CHAPTER 1: THE BEGINNING OF THINGS

1. What did Peter get as his birthday present?

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2. How did Father treat the children?

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3. What was Father doing when the two gentlemen arrived?

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4. Who left the family after their father went away?

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5. What did Mother make the children promise to her?

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6. Where did the three children and their mother move to after leaving London?
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7. What did the children bring along with them to the countryside cottage?
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8. What happened to them at the cottage upon their arrival?

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CHAPTER 2: PETER AND THE COAL

1. What did the children and their mother do when they could not find their supper?
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2. What did the children do when they woke up the following morning?
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3. Where did the children go after breakfast?

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4. What was the function of the white line on the wall?

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5. How did their mother provide for the family expenses?

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6. Why didn’t the family light fires to keep their house warm during the wet rainy
days?
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7. What happened to Peter at the station yard?

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8. What lesson did the children learn from the coal incident?
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 CHAPTER 3: THE OLD GENTLEMAN

1. What did the children do when the trains going to London passed by?
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2. Who waved back at the three children?

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3. What did the children do at the train station?

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4. What happened to the children’s mother?

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5. Who came to check on Mother’s condition?

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6. What was needed by their mother in order to get well?

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7. How did Peter attract the Old Gentleman’s attention?

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8. What did Perks, the porter, bring for the children?

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CHAPTER 4: BOBBIE’S RIDE

1. What was Mother’s reaction when the children told her that they had asked the
Old Gentleman to help them buy food and medicine for her?
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2. Why did Mother write a letter to the Old Gentleman?

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3. What did Bobbie receive for her birthday?

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4. Why did Bobbie’s birthday celebration end on a sad note?

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5. What happened to Bobbie on the steam train?

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6. Who were the two railway workers who saw Bobbie on the train?
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7. Where did Bobbie change trains to go back home?

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8. How did Peter feel when he saw that his train engine was repaired?
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 CHAPTER 5: SAVING THE TRAIN

1. Where were the children when the landslide hit the railway line?
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2. Who suggested to use the red petticoats as flags?

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3. Did the children manage to stop the train? How did they do it?
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4. What is the consequence of the children’s actions?

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5. Who invited the children to the train station for a special ceremony?
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6. Why was the held?

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7. What did the children get from the Northern and Southern Railway Company?
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8. Who did the Old Gentleman meet at the children’s house?

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CHAPTER 6: A BIRTHDAY FOR PERKS

1. Why was Mother feeling happy?

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2. Who suggested to have cakes on Thursday?

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3. What were the children planning to do on Thursday?

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4. What was Peter’s suggestion?

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5. What was Bobbie and Phyllis’ response when they found out that nobody had
remembered Mrs Ransome’s birthday?
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6. What made Mrs Ransome give Perks and his wife some apples and a pram?
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7. What were some of the presents received by Perks and his family?
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8. Why was Perks not happy to see the presents he received from the villagers?
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 CHAPTER 7: THE TERRIBLE SECRET

1. What did Bobbie suspect of Mother?

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2. Why did the children stop asking questions about Father?

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3. How did Bobbie learn about Father’s situation?

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4. What did the newspaper headline say?

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5. What was Father accused of?

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6. What was the evidence that implicated Father of spying?

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7. What was Mother’s advice to Bobbie?

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8. What action did Bobbie take in the end?

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CHAPTER 8: THE BOY IN THE RED SHIRT

1. What event were the children watching?

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2. Who is the “hare” in the paper-chase race?

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3. Where did the children go to watch the paper-chase event?

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4. Why did the children go into the railway tunnel?

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5. What happened to the boy wearing the red shirt?

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6. What was the children’s plan when they found the boy?
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7. Why were the children surprised to see Jim’s grandfather?

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8. What did the Old Gentleman tell Bobbie?

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 CHAPTER 9: THE MAN AT THE STATION

1. What did the children stop doing when Jim was around the house?
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2. What did the children do when the 9.15 train passed by?
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3. Who responded to the children’s waving?

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4. Why did Bobbie decide to go to the train station?

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5. What did Bobbie notice about the people at the train station that morning?
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6. What made Perks so happy that morning?

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7. Who was the last passenger to get off the train?

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8. Who helped Father to prove his innocence until he is released from prison?
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