Lloyd stopped in the middle of the corridor. ‘Yes,’ he said softly. ‘Exploding eggshells! There was someone else who knew. Dinah saw you go into school early. And you told her that you watched the Assembly.’
‘But she wouldn’t have told. Would she?’
Lloyd pulled a face. ‘Of course she would. It’s all her fault you’re in trouble. Like yesterday. That was her fault too.’ Then he saw Harvey start to look upset and he put an arm round his shoulders. ‘Never mind. It could be worse. They’ve only given you sums to do. And you’re quite good at sums.’
‘I expect they’re hard,’ Harvey faltered.
‘Let’s have a look.’
Harvey ripped open the envelope and pulled out three sheets of paper folded together. He glanced at them briefly and then said, in a horrified voice, ‘L, I’ll never work out the answers. I can’t even understand the questions.’
‘Let me see.’ Lloyd snatched the papers out of his hand. ‘I can always help you.’
He began to read with scornful confidence, but a moment later he, too, was looking completely baffled.
‘You see?’ Harvey said. ‘We can’t. Oh, what am I going to do?’
Lloyd took the envelope and pushed the papers back into it. ‘We’ll let Mandy have a look. She’s quite good at sums. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll show them to Mum when we get home. She’ll help you if she can. And if she can’t—’ all at once he looked pleased ‘—she’ll see they’re much too difficult for you. Then even she will have to admit there’s something peculiar going on.’
When they got home, Mrs Hunter was sitting in the kitchen having a cup of tea with Dinah. Lloyd walked straight past Dinah without even looking at her.
‘Mum, we want to talk to you.’
‘Well, of course.’ Mrs Hunter smiled. ‘Have a cup of tea?’
Lloyd flicked his fingers impatiently. ‘No. We want to talk to you alone.’
At once, his mother stiffened. ‘I’ve told you about that before. Dinah’s a member of the family and you must treat her like one. If you’ve got anything to say, you can say it with her here.’
‘But you don’t understand—’ Lloyd began sulkily.
‘Please, L,’ Harvey broke in, ‘don’t waste time. Let’s just show her the sums.’ He pulled the papers out of the envelope and threw them on the table.
‘The Headmaster gave them to him,’ Lloyd said, ‘and they’re terrible. You must help him.’
Mrs Hunter shook her head. ‘Now, you know you mustn’t cheat. If the Headmaster gave them to Harvey, he means him to do them by himself.’
‘But, Mum, I can’t,’ Harvey said pathetically. ‘They’re awful. You look.’
Mrs Hunter picked up the paper and scanned it. Then she gave a little laugh. ‘It’s no use. It doesn’t mean anything to me. I don’t understand any of this New Maths you all do.’
‘It’s not New Maths!’ Harvey shouted. ‘It’s just incredibly difficult.’
‘Now, now, dear,’ Mrs Hunter said, a little sharply, ‘calm down. Let me give you a cup of tea. Then you can go away quietly by yourself and look at it. I’m sure you’ll find it’s all right when you think about it. The Headmaster wouldn’t be unreasonable.’
‘That’s what you think,’ Lloyd said bitterly. ‘He’s a maniac’
‘Don’t be silly,’ Mrs Hunter said. ‘I’m sure he’s not a maniac. Is he, Dinah?’
With an expression of utter misery on her face, Dinah said, ‘The Headmaster is a marvellous man, and this is the best school I’ve ever been to.’
‘It’s no good asking her!’ Lloyd shouted. ‘It’s all her fault. She’s the one who got Harvey into trouble.’
‘Me?’ Dinah said.
‘Yes, you!’ He glared at her, and she stared back, looking completely baffled.
‘Oh, what’s the use of quarrelling?’ Harvey said desperately. ‘What does it matter? All that matters is that I’ve got these sums to do and I can’t do them. And nobody can help me. It’s going to be awful,’ He snatched up the papers and ran out of the room, banging the door behind him.
‘See what you’ve done?’ Lloyd shouted at Dinah. ‘Oh, I wish you’d never come!’
He ran after Harvey, banging the door again, and found him in the playroom, huddled in a chair. His shoulders were shaking and he was beginning to sob fiercely.
‘Oh, H, do stop it. That won’t help.’
