Summary

Chapter 1: Meeting

The story begins with a woman knocking on the door of sixty-something Thomas Oakley aka Tom. The woman, a billeting officer, has brought a sickly, pale boy to Tom in the hopes he will take the young war evacuee in. Tom questions why the woman has brought the boy to him and she replies his mother had wished for him to be close to a church and Tom’s house fits the bill. Tom reluctantly agrees to take the boy and learns his name is William Beech. As William settles into Tom’s home, Tom fashions a peg for William’s jacket, provides him with a scarf, and prepares him a lunch of bacon, bread, and hot tea. William’s reluctance to eat the meal and the bruises covering his legs arouse Tom’s suspicions. Putting all questions aside, Tom leaves the home...