The Evacuee War

by Katie King

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  It wasn’t long before troubling news came through, although irritatingly just when Peggy was tossing a coin to see which children would have the honour of the first bath.

  Once a week on bath night, Connie and Angela would take it in turns in the bath, washing their hair on alternate weeks to each other. The bath would then be emptied, and refilled and the boys would have their turn, although they dunked their short hair most times in the bath water and never gave it a specific wash.

  Roger was removing his outdoor shoes in the hallway following Evensong when there was a knock at the back door, and the farmer who had the holidaying Milburn grazing in his field with his carthorses, put his head around the door to announce, ‘Pony’s gone.’

  ‘What do you mean, gone?’ said Mabel.

  ‘Gone. I went to bring t’ mares in for the night, an’ there were no sign of t’ pony,’ he said. ‘But t’were this pinned t’ gate.’

  Tommy was just wandering through the kitchen in case of any food going begging – there wasn’t – and he grabbed what the farmer was holding out.

  It was a ransom note.

  Fight rematch else pony gets it. Plus sweet ration for five for one month.

  ‘Roger! Peggy!’ screeched Mabel. And with that Roger and Peggy, and the children, all thundered into the kitchen in panic to learn that Milburn had been kidnapped.

  The twins looked at each other askance, and Jessie was pleased to note that a shamefaced Connie seemed as bowled over by the shock news as the rest of them were. It was obvious that while Connie had enjoyed flirting with the danger the Hull boys represented, now it was coming home to her that to behave like this might have most unpleasant ramifications. Jessie felt vindicated for a few seconds, and then much less so as it stuck in his craw to gloat when his sister was feeling bad.

  Whatever, with Mabel’s announcement, nobody could now deny that the events of Friday afternoon had now escalated into something quite nasty.

  The next morning saw a very solemn mood at Tall Trees, partly because everyone felt worried about Milburn, partly because nobody had slept well and partly because there was going to be a meeting at the school first thing with the headmaster to discuss the events of Friday afternoon.

  Of course bathtime had gone out of the window the previous evening as Mabel couldn’t get any of the children near the tub, they were all so anxious, while Peggy and Roger had to use precious petrol to drive around looking for Milburn in all the obvious places.

  But it was dark and they couldn’t see much, and there was never Milburn’s familiar whinny when they called him and noisily shook some cut-up windfall apples about in a bucket, and so they had to return home empty-handed.

  They decided that to call the police, at least on the Sunday evening, wouldn’t be a good idea as it risked fuelling the flames at a very sensitive time between the Tall Trees children and the Hull boys.

  ‘Much as I’d like to teach those little imps a stern lesson right now,’ Peggy said to Roger in the car on the way home from their abortive searching mission, ‘I think we should go to the meeting at the school first before we do anything official about this, and see what the headmaster has to say. I’m sure this is just a bit of childish sabre-rattling and I doubt those boys would actually go as far as harming Milburn, although I admit I am worried about him in case they have put him somewhere that is dangerous for him, or have given him something to eat that could make him ill, or not given him a drink …’

  ‘Peggy, don’t let your thoughts get the better of you. What a damned nuisance though,’ said Roger. ‘We can’t lie to the children that Milburn will be all right, as we don’t know that for certain. But we need to keep them as calm as possible, and insist that this doesn’t mean a vendetta between the two groups can go on, or be ratcheted up to a new level. This silly business between them needs stamping out, and everyone make an effort to get on well. And as soon as possible.’

  ‘Poor Milburn.’

  Roger slammed on the brakes, and looked at Peggy. He slapped a hand to his forehead.

  ‘Actually, Peggy, I’ve just had an idea. I need to make a couple of telephone calls, but it might just work.’

  She asked Roger what he meant, but he refused to be drawn.

  ‘Headmaster, before we begin the meeting proper,’ said Peggy the next morning as quite a large group of people gathered in his office, although not Connie or Aiden or Dave, who were waiting in a nearby classroom under the strict eye of the head boy until the headmaster sent for them, ‘I think you should be aware that there have been two developments. And also that Roger would like to make a suggestion.’

  Roger, Mabel, Peggy and Aiden’s father had agreed beforehand that it was going to be much quicker if one adult did the bulk of the speaking on behalf of the Tall Trees contingent, and as a former schoolteacher, Peggy was used to how schools worked, and so she had been pushed into the position of spokesperson.

  Quickly, Peggy filled the headmaster in on the kidnapping of Milburn and showed him the ransom note.

  And then she said the second development was that James had spoken with Connie at the weekend, and although he was a medical doctor trained in the field of general surgery, he thought it highly likely that she was suffering from congenital word-blindness, and while this didn’t at all excuse Connie’s role in the fracas between Aiden and Dave, it might help explain why Connie had found it harder than the others to settle in the new school, and thus may lie at the root of all the recent trouble.

