"What's the matter?" asked George, as the three children tore up to her."Has something happened?""Yes, George. Someone has taken three most important pages out of yourfather's book!" panted Julian. "And broken the test-tubes he was makingan experiment with. Mr. Roland thinks you might have had something to dowith it!""The beast!" said George, her blue eyes deepening with anger. "As if I'ddo a thing like that! Why should he think it's me, anyway?""Well, George, you left that bottle of oil in the study fender," saidAnne. "I haven't told anyone at all what you told me happened lastnight—but somehow Mr. Roland guessed you had something to do with thebottle of oil.""Didn't you tell the boys how I got Timmy indoors?" asked George. "Well,there's nothing much to tell, Julian, I just heard poor old Tim coughingin the night, and I half-dressed, went down, and took him into thestudy, where there was a fire. Mother keeps a bottle of oil that sheuses to rub her chest with when she has a cough—so I thought it mightdo Timmy's cold good, too. I got the oil and rubbed him well—and weboth fell asleep by the fire till six o'clock. I was sleepy when I wokeup, and forgot the oil. That's all.""And you didn't take any pages from the book Uncle Quentin is writing,and you didn't break anything in the study, did you?" said Anne."Of course not, silly," said George, indignantly. "How can you ask me athing like that? You must be mad."George never told a lie, and the others always believed her, whatevershe said. They stared at her, and she stared back."I wonder who could have taken those pages then?" said Julian. "Maybeyour father will come across them, after all. I expect he put them intosome safe place and then forgot all about them. And the test-tubes mighteasily have overbalanced and broken themselves. Some of them look veryshaky to me.""I suppose I shall get into trouble now for taking Tim into the study,"said George."And for not coming into lessons this morning," said Dick. "You reallyare an idiot, George. I never knew anyone like you for walking rightinto trouble.""Hadn't you better stay out a bit longer, till everyone has calmed downa bit?" said Anne."No," said George at once. "If I'm going to get into a row, I'll getinto it now! _I'm_ not afraid!"She marched over the cliff path, with Timmy running round her as usual.The others followed. It wasn't nice to think that George was going toget into such trouble.They came to the house and went up the path. Mr. Roland saw them fromthe window and opened the door. He glanced at George."Your father wants to see you in the study," said the tutor. Then heturned to the others, looking annoyed."Why did you go out without me? I meant to go with you.""Oh did you, sir? I'm sorry," said Julian, politely, not looking at Mr.Roland. "We just went out on the cliff a little way.""Georgina, did you go into the study last night?" asked Mr. Roland,watching George as she took off her hat and coat."I'll answer my father's questions, not yours," said George."What you want is a good spanking," said Mr. Roland. "And if I were yourfather I'd give it to you!""You're not my father," answered George. She went to the study door andopened it. There was no one there."Father isn't here," said George."He'll be there in a minute," said Mr. Roland. "Go in and wait. And youothers, go up and wash for lunch."The other three children felt almost as if they were deserting George asthey went up the stairs. They could hear Timmy whining from the yardoutside. He knew his little mistress was in trouble, and he wanted to bewith her.George sat down on a chair, and gazed at the fire, remembering how shehad sat on the rug there with Tim last night, rubbing his hairy chest.How silly of her to have forgotten the bottle of oil!Her father came into the room, frowning and angry. He looked sternly atGeorge."Were you in here last night, George?" he asked."Yes, I was," answered George at once."What were you doing in here?" asked her father. "You know you childrenare forbidden to come into my study.""I know," said George. "But you see Timmy had a dreadful cough, and Icouldn't bear it. So I crept down about one o'clock and let him in. Thiswas the only room that was really warm, so I sat here and rubbed hischest with the oil Mother uses when she has a cold.""Rubbed the dog's chest with camphorated oil!" exclaimed her father, inamazement. "What a mad thing to do! As if it would do him any good.""It didn't seem mad to me," said George. "It seemed sensible. AndTimmy's cough is much better to-day. I'm sorry for coming into thestudy. I didn't touch a thing, of course.""George, something very serious has happened," said her father, lookinggravely at her. "Some of my test-tubes with which I was doing animportant experiment, have been broken—and, worse than that, threepages of my book have gone. Tell me on your honour that you know nothingof these things.""I know nothing of them," said George, looking her father straight inthe eyes. Her own eyes shone very blue and clear as she gazed at him. Hefelt quite certain that George was speaking the truth. She could knownothing of the damage done. Then where were those pages?"George, last night when I went to bed at eleven o'clock, everything wasin order," he said. "I read over those three important pages and checkedthem once more myself. This morning they are gone.""Then they must have been taken between eleven o'clock and one o'clock,"said George. "I was here from that time until six.""But _who_ could have taken them?" said her father. "The window wasfastened, as far as I know. And nobody knows that those three pages wereso important but myself. It is most extraordinary.""Mr. Roland probably knew," said George, slowly."Don't be absurd," said her father. "Even if he did realise they wereimportant, he would not have taken them. He's a very decent fellow. Andthat reminds me—why were you not at lessons this morning, George?""I'm not going to do lessons any more with Mr. Roland," said George. "Isimply hate him!""George! I will _not_ have you talking like this!" said her father. "Doyou want me to say you are to lose Tim altogether?""No," said George, feeling shaky about the knees. "And I don't thinkit's fair to keep trying to force me to do things by threatening me withlosing Timothy. If—if—you do a thing like that—I'll—I'll run away orsomething!"There were no tears in George's eyes. She sat bolt upright on her chair,gazing