Then they both got excited again and interrupted each other, and it was some minutes before they got the rest of the story. At last Peter got Mary to admit that she and Dickie had disagreed for once about Mrs. Thurston. Dickie, when they had escaped from the tea-party, maintained that she was one of the very best grown-ups they knew, and that he liked her. Mary reminded him that Macbeth was afraid of her and that for some reason that she could not explain she distrusted her also. They were arguing about this in whispers on the upstairs landing when they heard the living-room door open and Mummy excuse herself to go and speak to Agnes. They heard her open the kitchen door, and then, from the top of the stairs, saw Macbeth come out into the hall.

"Let me tell it, Dickie," Mary insisted. "We were just going to call Mackie and bring him up here again when Mrs. Thurston came out and sort of looked round. She couldn't see Dickie and me at the top of the stairs, but Mackie saw her. He looked all miserable and got under that chair in the hall and sort of growled..."

"An' then what do you think?..." Dickie interrupted.

"Be quiet, Dickie! David, listen, 'cause we really saw this. When Mrs. Thurston saw Mackie under the chair her nice face went all ugly, David, and she went up close and... and she KICKED him, David! She did! She's a beastly beast, an' I hate her..." And, to everyone's astonishment, she burst into tears.

Richard passed her a revolting-looking handkerchief and took up the tale without further interruption,

"Mackie gave a snarly sort of yelp, and before we could do anything Mother came runnin' out, and Mrs. Thurston said something about Mackie attackin' her, and it wasn't true, 'cause we saw her kick him, and then Mother dragged Mackie out into the kitchen again. Mary wouldn't let me say anything to Mother so when they'd gone in and shut the door we went out at the back, but we couldn't find Mackie..."

"He's been driven from his home," gulped Mary. "Mummy's done it, and that woman made it all up 'cause he didn't attack her this time like she said. Anyway, I love him, and it's a rule of this club we made to be kind to animals, and we've all got to go and find him..."

"Where's Mrs. Thurston now?" asked David.

"We don't know," said Dickie. "We left her at Witchend, but we did hear her say somethin' about not going back over the mountain."

"He'll come home, Mary," said David, "and we'll find him if he doesn't, so don't worry... Now we've got to build up the camp fire and get ready for Tom. Peter will put some potatoes in the ashes and we'll have tea as well, and then we'll all sign the club rules..."

"In blood?" asked Dickie.

"Yes," said Peter, "of course."