7、 The terrible secret

When the children first went to live at the white house, they talked about Father a lot and were always asking questions about him. But as time passed, their questions seemed to make Mother unhappy, so they stopped asking them. But they never forgot him.

Bobbie thought about Father often. She knew her mother was unhappy, and she worried a lot about that. And why was Father away for so long? Was there something that Mother wasn’t telling them?

The answer came on the day she went to the station, to fetch the magazines. They were old magazines which people left on trains or in the waiting room. Perks said the children could have them to read, and one day Bobbie went to fetch them.

‘I’ll just put some newspaper round them to keep them together,’said Peter. And he took an old newspaper from the heap.

The magazines were heavy, and Bobbie stopped to rest on the way home. She sat on the grass and dropped them beside her. As she did this, she looked at the newspaper and read some of the words on the page…and it was like a terrible dream.

She never remembered how she got home. But she went to her room and locked the door. Then she took the newspaper off the magazines and looked at it again. The words seemed to jump at her:

FIVE YEARS IN PRISON FOR SPY!

And the name of the ‘spy’was the name of her father.

Bobbie was very quiet at tea—time.

‘Is anything wrong?’Mother asked her.

‘I’m all right,’said Bobbie.

But after tea, Mother went up to Bobbie’s room.‘What’s the matter?’she wanted to know.

For an answer, Bobbie took the newspaper from under her bed and showed it to her mother.

‘Oh, Bobbie!’cried Mother.‘You don’t believe it , do you? You don’t believe Daddy is a spy?’

‘No!’said Bobbie.

‘He’s good and honest and he’s done nothing wrong,’said Mother.‘We have to remember that.’

‘What happened?’asked Bobbie.

‘You remember the two men who came to see Daddy at the old house, don’t you?’said Mother.‘They said he was a spy, and that he’d sold Government secrets to another country. There were some letters in Daddy’s desk at his office. When the police saw them, they were sure Daddy was a spy.’

‘But how did the letters get into his desk?’asked Bobbie.

‘Somebody put them there,’said Mother.‘And that person is the real spy.’

‘Who?’said Bobbie.‘Who put the letters there?’

‘I don’t know,’said Mother.‘But the man who got Daddy’s job never liked him, and he always wanted Daddy’s job.’‘Is he an honest man?’asked Bobbie.

‘Daddy was never really sure,’said Mother.

‘can’t we explain all this to someone?’said Bobbie.

‘I’ve tried, but nobody will listen,’said Mother sadly.‘I’ve tried everything. There’s nothing we can do except be brave and patient. Now we won’t talk of this any more, my darling. Try not to think of it. It’s easier for me if you can be happy and enjoy things.’

But Bobbie did think about it. She did not talk to Peter or Phyllis, but she wrote a letter—to the old gentleman.

My Dear Friend,

You see what is in this newspaper. It is not true. Father never did it. Mother says someone put the letters in Father’s desk, and she thinks it is the man who got Father’s job. But nobody listens to her. You are good and clever. Can you find out the name of the real spy? It is not Father!

Peter and Phyllis don’t know he is in prison. Can you help me ? Oh, do help me!

With love from your friend,

Bobbie

She put the page of the newspaper with her letter and took it to the station. Bobbie asked the Station Master to give it to the old gentleman the next morning.

Now she could only wait and see what happened.

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