defiantly at her father. How difficult she was! Her fathersighed, and remembered that he too in his own childhood had been called"difficult." Perhaps George took after him. She could be so good andsweet—and here she was being perfectly impossible!Her father did not know what to do with George. He thought he had betterhave a word with his wife. He got up and went to the door."Stay here. I shall be back in a moment. I want to speak to your motherabout you.""Don't speak to Mr. Roland about me, will you?" said George, who feltquite certain that the tutor would urge terrible punishments for her andTimmy. "Oh, Father, if only Timothy had been in the house last night,sleeping in my room as usual, he would have heard whoever it was thatstole your secret—and he would have barked and roused the house!"Her father said nothing, but he knew that what George had said was true.Timmy wouldn't have let anyone get into the study. It was funny hehadn't barked in the night, if anyone from outside had climbed in at thestudy window. Still, it was the other side of the house. Maybe he hadheard nothing.The door closed. George sat still on her chair, gazing up at themantelpiece, where a clock ticked away the time. She felt verymiserable. Everything was going wrong, every single thing!As she gazed at the panelled overmantel, she counted the wooden panels.There were eight. Now, where had she heard of eight panels before? Ofcourse—in that Secret Way. There were eight panels marked on the rollof linen. What a pity there had not been eight panels in a woodenovermantel at Kirrin Farmhouse!George glanced out of the window, and wondered if it faced east. Shelooked to see where the sun was—it was not shining into the room—butit did in the early morning—so it must face east. Fancy—here was aroom facing east and with eight wooden panels. She wondered if it had astone floor.The floor was covered with a large thick carpet. George got up and wentto the wall. She pulled up the edge of the carpet there—and saw thatthe floor underneath was made of large flat stones. The study had astone floor too!She sat down again and gazed at the wooden panels, trying to rememberwhich one in the roll of linen was marked with a cross. But of course itcouldn't be a room in Kirrin Cottage—it must be in Kirrin Farmhousewhere the Secret Way began.But just suppose it _was_ Kirrin Cottage! Certainly the directions hadbeen found in Kirrin Farmhouse—but that was not to say that the SecretWay had to begin there, even though Mrs. Sanders seemed to think it did.George was feeling excited. "I must tap round about those eight panelsand try to find the one that is marked on the linen roll," she thought."It may slide back or something, and I shall suddenly see the entranceopening!"She got up to try her luck—but at that moment the door opened again andher father came in. He looked very grave."I have been talking to your mother," he said. "She agrees with me thatyou have been very disobedient, rude and defiant. We can't let behaviourlike that pass, George. You will have to be punished."George looked anxiously at her father. If only her punishment hadnothing to do with Timothy! But, of course, it had.[Illustration: George walked out, holding her head high]"You will go to bed for the rest of the day, and you will not seeTimothy for three days," said her father. "I will get Julian to feed himand take him for a walk. If you persist in being defiant, Timothy willhave to go away altogether. I am afraid, queer as it may seem, that thatdog has a bad influence on you.""He hasn't, he hasn't!" cried George. "Oh, he'll be so miserable if Idon't see him for three whole days.""There's nothing more to be said," said her father. "Go straightupstairs to bed, and think over all I have said to you, George. I amvery disappointed in your behaviour these holidays. I really did thinkthe influence of your three cousins had made you into a normal, sensiblegirl. Now you are worse than you have ever been."He held open the door and George walked out, holding her head high. Sheheard the others having their dinner in the dining-room. She wentstraight upstairs and undressed. She got into bed and thought miserablyof not seeing Tim for three days. She couldn't bear it! Nobody couldpossibly know how much she loved Timothy!Joanna came up with a tray of dinner. "Well, Miss, it's a pity to seeyou in bed," she said cheerfully. "Now you be a sensible girl and behaveproperly and you'll soon be downstairs again."George picked at her dinner. She did not feel at all hungry. She layback on the bed, thinking of Tim and thinking of the eight panels overthe mantelpiece. Could they possibly be the ones shown in the Secret Waydirections? She gazed out of the window and thought hard."Golly, it's snowing!" she said suddenly, sitting up. "I thought itwould when I saw that leaden sky this morning. It's snowing hard! Itwill be quite thick by to-night—inches deep. Oh, poor Timothy. I hopeJulian will see that his kennel is kept clear of the drifting snow."George had plenty of time to think as she lay in bed. Joanna came andtook the tray away. No one else came to see her. George felt sure theother children had been forbidden to go up and speak to her. She feltlonely and left-out.She thought of her father's lost pages. Could Mr. Roland have takenthem? After all, he was very interested in her father's work and seemedto understand it. The thief must have been someone who knew which werethe important pages. Surely Timothy would have barked if a thief hadcome in from outside, even though the study was the other side of thehouse. Timmy had such sharp ears."I think it must have been someone _in_side the house," said George."None of us children, that's certain—and not Mother or Joanna. So thatonly leaves Mr. Roland. And I did find him in the study that other nightwhen Timmy woke me by growling."She sat up in bed suddenly. "I believe Mr. Roland had Timothy put out ofthe house because he wanted to go poking round the study again and wasafraid Tim would bark!" she thought. "He was so very insistent that Timshould go out of doors—even when everyone else begged for me to havehim indoors. I believe—I really do believe—that Mr. Roland is thethief!"The little girl felt very excited. Could it be that the tutor had stolenthe pages—and broken those important test-tubes? How she wished thatthe others would come and see her, so that she could talk things overwith them!
