Pigeon problems 4/5

William Parker, or ‘Old Willum’ as he was known in the village, was standing outside his carting business office looking up and down the road, waiting anxiously for his driver to arrive for work. It was all very well having made an arrangement to receive orders by carrier pigeon, but there were so many coming in now that he was thinking he would have to hire more drivers and carts. It also puzzled him, on the occasions when he wasn’t reckoning up the profits, how the pigeons knew they should stop at his shop before returning home.

At least there was one thing about it, he didn’t have the bother of housing and feeding them, even so it was all a bit of a mystery. Then he brightened up, a horseman was coming his way, and although it wasn’t the driver he was expecting, the order he’d just received was urgent. So he made up his mind and ran out in front of the horse to stop it.

“Hold there my good man! I wonder if you would like to earn a small sum, by using your horse to deliver a cartload of goods for me. My usual driver has let me down, there’s five shillings in it for you.”

George listened, trying hard to look as if he was tired and hungry and looking for a job. He was also trying not to laugh as the man himself was overcoming the very problem that had been worrying him. He had intended to try and get himself a driving job with this strange carting company, so that he could find out how the pigeons were being diverted here. He’d been concerned that the company may have had enough drivers already without needing any more, but for whatever reason that problem had just been solved.

“Six shillings a load and I’m your man,” he replied.

William tried hard to seem upset. “Five shillings and sixpence and that’s my final offer!”

George looked a bit upset in his turn and then agreed reluctantly. William showed him the loaded cart waiting in the yard and George backed his horse between the shafts.

“I’m supposed to be a charger not a ‘backer’”, said the horse, protesting loudly as usual at the way he was being treated.

“Just stop moaning and get on with it. We’re lucky to find the kind gentleman to give us this job.”

The kind gentleman wanted his goods delivered to the village of Hetherside and gave George directions on how to get there. George drove off slowly, the horse grumbling with every step. He knew perfectly well how to get to the village without any instructions; after all he’d visited the place long ago when he was still killing dragons and righting wrongs.

The delivery fitted in perfectly with his plans, as he was well known there and could explain what was causing the poor quality of the goods that were supposed to have been supplied by his company.

The people of Hetherside were pleased to see George at first as he had expected. However, once all the customers had assembled in the local pub, they became rather less pleased, as he explained that the goods he was bringing them were not the quality of those normally he normally supplied.

“Until the problems I’m having with this competitor are resolved,” said George, “I’ll pay you one third of the value of what he is sending you, this should help convince you of the good intentions of my company. In the meantime you can be sure that I intend doing everything I can to sort out the reasons why my pigeons are going astray.”

“Get Jennifer Jane to come and help, you usually do and anyway she’s a lot better at this sort of thing than you are,” shouted a man standing at the back of the room.

George grinned, “She’s already started, so hopefully this situation won’t go on for much longer!”

Everybody cheered up at that remark and then queued up eagerly to pay their reduced prices.

George returned to collect another load from his new boss and for the next few days a similar scene was repeated in every village where he was sent. At the end of the week he decided that William should trust him enough by now to be able to answer some questions.

“Excuse me asking sir, but I don’t understand where the pigeons go when you’ve released them. There’s no pigeon loft that I can see round here!”

“I’m not sure myself, it’s a jolly good system though, however it works! I get orders from people at no cost whatever to myself and make lots of money doing it. It all started when a lady came round here one day and asked if I would like to make a better living using the special pigeons she would supply. They would be bringing me orders for goods and all I have to do is take the message from the pigeon’s leg and let it go again. Then supply the goods that are required.”

“It sounds too good to be true,” replied George, “but I’ve noticed your regular driver has come back and I think it’s time I was on my way.”

William tried to make George change his mind. He needed more drivers now that business was improving and even offered him more money to try and make him stay. George refused, now he had some idea of what was going on, he wanted to get back to Jennifer Jane and see if she had thought of a good idea to stop him losing any more business. He waved goodbye to William and returned to the Witches’ Home as fast as the horse could manage.

Jennifer Jane wasn’t there when he arrived, so he asked to speak to Abigail instead. She’d already heard the story from Jennifer Jane as far as she knew it and was very interested to hear about George’s findings.

“It sounds to me as if a witch is turning your pigeons round before sending them back to you. Have you managed to upset anyone in your travels recently?”

“Well there was that witch Eve from Jennifer Jane’s world. I promised her a share in my travel agency, but your lot insisted I make a fool of her. I don’t suppose for one moment she thinks very well of me!”

Abigail laughed. “I don’t think you have to worry about that one. She may be a friend of Jennifer Jane’s in her world, but I can assure you she’s not a real witch as we know it.”

George looked a bit puzzled and tried to think of any one else that he might have upset. “I’m sorry but all the wrongs being done to people seem to have been righted since Jennifer Jane made the dragons start eating coal. There has been the odd dragon or wicked witch since then, but I managed to kill them, so there can’t be any more problems there.”

Abigail looked as puzzled as George. “Oh well we’ll just have to wait for Jennifer Jane to turn up for her next lesson, then I’ll ask her if she’s got any ideas”