stranger who is glaring at him with hatred.
There’s no time to lose; Mellors heads away from the river. He can evade the peelers. Later he will search for the scavenger; Harry’s face is etched into his memory.