‘Nothing will help,’ said Harvey, in a totally wretched voice. ‘I shan’t be able to do the sums and tomorrow I’ll have to go and see the Headmaster, and it will be frightful and—oh!’ With a loud wail, he buried himself deep in the cushions.
At that moment, the playroom door opened again.
‘Please may I see the sums?’ said a stiff little voice from the doorway.
9
Dinah’s Secret
Dinah had not expected them to be nice to her. It had cost her quite a lot to push the door open. But at the sight of Harvey sobbing among the cushions, she was sure she had done the right thing.
‘Please may I see the sums?’
‘No you may not!’ Lloyd snapped. ‘You only want to gloat, don’t you? You’re just a mean, horrible—’
Harvey raised a tear-stained face from the cushions. ‘Oh, let her,’ he said wearily. ‘What difference can it make? I don’t think she’s horrible enough to gloat, even if you do. There you are, Di. There are the beastly sums. On the floor.’
Dinah bent down and picked up the pieces of paper. Her cheeks had turned red and her heart was thudding uncomfortably. Be quiet! a voice in her head was saying. Don’t be too clever. Don’t give yourself away. She looked at Harvey and then at Lloyd’s wretched, worried face. And then at the sums.
‘Aren’t they impossible?’ Lloyd said.
Dinah took a deep breath. ‘There’s no way either of you could do them.’
‘Ha, ha,’ Lloyd sneered. ‘And I suppose you could, clever clogs.’
‘Yes,’ Dinah said slowly. ‘Yes, I can.’
Lloyd stared at her.
‘It’s all right, Harvey,’ said Dinah. ‘I can do your sums.’
There was total silence. Harvey’s mouth fell open and Lloyd went on staring.
‘I can do them,’ Dinah said again.
Harvey sat up, blinking at them. His hair flopped over his eyes and his cheeks were red.
‘Honest?’
‘Honest,’ said Dinah reluctantly. ‘Give me a pen and some paper and I’ll do them now.’
She felt their eyes watching her as she sat down at the table and read the first sum.
‘You need to use Probability Theory for that one,’ she said briskly. Her eye travelled on down the page. ‘And Spherical Geometry for that one. And this one—phew!’ She whistled. ‘You need Tensor Calculus for that. He really didn’t mean you to do them, did he?’
‘But you can do them?’ Harvey said anxiously.
‘I told you.’ Her pen started to move across the paper and, behind her, she heard Lloyd gasp in disbelief. Taking no notice, she plunged into the sums, completely absorbed. One or two of the problems were so difficult that she had to think hard and she began to hum softly, enjoying herself. By the time she had finished, the two boys were staring at her with awed curiosity.
‘How—how on earth did you do them?’ Lloyd said awkwardly.
Dinah sat back in her chair. ‘I’m clever.’
Lloyd’s mouth twitched, as if he were going to jeer, and she laughed suddenly. ‘No, I’m not boasting. I’m really clever. At sums and all sorts of things like that.’
‘Nobody told us,’ Lloyd said sulkily.
‘Nobody knows.’ Dinah pulled a face. ‘Can’t you imagine how other children would treat me? They’d be mean. I found that out when I was about five. So—I decided to play stupid. I kept quiet and I just went on finding out about things by myself, at the library and so on. And no one’s ever guessed. Nobody’s known about me. Until now.’
Lloyd still looked dubious, but H
arvey gave a sudden crow of delight. ‘So you’ve done the horrible old sums. Whoopee!’ He jumped to his feet and did a little jig. ‘I’m starving!’
‘Should just think you are,’ Lloyd said gruffly. ‘After all that stupid fuss you made. Here—have this.’ He pulled a Mars bar out of his pocket and tossed it over. Tearing off the paper, Harvey began to cram it into his mouth greedily, but Lloyd was still staring at Dinah.
‘You didn’t want anyone to know you were clever,’ he said slowly. ‘You’ve hidden it all these years. But you’ve told us now. Why?’
Dinah looked down at her fingers, feeling embarrassed. ‘I couldn’t let Harvey—well, I was sorry for him.’
‘But we’ve been foul to you.’
She grinned wryly. ‘You’ve been foul to me. Harvey’s been quite nice.’
Lloyd frowned. ‘But it doesn’t make any sense. You’ve just got Harvey out of trouble. But it was you that got him into it. It must have been you that told about him going into school early and spying on the Assembly. No one else knew.’
