Copernicus searched every corner of every room. He found nothing to terrify him. In one chamber, there were large trunks stuffed full of the oddest things. There were masquerade masks, boxes that opened in peculiar ways, and many beautifully made costumes. In another room, he found telescopes and strange maps which he couldn't understand.
The longer Copernicus searched, the calmer and happier he began to feel. When he thought about it, it wasn't so bad to be alone for a change. For once, he had enough time to be still and think without someone demanding his attention. But was he really quite alone?
A distant, long creaking noise made Copernicus's hair stand on end. He spun around and held his candle high to see into the dimness of the hall. Had that been a footfall? Terror struck, the boy pressed his back against the corridor's wall and looked up and down the passage. Two awful minutes passed. Nothing came. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down.
"You're daft!" he chided himself. "There's nobody here. Nobody but me. I couldn't have heard nothin'." Oh, but he had. Hardly a second later, another definite creak came from somewhere in the house. He shuddered and swallowed hard.
The noise of footsteps began to sound clearer and clearer. They were echoing down the hall, and Copper was sure they were coming from his right. Panicked, he blew out his candle to keep from being seen. Then he started hurrying quietly in the opposite direction.
Who could the person be? A burglar? A tramp? Charlie's ghastly tales came back to his mind. They weren't real! They weren't true! he told himself. He knew such horrors didn't exist. But that didn't solve his problem. The fact remained that he wasn't alone.
The footsteps sounded louder than ever. Were they gaining on him? Stealing up behind him? The way sound echoed through those corridors, he could hardly tell where the noise was coming from.
I'll hide somewhere! he planned. There were plenty of empty rooms to choose from. He darted to one of them and reached for the door knob. But before he even touched it, the door swung open as if it had a will of its own, and an enormous shadow form appeared in the entrance. Copernicus let out a cry, staggering backward and stumbling over a loose floor board. He felt a huge hand grab his arm and jerk him upright before he lost his balance.
"Please, don't hurt me!" the boy whimpered, cowering like a frightened animal.
"'Urt you?" a voice repeated. It was as deep as a roll of thunder echoing down the hall, but its tone stunned the boy. No matter how mighty and dreadful the brute's size, that voice couldn't have been taken as evil for anything in the world. "Ah, c'mon little fella, I wouldn't 'urt you!" the man went on. "I didn't mean t' scare ya. I've only been a-sweepin' the chimbleys. An' it made such an awful mess 'at I 'ad t' go a-sweepin' the floors arter it. See, kid? I ain't no ogre." He held out his big, calloused hands for the boy to look at, completely human but black with coal.
Still quaking, Copernicus dared to lift his eyes toward the man. The fellow's face was filthy too, but it was kindly. As soon as Copper looked at him, the man gave a broad grin.
"You mean...you're only the chimney sweep?" the lad asked, beginning to feel relieved.
"Well, I...I dunno 'bout that one," the man answered, looking almost confused. "I ain't just a chimbley sweep. Come t' fink of it, I dunno just what I am. I reckon I'm just Bob. An' Bob, he does a little bit o' everfing. 'Round 'ere, I do a bit o' cookin' an' a bit o' cleanin' up an' a bit o' fixin' where it needs it. Whatever I finds 'at Boss needs done, I sets me arm t' the task."
"Boss?"
"Ah, ya knows who I mean: the bloke what brought you 'ere."
"Oh!" Copper exclaimed in understanding. "You work for Mr. Dross!" He laughed, letting go of his fears. "I'm awful glad! I was afraid, at first, because I thought I was all alone. And then I was afraid you were a housebreaker. But now that I know you're not one, I don't guess I've got to be afraid of anything! My name's Copernicus. Or you might call me Copper if you like."
A humble, happy smile brightened Bob's face, as if he was being introduced to a prince. "Well, it's an honor! A real honor!" he laughed, fumbling clumsily as he wondered what to do. He swept off his cap, almost gave a bow, then thought better of it and shook the boy's hand heartily. Copernicus thought he was very funny. The man had a sort of boyish simplicity about him. Even though Bob towered above the lad, Copper instantly felt that they were equals and friends.
"Why d'you work in the dark?" Copernicus asked. "Don't you like the light?"
"More'n anyfing!" Bob replied, putting his dirty cap back on and leading the way down the hall. "I likes light so much, you'd never b'lieve it! But Boss, he says we can't afford too much've it. Says light comes at a precious price. So, we use our candles sparin'ly. But—ooch!" he cried, forgetting his own height and knocking his head on the doorjamb of the boys' room. "'Tain't easy gettin' around in the dark!"