  ‘Right,’ said the headmaster after Peggy had finished, and he had pondered for a while about what she had said. ‘I have given the matter due consideration and I think that Aiden, Connie and David should be given formal warnings but not asked to leave the school. This is largely down to their young age. I am minded that Connie and David should be separated in class, however, and so I propose that Connie should be moved to 1D, where she would be in the same class as Larry, Angela and Tommy, which hopefully will help her settle. And I will make sure all of her teachers are aware there may be a physiological problem with her reading issues and so it might not be a case of her simply being naughty and they must spend one-to-one time with her regularly on her reading.

  ‘Meanwhile, I am going to personally spend half an hour a day during school hours with David and his two friends from Hull, who have all now been held back two whole years, and this time with me shall be spent focusing on teaching them how to read. Their family situation in Hull is chaotic in all three cases, and so they haven’t had the best start in life, but I want to give them an opportunity to better themselves, should they choose to commit to it. I will insist that the pony must be returned at once, and all threats between the groups of children end. Is this acceptable to any parents or guardians, and are there any questions? Are we able to draw a line under this unfortunate incident now?’

  All the adults thought the headmaster’s comment sounded very fair.

  And then Roger put forward his idea.

  The headmaster and the deputy head thought about it for a while, and after they had a quick confab, they said it sounded interesting and they were willing to support it. And then the headmaster proposed a few things the school could do to help.

  ‘Come in, children,’ said the deputy head, and the head boy was told to round up the other children from Tall Trees and Hull, after which he could go back to his lessons.

  It was quite a squeeze in the headmaster’s office once Connie, Aiden and Dave were there too.

  The headmaster explained to the newcomers what was going to happen. There was to be no further fighting and any vendetta had to end forthwith; an unharmed Milburn had to be returned; none of the three would be expelled from the school, as would be normal once violence had come into the equation, but all of them would be put on final warnings, which meant that the slightest misdemeanour from then on could lead to any one being asked to leave immediately; Connie would be moved up a grade and her reading discussed with her fo
rm tutor and other teachers; and there would be compulsory reading tuition overseen by the headmaster for Dave, Hugh and Stuart, who were also reminded that there were to be no reprisals of any description for Connie being removed to a different class from them.

  ‘Does everyone understand what I have said?’ said the headmaster.

  ‘Yes, sir,’ the three children said.

  ‘And the vendetta between all of you ends now?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘And will there be no problem in returning the pony?’

  ‘No, sir,’ said Dave, a guilty twang in his voice.

  ‘Let this be an end to the matter then, and we will mention it no more. But mark my words, any sign of bad behaviour from any one of the three of you, and you will be hauled back to my office and a much more severe punishment given,’ said the headmaster very firmly.

  The children said as one ‘thank you, sir’, and then made as if to stand up once it was obvious the headmaster had finished, but to their surprise the head then said the meeting wasn’t over yet and they should remain seated.

  ‘Reverend Braithwaite is going to talk to you now,’ he explained.

  For a split second Peggy wondered who the headmaster was referring to, but then she realised that this was Roger, of course, and she just wasn’t used to hearing anyone say his surname.

  ‘Right, before I begin, I want you to understand that us adults and teachers are all in agreement here,’ Roger said. ‘And before I explain further, we need to have the other four evacuees from Hull here, and the rest of the children from Tall Trees, and so we will wait until they join us.’

  A few minutes later the new influx of pupils had managed to squeeze into the room.

  ‘For the benefit of the newcomers, you have not been called here as regards any punishment about the events last Friday afternoon, but because there is a project afoot that concerns all of you,’ explained Roger, and the children exchanged questioning looks with one another.

  ‘It is a project that will be to everyone’s advantage, and it is one that’s been sanctioned by the school—’ the headmaster nodded gravely as Roger spoke ‘—but before it can begin, Milburn is to be returned safe and sound from his horse-nap, otherwise the police will be involved, make no mistake about that. This is non-negotiable, as is the fact that all fighting between anyone in this room stops from this moment on. For good, do you hear? Are we all agreed on that?’ Roger repeated for the benefit of the newcomers.

  Everyone nodded, and Peggy noted that several of the Hull boys looked quite pale when Milburn was mentioned. She thought they had probably taken the pony as a joke, and to see how the Tall Trees children would respond to the threat, rather than the ransom being serious in any way.

  Roger then said, ‘Secondly, David – along with the other evacuees from Hull: Hugh, Stuart, Sam and Jared – and the younger residents at Tall Trees, who are Tommy, Larry, Angela, Jessie and Connie, and yes, you too Aiden, as we are happy to have you back living with us, if your parents will allow it—’ Aiden’s father nodded at this, and Connie and Aiden risked a quick smile at each other that they weren’t going to have to live apart after all ‘—will all have to combine forces to work together on a single project. Working together for one objective, which will be to make the project a success …’

  The children, to a person, looked dumbstruck at an adult suggesting that they combined forces.

  Roger continued, ‘And that project is to be a, er, pantomime, which will be put on at the temporary hospital between Christmas and New Year for two performances to amuse the recuperating servicemen, and then in the new year it will transfer to the church hall for another two performances, this time to raise money for the war effort. So it is a serious project, and the success of it, or not, will be a matter for public scrutiny.’

  There was stunned silence from all of the children.

  Roger was undaunted. Peggy was impressed with how important he made the panto seem.