Dinah shook her head. ‘It wasn’t me that told. Anyway, Rose saw him going in for the registers. She was watching through the window. Perhaps someone saw him outside the Hall as well.’
‘But you lied about the snowballs, and you keep saying how marvellous the school is, and telling about the films you see in Assembly. And it’s all lies. You know it is. I can’t understand you at all.’
Dinah put her face in her hands. ‘It’s worse than that,’ she said slowly. Then she paused for a moment. Somehow, talking about it made it seem realer, more frightening. But if she did not talk about it now, she never would. She forced herself to go on. ‘I don’t understand me. All those things you’ve described—they come out mechanically. Before I’ve decided what I’m going to say. And when I say how marvellous the school is—I know what I really think, but I can’t say it.’
‘But that’s ridiculous.’ Lloyd began to march up and down the room. ‘Why should you say things you don’t want to?’
Harvey had finished eating the Mars bar and was watching them both with quiet interest. All of a sudden, he said, ‘Assembly.’
‘What?’ Lloyd stopped pacing and looked at him. ‘What do you mean?’
Harvey wiped his chocolate-covered fingers on the arm of the chair. ‘It must be something to do with Assembly. It’s the only place Dinah goes where neither of us does. What happened in Assembly today, Di?’
‘In Assembly this afternoon,’ Dinah chanted, ‘we saw a film about coal-mines and—’ She clapped a hand over her mouth and, with a visible effort, stopped speaking.
‘That’s right,’ Harvey said. ‘You didn’t. I felt so rotten this afternoon I hardly did any work. Just looked out of the window. And the lights never went out.’
Dinah looked distressed. ‘Don’t you see?’ she said urgently, ‘it’s the same thing again. I’ve said that something happened. A long explanation that came reeling out before I could think about it. And you say it’s not true. Just like you said about the snowball fight.’
‘And we’re right,’ insisted Lloyd.
Slowly, Dinah nodded. ‘I think you might be. But why should I say these things? And if we don’t see films in Assembly—what happens?’ Her eyes were big and worried.
‘You must remember, Di,’ Harvey said. ‘If you were there, you must remember it somehow, with some part of your brain. Go on. Remember it, remember it.’
‘Say that again,’ Dinah muttered, in an odd voice.
Harvey was puzzled. ‘I just said—go on, remember it, remember it.’
‘Go on,’ Dinah said. ‘Don’t stop. It’s coming.’
‘Remember it, remember it, remember it,’ chanted Harvey.
Dinah’s forehead creased, as if she were making a mammoth effort.
‘Remember it, remember it, remember it.’
As if she were in a daze, she started to mumble and stutter. ‘Hyp—, hyp—, hypno—’
Then her face flooded with joyful excitement. ‘Hypnotism!’ she yelled, banging her fist down on the table. ‘That’s it! Hypnotism.’
Lloyd looked at her doubtfully.
‘That’s it!’ she said again, her eyes glowing. ‘The first day, when I went into Assembly, I didn’t look at the Headmaster’s eyes when the others did. I closed mine. And I heard him hypnotize everyone else. But then he caught me. I just had time to think remember it, remember it—and then I was hypnotized and I forgot. Until Harvey brought it back. The Headmaster hypnotizes everyone in Assembly.’ She stared round triumphantly at them.
‘But why?’ Harvey said dubiously. ‘What’s the point?’
Dinah shrugged. ‘It’s a good way to keep everyone in order. And you know how he likes order. While they’re hypnotized, he tells them what to do when they wake up. And they can’t help doing it. Like me saying those things. And I think—’ she paused, considering, ‘—I think he probably makes us learn things, parrot-fashion, while we’re hypnotized. Then, when we’re awake, we can remember them and write them down.’
‘A quick way to produce a school full of geniuses,’ Lloyd said sourly. But Dinah shook her head.
‘We’re not learning to think. We’re just learning to repeat things. Like robots. It looks good, but it’s no use at all.’
Harvey shuddered. ‘It’s horrible.’
‘It’s all right for you,’ Dinah said. ‘He doesn’t do it to you. I wonder why not.’
‘He can’t,’ Harvey said. ‘We’re invulnerable.’
He was only joking, but Dinah looked serious. ‘I think you might be right. Some people can’t be hypnotized. Has he ever tried it with you? Gazed into your eyes and told you you were tired?’
