• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

“Why did you ask?” questions James.

The old man shakes his head as one of the slavers looks over in their direction. Getting up, the old man returns to help the other slaves in removing the rubble.

“What was that about?” asks Jiron when James moves away from the window.

“I don’t know,” he replies. “But when I told him what it meant, he reacted to it.” Sitting down against the wall under the window, he adds, “Something’s going on here.”

Jiron munches on some of his rations as he watches James mull over what happened. “I have to find out what.”

He waits by the window the rest of the morning and afternoon. Though the old man takes several rest breaks in that time, he doesn’t do it near their window. James catches him casting looks over toward the window from time to time as he works. Finally, when the sun is getting low in the sky, he comes and sits back down by the window and asks, “You here tomorrow?”

James whispers back, “Yes.”

The old man nods as the slavers holler for the slaves to gather together for the return to the slave compound. As the old man gets up off the piece of wall, he points to it and then points to a spot closer to the wall before going to join the others.

James watches as the old man shuffles along with the others back down the street. When they’ve moved out of sight, he turns to Jiron and says, “We need to move that section of wall closer to the window.”

“Why?” he asks.

“The old guy indicated we should,” he replies. “It may enable us to communicate better tomorrow. Less chance of being overheard.”

“No. I mean why bother talking to him?” Jiron corrects.

“When I told him what it meant, he seemed surprised that I knew,” he clarifies. “He also asked if I was to be here tomorrow. Why would he say that?”

“To tell the soldiers and have us arrested,” suggests Jiron.

Shaking his head, James says, “He could’ve done that any time today. No, he wants to tell me something.”

“You may be reading more into this than there is,” Jiron insists. “He could just be a lonely old man who wants to talk with someone who’s either not a slave or a slaver.”

“Maybe,” James skeptically admits. “Only one way to find out though. If he is just a lonely old guy, I’ll say no more about it.”

“Okay,” he agrees.

They wait until it gets dark and then make their way out onto the street to where the section of wall the old man had sat on lies. Struggling with all their strength, they’re able to move it over to where it almost touches the wall beneath the window. “That should be close enough,” Jiron says after the section of wall is in position. They use their feet to eradicate the marks on the ground they made when moving the slab of wall.

Nodding, James adds, “We should be able to hear each other well without having to speak too loudly.”

“Are you planning on searching other buildings tonight?” he asks him.

Shaking his head, he says, “No, I’m too exhausted.”

“Then go ahead and get some sleep while I keep watch,” he volunteers.

“Thanks.” They return into the building where James lies down and falls right to sleep. Jiron doesn’t wake him all night, and even manages to get a few hours of sleep as well. True, he was taking an awful chance having no one on watch, but they’ve been there several days now and no one has yet to come by except for the slave gang.

The next morning, the sound of the slave gang approaching awakens James. He moves to the window where Jiron is already looking out at their approach. “Do you see the old guy?” he asks.

“Yeah,” he replies. “He’s in there with the others.”

They watch as the slaves and slavers approach and then begin working in the same area, clearing the rubble. It’s an hour or so after their arrival when the old guy makes his way over to the now much closer section of fallen wall. Sitting down with his back to the window, he produces the same dirty, stained rag to wipe the sweat off his face and neck.

“You there?” James hears him whisper.

“Yeah,” he whispers back.

“How did you know what that word meant?” he asked.

“It’s used a lot where