It was very cold the winter that Ragazzo came to the Gattis. When he mended the fire in the big living room, he would linger as long as he could beside the glowing coals, for although the fire burnt all day, the rest of the room remained cold.
Everyone was complaining about the weather. Noses were red and fingers blue. Outside, people stamped their feet and clapped their arms round their bodies and crunched their way across the dirty snow which filled the streets. Only Signor Carlo remained cheerful. For him, freezing weather was good for business!
One evening he came in to warm his hands before the fire. "Another good frost tonight, and tomorrow the Navigation Company are getting the ice-breakers out on the canal. They say the barges have been frozen in for three days or more. So - there's work for us. I'll take the men out first thing tomorrow."
Stefano who had heard about the ice-breakers said,
"Papa,
can I come with you? You promised me next time I could come."
"Nonsense,
it's much too cold," said Maria, "you'll catch your death."
"But Papa
promised. Please Papa." He ran to stand beside his father. Carlo hesitated and
looked at Maria.
"I did promise him. If you wrap him up warmly he'll be
alright."
Maria sighed. Carlo put his arm round Stefano and said with a
smile, "They do say it's never too early to start in the business."
"And
can Ragazzo come?" "Ragazzo has work to do," said Maria. Stefano looked at
Carlo.
"Well, just for once, let him come. He's scarcely been out of the
house since he arrived. It'll do him good and keep Stefano company."
There was a thick rime of frost on the rough coverlet when
Ragazzo woke next morning. It was very dark and cold. Hurriedly he dressed and
went straight down to the pump to fetch water for the day. Breaking the thick
icicle off the tap, he pumped in vain. It was frozen solid. Returning with his
empty bucket he found Maria buttoning Stefano into his jacket and winding a
muffler both round his neck and his head. Excited, Stefano was putting on his
mittens.
"Ragazzo can't go out like that", said Carlo, looking at his
threadbare shirt. "Hasn't Stefano got an old coat that he can borrow?"
And so Ragazzo was pinned into an old jacket and given a muffler and the two boys descended to find big Luke Corazza and the other men at the door with a cart. Carlo lifted the boys up to sit beside Luke on the front seat. The men got in to the back of the cart where Ragazzo noticed there were all kinds of tools; long rakes and hooks, sticking up into the air. Then Carlo got up beside them. It was a tight squeeze but it was warm and comforting. They set off up Guildford Place with its great frightening House of Correction and into Grays Inn Road towards the canal, the cart rumbling on the cobbles.
Although it was still early, many people were astir. There were costermongers with their barrows piled high with potatoes, swedes and cabbages, moving towards the market in Leather Lane. Once they were forced to stop for a flock of sheep which dithered in the road before them, on their way to the slaughter house; and going up the hill in Constitution Row the horse began to slip on the icy road. Two of the men got out to push and soon they were rolling up Caledonian Road towards the canal basin, where two more of Gatti's carts had already arrived.
It was getting light now and Ragazzo saw at once that the inlet or basin was completely frozen over and the barges tied up at the quayside were stuck fast in the ice. All along the canal it was the same. The barges with their various cargoes were motionless. The busy canal with its hundreds of barges and monkey boats had come to a halt.
"We'll take the carts up towards Hampstead Road bridge and start collecting there first," said Signor Carlo. "The ice-breakers should be down soon." And so the three carts set off up the towpath.
When they stopped, Stefano and Ragazzo got down and were able to run up and down to keep warm and take a look at all the different cargoes, timber, bricks, ashes, iron in the barges.
Alerted by the arrival of the carts, some of the bargees emerged from their cabins. When they heard that the icebreaker was on the way, they began to brew up tea and one of the crews brought basins of tea for Gatti's men. One old man beckoned Stefano and Ragazzo to come aboard.
Greatly excited they were just stepping onto the barge when they heard loud cries and the thunder of hooves. On the other side of the canal a long line of about a dozen heavy horses appeared round a bend on the towpath. Some were trotting fast, others trying to canter, all sweating and straining at the rope, which joined them to the boat.
"Go on, go on. That's my beauties." Ragazzo heard a shout and saw a man running beside them with a whip.
Crack. Crack. An awful grinding, wrenching sound followed, and round the bend came the ice-boat, iron clad, which driven into the ice by the straining horses, split and shattered the ice in its path.