‘Come back as soon as you have put the dog out,’ said Mr. Roland.
George scowled, but came back in a few minutes. She ielt caught. Her father was friendly with Mr. Roland, and knew how difficult George was – if she behaved as badly as she felt she would like to, it would be Tim who would suffer, for he would certainly be banished from the house. So for Tim’s sake George obeyed the tutor – but from that moment she disliked him and resented him bitterly with all her fierce little heart.
The otheis were soiry for George and Timothy, but they did not share the little girl’s intense dislike of the new tutor. He often made them laugh. He was patient with their mistakes. He was willing to show them how to make paper darts and ships, and to do funny little tricks. Julian and Dick thought these were fun, and stored them up to try on the other boys when they went back to school.
After lessons that morning the children went out for half an hour in the frosty sunshine. George called Tim.
‘Poor old boy!’ she said. ‘What a shame to turn you out of-the room! Whatever did you snap at Mr. Roland for? I think it was a very good idea, Tim – but I really don’t know what made you!’
‘George, you can’t play about with Mr. Roland,’ said Julian. ‘You’ll only get into trouble. He’s tough. He won’t stand much from any of us. But I think he’ll be quite a good sport if we get on the right side of him.’
‘Well, get on the right side of him if you like,’ said George, in rather a sneering voice. Tm not going to. If I don’t like a person, I don’t – and I don’t like him.’
‘Why ? Just because he doesn’t like Tim ?’ asked Dick.
‘Mostly because of that – but because he makes me
feel prickly down my back,’ said George, ‘I don’t like his nasty mouth.’
‘But you can’t see it,’ said Julian. ‘It’s covered with his moustache and beard.’
‘I’ve seen his lips through them,’ said George, obstinately. ‘They’re thin and cruel. You look and see. I don’t like thin-lipped people. They are always spiteful and hard. And I don’t like his cold eyes either. You can suck up to him all you like. / shan’t.’
Julian refused to get angry with the stubborn little girl. He laughed at her. ‘We’re not going to suck up to him,’ he said. ‘We’re just going to be sensible, that’s all. You be sensible too, George, old thing.’
But once George had made up her mind about something nothing would alter her. She cheered up when she heard that they were all to go Christmas shopping on the bus that afternoon – without Mr. Roland! He was going to watch an experiment that her father was going to show him.
‘I will take you into the nearest town and you shall shop to your heart’s content,’ said Aunt Fanny to the children. ‘Then we will have tea in a tea-shop and catch the six o’clock bus home.’
This was fun. They caught the afternoon bus and rumbled along the deep country lanes till they got to the town. The shops looked very gay and bright. The children had brought their money with them, and were very busy indeed, buying all kinds of things. There were so many people to get presents for!
‘I suppose we’d better get something for Mr. Roland, hadn’t we ?’ said Julian.
‘I’m going to,’ said Anne. Tm going to buy him a packet of cigarettes. I know the kind he smokes.’
‘Fancy buying Mr. Roland a present!’ said George, in her scornful voice.
‘Why shouldn’t she, George?’ asked her mother, in surprise. ‘Oh dear, I hope you are going to be sensible about him, and not take a violent dislike to the poor man. I don’t want him to complain to your father about you.’
‘What are you going to buy for Tim, George ?’ asked Julian, changing the subject quickly.
‘The largest bone the butcher has got,’ said George. ‘What are you going to buy him ?’
‘I guess if Tim had money, he would buy us each a present,’ said Anne, taking hold of the thick hair round Tim’s neck, and pulling it lovingly. ‘He’s the best dog in the world!’
George forgave Anne for saying she would buy Mr. Roland a present, when the little girl said that about Tim! She cheered up again and began to plan what she would buy for everyone.
They had a fine tea, and caught the six o’clock bus back. Aunt Fanny went to see if the cook had given the two men their tea. She came out of the study beaming.
‘Really, I’ve never seen your uncle so jolly,’ she said to Julian and Dick. ‘He and Mr. Roland are getting on like a house on fire. He has been showing your tutor quite a lot of his experiments. It’s nice for him to have someone to talk to that knows a little about these things.’
Mr. Roland played games with the children that evening. Tim was in the room, and the tutor tried again
to make friends with him, but the dog refused to take any notice of him.
‘As sulky as his little mistress!’ said the tutor, with a laughing look at George, who was watching Tim refuse to go to Mr. Roland, and looking rather pleased about it. She gave the tutor a scowl and said nothing.
‘Shall we ask him whether “VIA OCCULT” really does mean “Secret Way” or not, tomorrow?’ said Julian to Dick, as they undressed that night. ‘I’m just longing to know if it does. What do you think of Mr. Roland, Dick ?’
‘I don’t really quite know,’ said Dick. ‘I like lots of things about him, but then I suddenly don’t like him at all. I don’t like his eyes. And George is quite right about his lips. They are so thin there’s hardly anything of them at all.’
‘I think he’s all right,’ said Julian. ‘He won’t stand any nonsense, that’s all. I wouldn’t mind showing him the whole piece of rag and asking him to make out its meaning for us.’
‘I thought you said it was to be a proper secret,’ said Dick.
‘I know – but what’s the use of a secret we don’t know the meaning of ourselves ?’ said Julian. Til tell you what we could do – ask him to explain the words to us, and not show him the bit of linen.5
‘But we can’t read some of the words ourselves,’ said Dick. ‘So that’s no use. You’d have to show him the whole thing, and tell him where we got it.’
‘Well, I’ll see,’ said Julian, getting into bed.
The next day there were lessons again from half-past nine to half-past twelve. George appeared without Tim.
She was angry at having to do this, but it was no good being defiant and refusing to come to lessons without Tim. Now that he had snapped at Mr. Roland, he had definitely put himself in the wrong, and the tutor had every right to refuse to allow him to come. But George looked very sulky indeed.
In the Latin lesson Julian took the chance of asking what he wanted to know. ‘Please, Mr. Roland,’ he said, ‘could you tell me what “VIA OCGULTA” means?’
‘ “ViA OCCULTA” ?’ said Mr. Roland, frowning. ‘Yes -it means “Secret Path”, or “Secret Road”. A hidden way – something like that. Why do you want to know ?’
All the children were listening eagerly. Their hearts thumped with excitement. So Julian had been right. That funny bit of rag contained directions for some hidden way, some secret path – but where to! Where did it begin, and end ?
‘Oh – I just wanted to know,’ said Julian. ‘Thank you, sir.’
He winked at the others. He was as excited as they were. If only, only they could make out the rest of the markings, they might be able to solve the mystery. Well – perhaps he would ask Mr. Roland in a day or two. The secret must be solved somehow.
‘ “The Secret Way” ‘ said Julian to himself, as he worked out a problem in geometry. ‘ “The Secret Way”. I’ll find it somehow.’
Chapter Seven
DIRECTIONS FOR THE SECRET WAY
FOR the next day or two the four children did not really have much time to think about the Secret Way, because Christmas was coming near, and there was a good deal to do.
There were Christmas cards to draw and paint for their mothers and fathers and friends. There was the house to decorate. They went out with Mr. Roland to find sprays of holly, and came home laden.
‘You look like a Christmas card yourselves,’ said Aunt Fanny, as they walked up the garden path, carrying the red-berried holly over their shoulders. Mr. Roland had found a group of trees with tufts of mistletoe growing from the top branches, and they had brought some of that too. Its berries shone like pale green pearls.