He ducked low and entered the large chamber, beginning to pick up a week's worth of dirty clothes which Mordechai's children had thrown off. If there had been more light, Copernicus would have cringed at the griminess of those clothes. He had noticed that the boys hadn't looked clean at supper, but the garments on the floor were filthier than anything he had seen in his life.
Copper was overjoyed to have some company. In a way, it seemed easier to talk to Bob than it was to speak to Mordechai. Mr. Dross was like the boy's anchor, a bit of stability to lean on. But Bob was a chum, someone to confide in and ask questions.
"This is an awfully strange place," the lad noted, looking at the shelves decked with pebbles, broken glass, and other things. "Where do the boys get all these things?"
"Oh, they picks 'em up 'ere an' there," Bob answered. "They finds shells an' sometimes whole bottles on the river bank. An' Boss, he's so kind as to let 'em keep whatever they likes."
Copper tried to ask where all of the children came from and how Mordechai had found them all, but Bob hardly knew. Mordechai brought a new friend into the house every now and then. And once the children got settled into their new home, they were usually glad to leave their pasts behind them, rarely mentioning their origins.
After Bob had set a few things straight upstairs, he carried the dirty laundry down to the kitchen, a hot place at the back of the house which was lit by a dingy glow from the cooking range. Every room of the house had the same dusky, eerie look to it. But Copernicus didn't feel afraid anymore. Now he had Bob, and nothing could frighten him.
"Bob, where'd you come from?" the boy asked, climbing up onto a counter and sitting down. The answer didn't come quickly. Bob hoisted a big pot of water onto the stove to boil and then scratched his head thoughtfully.
"Good question," he murmured at last. Then he shook his head.
Copper laughed curiously. "Good question? What's that supposed to mean? Don't you know how you got here?"
"Oh, sure I do!" the man answered, nodding certainly. "Boss an' I came 'ere on a ship years ago. We'd been in Guernsey, ya know. It's where I learned French. But...but as t' where I come from—long time ago, I mean—well, I don't rightly know."
It seemed terribly odd. Bob puzzled over it for a while as he started washing the clothes. Then, smiling at Copernicus, he asked, "What about you, little chap? Eh? Where d'you come from?"
"The Imperial Bakery," Copper answered.
Bob gave a little cry of pleased surprise. "I fink I was there once!" he exclaimed. Then his brow wrinkled thoughtfully. "Maybe I've been...No, maybe not. Yes! Yes, I 'ave! Learned me'self 'ow t' bake there, I did! An' blimey, if the folks there weren't 'perial, as you called it, then I dunno what 'perial is! His and hers majesties weren't too easy t' please, I can tell you!"
Copernicus laughed in good humor. "That's a fine story, Bob!" he said, rolling his eyes at the man's farfetched tale. "I can just see you workin' in the kitchens at Buckingham Palace! But if you made the food we ate tonight, I'd think the queen might be pleased with it! I ain't never eaten so well in my life!"
Bob went red with humbleness at the compliment and mumbled some bashful word of thanks. He had plunged the dirty clothes up and down in a basin vigorously, and now he was wringing them out with brutish strength. Despite his work, they hardly looked a bit cleaner than they had before. They were stained brownish-yellow, and the wash water had turned so muddy that you couldn't see the bottom of the basin.
"I reckon you run away, Copper?" Bob asked, finishing his job. "I never did know why a kid would run away from his mum an' dad." He spoke as if the very idea was tragic, and the words came with a sting of guilt in Copper's heart. But the lad quickly justified himself.
"But I didn't run away from them!" he explained. "I wouldn't'a wanted to run away from my parents. But I haven't got any. I only had a master, and he wasn't nice to me. I didn't wanna be a baker anyhow! I didn't like it! And I don't see why I ought to do what I don't like." He watched Bob scrubbing dirty pots clean and asked, "D'you like what you do?"
"'Taint so bad," the man laughed. "I reckon there's lots a fella don't like t' do. But work's work. And work's worth doin' so long as it's good work, ya know."
Copernicus thought rather stormily with his eyes fixed on the floor. He supposed that baking was good work. At least, it could be if the baker was honest. He was still battling a sense of shame for leaving his master. And yet, he didn't want to go back for anything.
"I left the bakery 'cause I wanted a family," he confessed at last. "My mum and dad are dead, and my master didn't care a stitch about me. I felt so alone!"
Bob turned the saddest eyes upon him. "Ya wanted a dad 'cause yers is gone now?" he asked. Copper nodded, and now the man's eyes were almost brimming with tears. "I used t' wish I 'ad a dad," he sniffled.
"Is yours dead too?" Copper asked.
Bob shook his head. "No. I just don't got one," he sighed.
"Don't be silly. Everybody's got a father someplace!"
