When the children first went t live at the white house, they talked about Father a lot and were always asking questions about him. But at 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 Perks. And 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 the 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 to 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 out at her:
FIVE YEARS IN PRISON FOR SPY!
And the name of the 'spy' was the name of her Father.
Bobbie was very quite 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 belive it, do you? You don't belive 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.'