Off To See The Wild West Show Part 1, Chapter 9 (4/5) By Frank Beill 1886: Hull, Yorkshire

(1/5), (2/5), (3/5), (4/5), (5/5). Part 1 Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Part 2 Prologue, Chapter 1, 2, 3.

'Over the wall!' George half whispered. He knew I was useless at climbing. 'I'll give you a leg up!' His hands made a stirrup for my foot and nearly threw me over the wall. I was still dangling on the other side when he passed me, dropping to the ground in the street. 'Come on!' He grabbed my legs and pulled me down to the pavement. 'You'd be no good in the rigging!' The rigging of a sailing ship was the last place I ever intended to be. 'What you two doin'?' a voice croaked from behind us. 'Thievin'?' The oldest man I'd ever seen was waving a knotty walking stick in our direction.

He was leaning with his other hand on the orphanage wall. From beneath a shapeless black cloth cap shaggy white hair dangled over an unshaven face as white as chalk. His body was hidden inside a voluminous dark overcoat, which looked as old as the man himself. 'Stealin' from orphans! Should be ashamed of yerselves!' The stick wafted closer to us but we did not stop and ran off in the direction of Spring Bank. The old man continued shouting after us. 'That was a shock!' I gasped. We turned the street corner and merged into the crowd on the main road. 'It'd a been more of a shock if we'd jumped over a second later!' George was laughing. 'We'd a jumped on top of him!'

The majority of people on the main road were heading in the direction of the town centre. Although there were shops on Spring Bank, it was Saturday and this was the day the people of Hull went in town to the market to do their shopping. It was still early in the morning and many would still be at work until midday. This was when the real invasion of the town centre would begin once they received the week's pay.

'D'you know the way to Holderness Road?' George asked. We were darting between pedestrians who were moving too slowly for us. 'Thought you did.' I turned my head anxiously in his direction. 'Wish Sal was here. She'd know. All I know is it's on t'other side of town.'

This was all I knew too but as to exactly where it was - well, I was as uncertain as George. A brainwave. 'Trams must go there. Let's follow the tramlines!' 'Aye!' My partner in crime could provide no better suggestion. And follow the tramlines we did until we came to the Savile Street terminus of the service from the Botanic railway station to the town centre. 'Now what do we do?' George scratched his head and he looked across the road.

We were standing at the junction of Savile Street with Dock Street. Across the way we could see ships tied up on the quayside of Queen's Dock. They bobbed up and down slowly in the water and a forest of masts swayed gently. 'Well, I don't think we take a ship!' I gave him a playful shove. 'Better ask somebody.'

But we didn't need to. The answer to our puzzlement appeared in the shape of a horse drawn tram coming from the direction of Monument Bridge. On its front the words 'Holderness Road' were written on a board between the upper and lower decks. The vehicle turned from Savile Street into the next road and we trailed alongside it. 'Look!' I gave my friend a nudge and pointed to the nameplate fastened to the side of a pub on the corner of this next street: George Street. 'They've named a street after you!'

'Give over!' He hadn't noticed where we were walking. His attention was drawn to the two brown mares hauling the tramcar. 'When I'm working with horses I want to be with ones like them the cowboys have. These horses look sad.' 'You'd look sad pulling a tram 'round Hull all day!' I gave him another nudge, which made him stumble off the kerb edge and into the gutter. We continued following the tramcar trundling along in the shadow of the tall buildings in George Street. In turn this became Charlotte Street and the tram made its way towards the river from which Hull took its name. 'What a stink!' George slapped his hand across his mouth and nose. I caught the sewer stench too and followed suit

Continued... Next Page

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