“No, make them whatever you girls can manage, hot chocolate if you can,” said Sina. “Warm foods. Pour some warm milk over Weetabix. Use your imagination. I see more soldiers on their way with more Brownies. They must be finding them all over the woods. Hurry, we must feed them and calm them down.”

Winifred seemed to cotton on to the situation and led the grubby Brownies in to be fed. They perked up remarkably at seeing the Weetabix box, so they couldn’t have been too traumatized. Although, perhaps they were, because I believe they were the first people in the history of the world to perk up at the sight of Weetabix.

As more Brownies came in and we got bits and pieces of the story, it was apparent that when they woke up and found Miss Macy was gone, they had panicked and run in a dozen different directions at once.

“Honestly,” said Sina to the last arriving Brownie, “what a bunch of ninnies. You find out your Brownie leader is gone and you just take off for the woods in different directions?”

“Well, have we got you all now?” asked Old Tom. “That makes twelve.”

“There were thirteen of us,” said the last arriving Brownie.

“So one still out there,” said Old Tom, when suddenly we heard bells ringing all the way from Sooke Village and fireworks and guns going off.

“What in God’s name?” said Sina.

“Turn on the radio,” said Old Tom.

And that’s how we found out the war had ended. Or at least ended in Europe.

We were all jumping up and down and yelling, including the soldiers on our porch.

“Let’s go celebrate!” yelled one soldier.

A little girl with Weetabix dripping down her chin piped up, “But we’re still missing one Brownie.”

“Well, twelve out of thirteen isn’t bad,” said the soldier hopefully.

We all gave it a moment’s thought and then Sina said, “No, I really think we have to find all thirteen.”