‘Yes,’ Lloyd said slowly. ‘He did once. When I first came to the school. He took off his glasses and stared at me and said, “Lloyd, you are very tired. You are very, very sleepy.”’
‘And what happened?’
‘Nothing much. I just said, “No, sir, I’m fine, thank you.”’
‘So did I,’ put in Harvey. ‘He did it to me, too. I just thought he was being silly.’
‘Oh no,’ Dinah said slowly, ‘I don’t think he’s silly at all. He’s cruel and terrifying, and he’s got an obsession with tidiness, but he’s not silly. He’s very, very clever. He’s got a whole school full of children who will do precisely what he wants. He must feel very powerful.’ Her voice was awed. ‘Very powerful,’ she said again. ‘If I were him, I don’t think I’d be satisfied with having one measly school in my power!’
‘What do you mean?’ Harvey said.
She looked round at them. ‘Think of it. He’s got a whole army of people—people like me— who’ll do and say exactly what he wants. Why should he stop there? Sooner or later, he’s going to want to do something with his army.’
There was a long, tense pause. Then Harvey said, ‘L, don’t you think—we should bring the others in on this?’
Lloyd looked carefully at Dinah. ‘Think she can be trusted?’
‘Of course,’ Harvey said impatiently. ‘Look what she’s just done for me.’ He flapped the paper with the sums on. ‘We’ll swear her to secrecy. Tomorrow. After school.’
10
SPLAT
‘We always go in separately,’ Lloyd said in a mysterious voice. ‘Just in case anyone’s watching. You go first, H. I’ll bring Dinah in a moment,’
Harvey nodded and slipped away down an alley between the houses opposite. Lloyd prodded Dinah. ‘Go on. Keep staring in the shop window. As if you’re interested.’
‘In baths and basins?’ Dinah said lightly. ‘Who’d believe that? Go on, Lloyd. Tell me what’s happening.’
‘Wait and see.’ Lloyd looked even more mysterious. ‘You’ll find out soon enough.’
He went on examining a purple soap dish with every appearance of enthusiasm for a couple more minutes. Then he glanced at his watch and looked up and down the road. ‘OK. I think it’s all right now. Come on.’
He led the
way, with elaborate casualness, down the alley. At the bottom was a gate into a garden. He pushed it open and they were facing a little wooden shed. He rapped on the door.
‘The man who can keep order can rule the world,’ said a voice from inside.
Beside him, Lloyd felt Dinah start with surprise, and he grinned. ‘But the man who can bear disorder is truly free,’ he answered.
The wooden door opened. ‘Pass, friend.’
He slid through, motioning Dinah to follow him. She bent her head sideways, to avoid the garden tools hanging round the opening, and walked in, to find herself confronting four pairs of eyes. Ian, Mandy, and Ingrid looked frankly hostile. Only Harvey gave her an encouraging smile.
‘Have a box.’ He pushed one towards her, and she sat down, like the others, squashed uncomfortably close in the confined space. The shed was dark and dusty, and the box creaked perilously underneath her.
Ian looked at her, raising one elegant fair eyebrow. ‘Well, well, Lloyd,’ he murmured. ‘Who have you brought with you, then? I hope you have a good excuse.’
‘He’d better have,’ little Ingrid said hotly. ‘He’s broken all the rules and put us all in danger.’
Mandy smiled gently. ‘Suppose we hear what he’s got to say. Lloyd doesn’t usually do things without a good reason.’
Lloyd nodded. ‘I’m glad Mandy said that. I didn’t really want to bring Dinah, but I think she’s got some important information to give you.’
‘But she’s one of Them,’ Ingrid said crossly. ‘One of the Headmaster’s goody-goodies. Why should we believe anything she says?’
‘You will when you’ve heard it,’ Harvey broke in. ‘Oh, go on, Di. Tell them.’
‘Wait a minute.’ Dinah had sat quietly, listening to them arguing. Now she sat up straighter. ‘You want to know that I won’t get you into trouble. That’s fair enough. But how do I know that you won’t get me into trouble? What is all this, and why do you meet here, in secret?’
Ingrid bridled again, but Ian said, ‘It’s a fair enough question. Why don’t you explain, Mr Chairman? Now she’s seen this much, it can’t do any more harm.’
The Demon Headmaster Page 6
