THREE CHEERS FOR THE SECRET SEVEN!

The Secret Seven were having a meeting. It was the holidays and they were all excited about the jolly times that lay ahead. The meeting had been Johnny's idea.

"I have to tell you all what to do. Otherwise it won't be much fun, will it?" he asked, his eyes shining behind his spectacles.

"Rather!" chortled little Alexander.

"Golly, I can't wait till it's my turn to choose the games," Peter grumbled.

Amanda interrupted rather rudely. "Look, there's a foreigner trying to climb over the hedge into our garden!" she yelled.

They all ran outside.

Amanda deftly caught the woman by her long dress and marched her off to the henhouse.

"There! In you go with the others."

"Jolly good job Amanda," laughed Johnny. "Fancy that awful woman thinking she could come into our street."

"I think she might have been my old kindergarten teacher, Mrs Halawi..." began Robert uncertainly.

"O tosh, Robert. Anyone can see she's a foreigner. Now where was I?" asked Johnny.

"You're telling us what to do," piped up Phil. Phil did so look up to Johnny, even though once or twice he had felt a bit uncomfortable with some of Johnny's games.

"That's right. First we're going to make a budget. Peter, you're good at counting. Go and tell those gypsies they have to get jobs in the village. Especially the ones in wheelchairs, and the mad ones. And that horrid girl with the baby. Make her work. It'll serve her right. They can all work as chimney sweeps and people won't have to pay them much. And they'll get slapped if they ask for a lunch break, and anyone who sticks up for them gets in trouble. And when they get paid, they'll each have to give you ten shillings. And when you've collected a big bag of money, you'll go and give it to those nice clean children from the big school so they can buy more ponies."

"Capital!" Peter smirked. "And we can buy ourselves a plum cake with the change."

"Yes!" squealed Ian. "We can have a picnic in the woods in Tasmania. Cousin Paul's arranged for the woodcutters to clear us a lovely picnic spot so we won't have to worry about spiky leaves prickling our bottoms."

"Good! Now let's play soldiers," said Johnny. Ever since Cousin George had invited him to play wars, Johnny had become awfully fond of the toys from the war chest.

"I bags the cannon!" shouted Amanda, picking up little Alexander.

"O, do I have to go in there again?" he complained.

"Don't be silly Amanda," ordered Johnny. "You know he always gets stuck. Now form a line and we'll round up all the poor children from the farms and send them off to Cousin George's war."

"Hurrah" they all cried. "What a jolly day it's been!"