Page 109 of Strangers in Time

He said, “I’m sure there must be a misunderstanding.”

“I don’t see how there can be, seeing as how the War Office says that my father is a criminal who is now in hiding from the authorities.”

HERMES

EH, HOW OLD AREyou again, boy?” asked the snowy-haired man with the sharp white collar, the stiff black jacket, and the name Arthur Benedict.

The not-yet-fourteen-year-old Charlie looked up at him and said with authority, “Sixteen.”

Charlie was in a postal office because he had seen that they were hiring telegram messengers.

“You’re a bit small for sixteen.”

“Haven’t hit my growth bit yet, guv.”

“If you’re sixteen why haven’t you sat your Civil Service exam then?”

“Who said I ain’t?”

“Well then?”

“With the war, not many jobs even with that. I need to earn money.”

Benedict’s expression softened. “What’s your name?”

“Ignatius Oliver.”

“That’s quite a name.”

“Named after a saint. Bunch of wild beasts ate him.”

“Yes, yes, I’ve heard abouthimfrom my vicar. Well, it’s true weneed the help. Lost four lads to the army just last month and another to one of them unexploded bombs that decided to go off when the poor fellow was riding by. Do you have your own bicycle?”

“Do I need one?”

“No. We have a couple you can use. But it’s just you get paid for mileage if you have your own. Otherwise, you get a weekly wage.”

“How much?”

“Sixteen shillings and four pence,” said Benedict.

“And if I got me my own bike?”

“Four pennies a mile on top.”

“I got me my own bike,” said Charlie promptly.

“Good lad. Now, it does help if you know the lay of the land hereabouts. Our customers expect swiftness. You ever heard the ancient tale of Hermes?”

“Was he a saint that got et, too?”

“Oh, never mind, boy.”

Benedict asked Charlie questions about various locations and the fastest way to them. Charlie answered all of them quickly and correctly and clearly impressed Benedict with the cleverness of several of his shortcuts.

“You’ve clearly been out and about,” noted Benedict. “Almost like you’ve learned ‘the knowledge’ that the cabbies have to. And that takes several years.”

Charlie looked around the postal office. Most homes in England did not have phones. And with the war and the bombings, even those that had phones found they did not always work. Thus, telegrams had become quite popular once more, particularly in London.

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