the North, and with those from the South. But when
the South lost the war, and there was equality for black
people, Uncle Elias left America. So in 1869 he came
back to England and went to live in a large house in the
country. He was a strange, unhappy man.
'He did not want any friends,' John Openshaw
went on, 'and he often drank a lot. But he liked me,
and when I was twelve, I moved to Uncle Elias's house.
He was very kind to me. I could go anywhere in the
house. But there was one small room at the top of the
house which was always locked. Nobody could go into
this room.
'One day Uncle Elias got a letter from Pondicherry
in India. "I don't know anyone in Pondicherry!" he
said, but when he opened the envelope, five little
orange pips fell on to his plate. I began to laugh but
stopped when I saw my uncle's white face.
"K.K.K.!" he cried. "Oh my God, my God, they've
found me!"
"What do you mean, uncle?" I asked.
"Death!" he cried, and ran upstairs.
i looked at the envelope, which had three Ks on the
back. There was no letter. Who sent it? And why was
my uncle so afraid?
'Uncle Elias went immediately to the secret room
and took out a box which also had three Ks on it. He
burnt all the papers in the box, and said to me, "John, I
know that I'm going to die soon. My brother, your