Eight for a Secret

There was a tremendous fuss in the old village of Barleybrook when it was learned that two factories were to be built nearby - and not only factories, but a whole New Barley village to house the workers.But for the younger inhabitants of the old and new villages there was soon a different tale to tell. For Eillie Allsopp, who had come from London, it was the beginning of adventure. She found herself one of a gang of eight. There were the three Hayward children from the Barleybrook vicarage; Roger, whose mother kept the old village shop; Peter, whose father worked on a farm; and from New Barley, there were Wendy and Pam, daughters of one of the factory foremen.Adventure is not so very difficult to find. It began for the Barley Bunch, as they called themselves, that summer - when Mr Salt gave them a make-it-yourself canoe and they launched it on the Forgotten Lake and named it 'Secret' ...