Once again, his friend shook his head. "I don't fink I ever did. No. No, not Bob. I didn't never 'ave a dad."
"Then where'd you come from for pity's sake?" Copernicus asked, bursting into laughter.
Bob scratched his head. "Good question. I dunno."
There was no question about it: Bob was strange. But he was a harmless kind of strange, and Copper liked him very much. How baffling the man was. Sometimes, Copernicus thought Bob must have been a genius. He could bake a better loaf of bread than Hannover had ever dreamed of making. He wrote with elegant penmanship, could solve complicated math equations in his head, and he could speak French fluently; although Copper had to prod and beg him to do it. But at other times, it was clear that the kind fellow didn't have it all together. There was something missing that kept him in constant confusion. It was a mystery which Copernicus kept trying to solve.
For hours, the boy followed Bob from here to there as the man did his work. For all Bob's effort, the house looked no cleaner by the time he was finished. When he had done a number of chores, he set about brewing a pot of tea and preparing another tasty meal. The table was soon set and ready, but the ravenous crowd of children hadn't arrived to eat it yet.
"I reckon the others will come back for supper?" Copper asked. "Or, perhaps I should say breakfast!" he corrected with a laugh. "It is practically morning, isn't it? But the Hannovers and I get the names all mixed up since we're usually awake through the night instead of the day."
"It's just the same wiv me, lad," Bob said with a grin. "I should say the lads'll be back for supper...err...breakfast—whatever ya calls it. Them'n the boss both. But not till the tide starts risin', an' that ain't too far off."
Copernicus wondered what the tide had to do with his family's work schedule. But another question begged to be asked first. "How'd you come to work for Mr. Dross?"
As usual, Bob scratched his head and strained his mind to think.
"Don't you know?" Copper asked, feeling sorry for the man.
"Oh sure! Maybe...Now don't tell me! It'll come!" He leaned his head in his hands and concentrated all of his attention on thinking. Then he looked up, as if the vaguest form of a memory was coming. "He saved me life," he answered. "'At's when I come t' work wiv 'im. I remember it now!" he exclaimed excitedly. "He saved me life, he did! Or...or did I save his?" His moment of revelation died out into confusion again. "I dunno, kid. I just dunno."
The mystery was still as odd as ever, and Copernicus was beginning to feel sure that he would never solve it. But as he stared at Bob, he noticed, for the first time, that there was a big scar on the man's brow. Whatever had happened, whether Mordechai had rescued him, or whether Bob had been injured while saving his master's life, that scar bore witness to some tragic adventure.
Bob quickly dropped the subject, and the two spent the rest of the hour talking about the most cheerful things. A little afterward, Mordechai returned home. And scarcely twenty minutes later, all twelve of his adopted children poured into the front room. They dropped a dozen burlap sacks, which clattered as they fell, at their father's feet. Mordechai commended them loudly, and then the children's rowdy games started up again.
Copernicus wasn't as stunned by the boys' behavior now. At the supper table, he grabbed his fork and knife right away and dug into the feast with the happiest heart. The only one who didn't attack the meal was Bob. He always took his meals in the servants' hall. But the man-of-all-work was in high demand, and practically everyone was shouting orders at him as they ate.
"Hey, Bob!" Gibbs called, finishing off the last of his tea and casting his pewter cup toward the man. Bob caught it with a fast reflex and heard the order, "Fill it up wiv somefing stronger!"
"Oh, sure fing, Boss!" the man answered obediently. He ran away to fetch it and came back with the blackest coffee he could make. "There you are, Boss; strong as I can make it!"
Gibbs didn't look quite satisfied, but he drank it knowing that it was the strongest thing he would get from Bob.
"Hey, Gibbs," Copper began curiously, "what makes Bob call you boss? You're not his boss, are you?"
All of the boys rolled with laughter. "Bob'll call anybody boss if they takes the upper 'and!" they roared.
"And I've got the upper 'and! Just you remember that!" Gibbs affirmed.
Mordechai cast him a slightly disapproving look. "Is that arrogance I hear, son?" he asked. The boy's fiery eyes dimmed a little. "Mustn't forget our place, now must we?" his father went on. "As long as I am at home, I am the master of the house."
Gibbs nodded humbly. Then he turned back to Copper with the same important look and whispered, "But when he ain't 'ere, I'm in charge! That's what I'll 'ave you know!" He ended his statement with a definite nod, and Copernicus was in too happy a mood to argue.
After the meal, the boys ran upstairs like a pack of animals to their bedroom. They put on their night clothes, but they didn't go straight to bed. They all laughed and joked and jumped on their beds until they were too sleepy to go on. Then, at last, the party came to an end. It was just getting light outside when Copernicus closed his eyes, and the day passed by without him.