| Quote from the story |
| "I bet they'll be jolly grateful to us when a war comes along. I bet we'll save the country while they're messin' about tryin' to remember where they put their gas masks" |
| - William |
|---|
It's not until a local blackout that the allure of the A.R.P enters his mind again. He discovers that there would be a need to remove children from crowded cities to safer places. Considering Hadley to meet this description, he endeavours to investigate how best to remove children to his own village during the war. Coming across the twins, Hector and Herbert; William explains the situation. The twins are excited at the prospect of being evacuated and William takes them to his village.
Upon showing them the way to his unoccupied house, they convince him to let them in. It becomes increasingly apparent to William that Hector and Herbert think that they have literally been evacuated. This is clarified when they suggest that they need to go and get their things from home!
Miss Milton visits to drop rice off for Mrs. Brown's Pound Day. She decides to write a note to Mrs Brown and inevitably hears the twins, however William tries to convince her that the sounds are rats and a bit of wind! Miss Milton proudly decides that she's having her first manifestation, a gift that allows her to hear voices everywhere.
Mrs Monks follows shortly after with her Pound Day donation (yet more rice) and to leave a note for Mrs Brown. Miss Thompson follows, with more rice, and yet another note is written. All the while, the twins are still in the basement, being strangely quiet. Before William can return the twins to their rightful home, his mother arrives home. Clearly frustrated that no one can think of anything but rice, she suggests a nice cosy tea with William. Before making it clear that she won't do anything else before drinking a cup of tea, William attempts to get her to lie down for a rest and then to check the shed for tools he's sure have been stolen. At this point Miss Milton returns, to chec her new found ability, which seemed to have left her when she exited William's garden gate.
Enter Mrs Monk and Miss Thompson and the reason for the quietness of the twins becomes clear. They've taken Mrs Monk's purse and diary from her bag, and the trimming from Miss Thompson's hat. With William in the prescence of the adult-visitors each time, clearly it can't have been him!
It's at this moment that noises occur from down below. Mrs Brown orders William to the police station and locks the cellar door. However, when childish laughter is heard, they realise it is children.
Mrs Monks, a sunday-school teacher, marches down the cellar to deal with the twins. She is seen as the 'enemy' and is pelted with pickled eggs and upon her retreat shouts of "We're bombing the enemy" are heard.
William returns with what he believes is a plausible explanation, however before voicing it, his mother directs him to retrieve the twins. Ethel and Robert fresh from their ARP training, bandage Hector's head and decontaminate Herbert.
In typical William fashion, as Mrs Brown turns to confront him, he has vanished. He'd decided to evacuate himself!
| Characters | Places |
|---|---|
| William Brown | William's Village |
| Ginger | Hadley |
| Henry | William's Home |
| Douglas | |
| Victor Jameson | Other appearances of this story |
| Ronald Bell | William at War |
| Arabella Simpkin | |
| Arabella's sister | |
| Hector | |
| Herbert | |
| Mrs Brown | |
| Mr Brown | |
| Miss Milton | |
| Mrs Monk | |
| Miss Louisa Thompson |
