They were not railway children to begin with. I don't suppose they had ever thoughtabout railways except as a means of getting to Maskelyne and Cook's, the Pantomime,Zoological Gardens, and Madame Tussaud's.

They were just ordinary suburban children,and they lived with their Father and Mother in an ordinary red-brick-fronted villa, withcoloured glass in the front door, a tiled passage that was called a hall, a bath-room with hotand cold water, electric bells, French windows, and a good deal of white paint, and 'everymodern convenience', as the house-agents say.There were three of them.

Roberta was the eldest. Of course, Mothers never havefavourites, but if their Mother HAD had a favourite, it might have been Roberta.

Next camePeter, who wished to be an Engineer when he grew up; and the youngest was Phyllis, whomeant extremely well.