[410] 'Really, I've never seen your uncle so jolly,' she said to Julian and Dick. 'He and Mr. Roland are getting on like a house on fire. He has been showing your tutor quite a lot of his experiments. It's nice for him to have someone to talk to that knows a little about these things.'
[411] Mr. Roland played games with the children that evening. Tim was in the room, and the tutor tried again to make friends with him, but the dog refused to take any notice of him.
[412] 'As sulky as his little mistress!' said the tutor, with a laughing look at George, who was watching Tim refuse to go to Mr. Roland, and looking rather pleased about it. She gave the tutor a scowl and said nothing.
[413] 'Shall we ask him whether "VIA OCCULT" really does mean "Secret Way" or not, tomorrow?' said Julian to Dick, as they undressed that night. 'I'm just longing to know if it does. What do you think of Mr. Roland, Dick?'
[414] 'I don't really quite know,' said Dick. 'I like lots of things about him, but then I suddenly don't like him at all. I don't like his eyes. And George is quite right about his lips. They are so thin there's hardly anything of them at all.'
[415] 'I think he's all right,' said Julian. 'He won't stand any nonsense, that's all. I wouldn't mind showing him the whole piece of rag and asking him to make out its meaning for us.'
[416] 'I thought you said it was to be a proper secret,' said Dick.
[417] 'I know - but what's the use of a secret we don't know the meaning of ourselves?' said Julian. I'll tell you what we could do - ask him to explain the words to us, and not show him the bit of linen.’
[418] 'But we can't read some of the words ourselves,' said Dick. 'So that's no use. You'd have to show him the whole thing, and tell him where we got it.'
[419] 'Well, I'll see,' said Julian, getting into bed.
[420] The next day there were lessons again from half-past nine to half-past twelve. George appeared without Tim.
She was angry at having to do this, but it was no good being defiant and refusing to come to lessons without Tim. Now that he had snapped at Mr. Roland, he had definitely put himself in the wrong, and the tutor had every right to refuse to allow him to come. But George looked very sulky indeed.
[421] In the Latin lesson Julian took the chance of asking what he wanted to know. 'Please, Mr. Roland,' he said, 'could you tell me what "VIA OCGULTA" means?'
[422] '"VIA OCCULTA"?' said Mr. Roland, frowning. 'Yes -it means "Secret Path", or "Secret Road". A hidden way - something like that. Why do you want to know?'
[423] All the children were listening eagerly. Their hearts thumped with excitement. So Julian had been right. That funny bit of rag contained directions for some hidden way, some secret path - but where to! Where did it begin, and end?
[424] 'Oh - I just wanted to know,' said Julian. 'Thank you, sir.'
He winked at the others. He was as excited as they were. If only, only they could make out the rest of the markings, they might be able to solve the mystery. Well - perhaps he would ask Mr. Roland in a day or two. The secret must be solved somehow.
[425] '"The Secret Way" ' said Julian to himself, as he worked out a problem in geometry. ' "The Secret Way". I'll find it somehow.'
[426] Chapter Seven DIRECTIONS FOR THE SECRET WAY
[427] FOR the next day or two the four children did not really have much time to think about the Secret Way, because Christmas was coming near, and there was a good deal to do.
There were Christmas cards to draw and paint for their mothers and fathers and friends. There was the house to decorate. They went out with Mr. Roland to find sprays of holly, and came home laden.
[428] 'You look like a Christmas card yourselves,' said Aunt Fanny, as they walked up the garden path, carrying the red-berried holly over their shoulders. Mr. Roland had found a group of trees with tufts of mistletoe growing from the top branches, and they had brought some of that too. Its berries shone like pale green pearls.
[429] 'Mr. Roland had to climb the tree to get this,' said Anne. 'He's a good climber - as good as a monkey.'
[430] Everyone laughed except George. She never laughed at anything to do with the tutor. They all dumped their loads down in the porch, and went to wash. They were to decorate the house that evening.
[431] 'Is Uncle going to let his study be decorated too?' asked Anne. There were all kinds of strange instruments and glass tubes in the study now, and the children looked at them with wonder whenever they ventured into the study, which was very seldom.
[432] 'No, my study is certainly not to be messed about,' said Uncle Quentin, at once. 'I wouldn't hear of it.'
[433] 'Uncle, why do you have all these funny things in your study?' asked Anne, looking round with wide eyes.
[434] Uncle Quentin laughed. I'm looking for a secret formula!' he said.
[435] 'What's that?' said Anne.
[436] 'You wouldn't understand,' said her uncle. 'All these "funny things" as you call them, help me in my experiments, and I put down in my book what they tell me -and from all I learn I work out a secret formula, that will be of great use when it is finished.'
[437] 'You want to know a secret formula, and we want to know a secret way,' said Anne, quite forgetting that she was not supposed to talk about this.
[438] Julian was standing by the door. He frowned at Anne. Luckily Uncle Quentin was not paying any more attention to the little girl's chatter. Julian pulled her out of the room.
[439] 'Anne, the only way to stop you giving away secrets is to sew up your mouth, like Brer Rabbit wanted to do to Mister Dog!' he said.
[440] Joanna the cook was busy baking Christmas cakes. An enormous turkey had been sent over from Kirrin Farm, and was hanging up in the larder. Timothy thought it smelt glorious, and Joanna was always shooing him out of the kitchen.
There were boxes of crackers on the shelf in the sitting-room, and mysterious parcels everywhere. It was very, very Christmassy! The children were happy and excited.
[441] Mr. Roland went out and dug up a little spruce fir tree. 'We must have a Christmas tree,’ he said. 'Have you any tree-ornaments, children?'
[442] 'No,' said Julian, seeing George shake her head.
[443] I'll go into the town this afternoon and get some for you,' promised the tutor. 'It will be fun dressing the tree. We'll put it in the hall, and light candles on it on Christmas Day after tea. Who's coming with me to get the candles and the ornaments?'
[444] 'I am!' cried three children. But the fourth said nothing. That was George. Not even to buy tree-ornaments would the obstinate little girl go with Mr. Roland. She had never had a Christmas tree before, and she was very much looking forward to it - but it was spoilt for her because Mr. Roland bought the things that made it so beautiful.
[445] Now it stood in the hall, with coloured candles in holders clipped to the branches, and gay shining ornaments hanging from top to bottom. Silver strands of frosted string hung down from the branches like icicles, and Anne had put bits of white cotton-wool here and there to look like snow. It really was a lovely sight to see.
[446] 'Beautiful!' said Uncle Quentin, as he passed through the hall, and saw Mr. Roland hanging the last ornaments on the tree. 'I say - look at the fairy doll on the top! Who's that for? A good girl?'
[447] Anne secretly hoped that Mr. Roland would give her the doll. She was sure it wasn't for George - and anyway, George wouldn't accept it. It was such a pretty doll, with its gauzy frock and silvery wings.
[448] Julian, Dick and Anne had quite accepted the tutor now as teacher and friend. In fact, everyone had, their uncle and aunt too, and even Joanna the cook. George, of course, was the only exception, and she and Timothy kept away from Mr. Roland, each looking as sulky as the other whenever the tutor was in the room.
[449] 'You know, I never knew a dog could look so sulky!' said Julian, watching Timothy. 'Really, he scowls almost like George.'