"When I reached the entrance, however, I did not dare to go in alone, in case it should be somebody else instead of my father who was there. I reproached myself for my cowardice, but I was only just screwing my courage to the point when you two arrived with Miss Birks. I need not tell you how relieved I was when we did not find my father. You saw my frantic excitement when it turned out that the tramp whom we discovered was no other than Abel Galsworthy, the missing witness to the will? With his oath and this precious, precious letter the evidence ought to be complete. Oh, the rapture of the day when Father's name is cleared and his honour restored, and he can live anywhere he likes, openly and without fear. Now I have told you my whole story. I'm sure you'll see why I was so queer and secretive, and so different from other girls." "We understand and sympathize now," said Deirdre, "but you puzzled us very much at the time." "We thought you were a German spy," chuckled Dulcie. "We were going to get great credit by finding out your wicked plot against England, and informing the Government!" "Had you anything to do with that man in the aeroplane? Why, I'd almost forgotten him!" exclaimed Deirdre. "I never even knew there was an aeroplane here," protested Gerda. "You haven't told us your real name yet," urged Dulcie. "Mary Gerda Trevellyan. Father and Mother have always called me Mamie, but I like Gerda best, and when I came to school I begged to be 'Gerda Thorwaldson', so that part at least of my name was genuine." "Weren't you afraid that Mrs. Trevellyan might discover you through that?" "She had always heard me alluded to as Mamie. We thought she had probably quite forgotten the 'Gerda'." "There's one thing I still can't understand," said Dulcie. "We found out the entrance to the barred room, but why was it ever barred? It seems so extraordinary--right in the middle of a school."