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brother and sister. ‘Brought you some more help,’ she said proudly.
    ‘That’s brilliant,’ said Alex. ‘We get one assistant each.’ He looked at the kids. ‘Who wants to help me?’ Four hands shot up, eager to be picked.
    ‘Radha, where’s Bina?’ asked Li.
    Radha’s mouth was a tight line. ‘She has to be mother now.’
    The words tumbled out of Amber’s mouth before she could stop them. ‘You mean your mother’s gone already?’
    Radha nodded and turned away quickly. She was upset.
    Amber regretted her tactless question. She put a hand on the girl’s shoulder. ‘If there’s anything you or Bina need, we’ll help if we can.’
    Every second counted if they were to beat the rains. They ripped off the tarpaulins and got to work. Radha’s friends provided a constant supply of breeze blocks and mortar, while Alpha Force did the building. In no time the walls were finished. Just as they were laying the last blocks, Pradesh the foreman – his toothache now treated – drove up with a delivery of the next materials: timbers for the roof. All hands raced to unload the truck and sort the pieces. This was the next phase, an important step.
    Pradesh showed Alpha Force how to lay out the wood and position it to make four large triangle frames. Alex went over each frame, checking the many angles before hammering the pieces together, while Paulo and Hex improvised a pulley with spare wood and a rope. Amber, Li and Pradesh assembled a frame of scaffolding around the structure.
    The sky darkened and a chilly wind blew over the workers on the site. All activity stopped. Faces turned up to the threatening sky. Should they rush to cover the walls?
    Hex, lashing a rope around a block, glared up at the forbidding clouds. ‘Don’t you dare. I’ve got military satellites watching you and you shouldn’t be here.’
    The dark clouds passed and the sky brightened. Work resumed. Everyone chattered and laughed at the near miss. Paulo grinned at Hex. ‘That was pretty cool.’
    Hex nodded. ‘Those rain clouds know who’s boss,’ he said, with mock solemnity.
    After a couple more hours of furious work, the younger children were flagging. But they didn’t want to leave. Li had a good idea – she organized them to keep all the workers supplied with fresh drinking water. Labouring in the hot sun was exhausting and their water bottles were soon depleted, so the two youngest children brought them refills from the standpipe in a large jug.
    Once the triangle frames were ready, Paulo and Hex took up positions at their pulley, and told Alex, Amber and Li where to tie the ropes. Pradesh gave the command and Paulo and Hex hauled for all they were worth – and the first frame rose into the air. Paulo had designed the pulley so it could pick up the load and then swing it round, like a crane. Alex, Amber and Li guided the frame into position on top of the walls. As it settled, a great cheer went up.
    The first part of the roof was on the school.
    The next three went up easily. Next Paulo and Hex hoisted the crossbeams into place. Then it was up onto the scaffolding to secure them – and the roof was ready for tiling the next day. As the sun slipped down, it bathed the pale wood of the newly erected roof frame in golden light. They flung the tarpaulins up to cover it for the night. It had been a very good day’s work.
    Ten happy, tired youngsters gathered on the veranda of Bina’s home and tucked into a supper of rice-flour pancakes with a potato curry and mustard seeds. ‘Eat up,’ said Naresh, nodding encouragement. ‘After all your hard work, you deserve it.’
    Alpha Force didn’t need telling twice. Kerosene lamps cast a warm glow like a campfire. Bina moved through the guests, collecting empty plates. The kerosene light glowed through the filmy material of her sari and sparkled off the tiny mirrors sewn into the fabric. But her face was a picture of worry, furrowed with a frown that she couldn’t shake off. Alex