As usual, the boy is taking a long time to get himself ready He is standing in front of the cracked mirror in the shop, making sure every thread of his tattered clothes is in place, patting down his straight black hair over and over again. “A spot of trouble at the Palace of the People’s Pleasure,” announces the old man as he swings into the chemical laboratory from the front room where customers are served, tapping his finger on the front page of the Daily Telegraph. Sherlock’s head snaps around. The trapeze accident is in the news. Sherlock wishes Bell took The Illustrated News, with its spectacular drawings of London crime and mayhem, or Sunday’s big-selling scandal sheet, The News of the World, but he can’t complain – he doesn’t have to search for newspapers in dustbins anymore – there’s one in the shop every day that is generously shared. The two often engage in discussions of front-page stories. “Reading, my boy, what a sensation!” the apothecary exclaims, the sweat glistening on his upper lip.