  ‘There are stipulations to this, and these are non-negotiable too. These stipulations are that Connie is to write the pantomime, Aiden to direct it, and David will be stage manager. We adults will help you in every way we can, but – and this is a huge but – it is the responsibility of the three of you to make all the key decisions, and to work out from amongst those from Hull and those from Tall Trees, precisely who should do what. Every evening a classroom at school will be kept open until six o’clock for you to use under the supervision of a teacher or Mrs Delbert—’ with a nod towards Peggy ’—and you can have free use of the school library at breaks and lunchtimes so that you can work on this. It is up to you – are you listening, Connie, Aiden and Dave? – to get this show on the road, and to make some money from it for good causes,’ said Roger. ‘Failure is not an option.’

  ‘But I’ve never even seen a pantomime,’ wailed Dave.

  ‘I don’t know how to write one – quite literally, I don’t know how to write one!’ cried Connie.

  ‘And everyone is going to argue with me,’ moaned Aiden. ‘And I’m never going to be able to get my way, and make people to do what I say.’

  ‘Well,’ said Peggy, ‘there’s a lot for all three of you to get your teeth into then, isn’t there? Best crack on with it, I’d say. Some tips: pulling together is going to make life a lot easier for all of you, rather than working against each other. And do remember that you have a team of helpers in the others from Hull and from Tall Trees. Most of all, you three, throw yourself into getting this panto up and running with enthusiasm and gusto – don’t any of you be half-hearted about it, or believe for a moment that it cannot happen. All of us grown-ups here think you can do this, and very successfully too.’

  Dutifully the grown-ups nodded, and Peggy hoped that nobody noticed her sneak her fingers behind her back so that she could cross her fingers about all the adults believing the children could do this.

  She added, ‘Finally, as special dispensation, your headmaster has agreed that Roger and I can take you to a matinee at the cinema this afternoon, where we hope you will find some inspiration. We are going to watch The Wizard of Oz, which might be of help to you. But before this can happen, Milburn needs to be back in his stable at Tall Trees. You have until eleven o’clock this morning for him to be returned and then have you all back in your classrooms, as at that time if Milburn isn’t back, I shall telephone the police to report a horse theft.’

  All the children seemed stunned still over the pantomime announcement, but they rose as one and went to deal with the Milburn question.

  But as they headed down the school corridor away from the headmaster’s office, the Tall Trees group kept looking at each other with puzzled brows, and Jessie noticed similar glances being shared amongst the Hull lads, who were walking ahead of them.

  What a strange turn of events, and goodness knows how it would all pan out was what the questioning looks seemed to be saying.

  Still, Jessie saw at once that being so perplexed did unify them all in quite a lot of ways.

  He could only hope that this was something that would continue until after the dratted pantomime had been written, performed and then put away for good.

  Connie caught his eye. It appeared she was thinking exactly the same thing.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Peggy never needed to make the call, as at five to eleven there was a tap on the headmaster’s door, and Dave entered to say that Milburn was back at Tall Trees, and everyone was in their classrooms other than him, and he would be in time if they let him go that very minute.

  It was a close-run thing that left Peggy relieved as she hadn’t fancied getting the police involved.

  She left the school, and at midday she enjoyed a long telephone call with Barbara, when Peggy called the Jolly as they had agreed the previous evening she would do to update Barbara and Ted on how the meeting in the headmaster’s office went.

  ‘Honestly, Barbara, it was miles better than expected – I wish you could have been there to
see it. Roger told the children about the pantomime, and they were all simply knocked for six. Of course they don’t know, and hopefully they never will need to, that there is a back-up plan every bit of the way, and I can step in if necessary, and James has lots of people with him at the hospital who aren’t well enough to go home but who are well enough to help with stage sets, or costumes, or music or whatever. But we’ll let Connie and co struggle on their own a bit, and see if they can work it all out for themselves, and delegate various jobs to one another,’ said Peggy.

  ‘Goodness,’ said Barbara. ‘I thought it sounded barmy last night, and I still do, and there’s only about nine weeks until the first performance, which would put off most professional outfits. But if they can pull it off, what a feather in their caps!’

  ‘I really hope they see it for the opportunity it is,’ Peggy said, ‘and that if it goes well, they should be able to get immersed in the schoolwork the spring term full of confidence at having achieved something that will feel stupendous to them. I definitely think it will help with the self-assurance of all the children. They are all fired up with how they can put on the pantomime and donate all the profits from the ticket sales to the war effort. Connie and Jessie have been wanting to think of something else to do for this after what they’d seen in London, especially as the paper and metal collection from the summer has had to be on hold since Milburn injured himself.’

  ‘That’s as maybe re the pantomime raising money. I mean, it’ll be very welcome and that, I’m sure, but aren’t you missing something out, Peggy?’

  Peggy wasn’t sure what her sister was driving at.

  ‘Well, wouldn’t you say there could be a benefit for you too?’ said Barbara teasingly.

  ‘I’m sure I have no idea what you mean.’ Peggy knew now precisely what Barbara was saying, but her heart had leapt with this understanding, and she felt she needed to buy herself a little time to get herself back under control.