1I worked in the garden for the first two days. The weather was hot and sunny. I liked working with Mr Duncan, and he was pleased with my work.

2'You're a good gardener,' he said.

3'I've always liked gardening,' I said. 'But I'm studying at college to be a farmer.'

4Sometimes I saw Greta Ross.

5'She likes to be alone,' I thought. Once or twice I saw Greta go out with her painting things. She went up on the hills or down to the beach.

6Mr Duncan took me to the farm and I met Dan and Stella Parks. They were very friendly.

7'You can work on the farm for the next three days,' said Dan Parks. 'Mr Duncan says you're a good gardener. Are you a good farmer, too?

8I smiled at him. 'I am,' I said.

9He smiled back.

10So I worked on the farm with Mr and Mrs Parks. They were nice people. I helped with the cows and the chickens, and went up on the hills with Mr Parks and his dog to look at the sheep.

11One afternoon I went out riding. Smoke was a big, lazy, friendly horse. I enjoyed riding and Smoke knew his way around the island very well. I learned new places to go to.

12I rode along the cliff top and then in between some trees. When we came out of the trees, I saw the house from the other side. I tried to find the window of my room.

13Which one was it?

14Suddenly, I saw a face at one of the windows. The face was looking at me. It was there for just a second or two, then it moved away quickly.

15'Was it Mr Ross? And which room was it?'

16I didn't see my mother very much that first week. She worked all day and in the evenings. She wrote letters to South America, Japan, Canada and Australia. Sometimes, she worked after I was in bed.

17'Mr Ross works hard,' she told me. 'He invests money in many companies and countries. But it's not his money.' 'It's not!'

18I was surprised by this.

19'No, it's his wife's money. And she bought the island.

20It's her island, her house, her farm. Everything belongs to her. '

21'How strange. But why does Mr Ross always look sad?

22And why does he never leave the island? I asked.

23'I don't know,' said my mother. 'He says he likes it here and likes working on his farm. It's strange, I know.' Sometimes, when I finished work, I walked along the beaches or thecliffs. Or I went swimming in the sea. I liked swimming. Greta Ross often came to the beach to swim, but Mr Ross never came.

24'Stay away from the rocks, Carol,' Greta Ross told me.

25'They're very dangerous. '

26'I will,' I said.

27Sometimes I took my camera to the beach and took photographs of some of the boats that went by. I took photographs of the birds on the cliffs.

28There were other small islands near our island, and boats with tourists stopped at them. But no boats stopped at our island. They kept away from the dangerous rocks.

29Tony was right. The island did not have visitors.

30One day, I was walking back to the house, and had my camera with me. I stopped and looked at the big house.

31Mr Duncan was working in the garden in front of it. At first, he didn't see me.

32'I'm going to take a photograph of the house,' I thought. 'The sun isin just the right place, and it will make a good picture.'

33I looked at the building through my camera, and took the photograph. Mr Ross was coming out of a door. He was in my picture, too, and he looked angry.

34'That's all right,' I thought. 'It's still a good photograph.' But Mr Duncan was running across the grass. He came quickly up to me and said, 'Give me your camera.' He looked very worried.

35I gave him the camera.

36'Never take photographs of Mr Ross,' he said. And then he opened the back of my camera and took out the film.

37'Hey! 'You'll spoil my film!'

38But he didn't stop. 'Sorry,' he said, and he put the film into his pocket. 'But no pictures of Mr Ross. He doesn't like people to take pictures of him.'

39Mr Ross was watching us. He saw the camera and he saw Mr Duncan take out the film, but he said nothing.

40Then he turned and went back into the house.

41Later, I told my mother about Mr Duncan and the camera. 'He spoiled my film,' I said.

42'I don't understand,' she said. 'Why did he do that?

43'I don't know,' I said, 'but there's something strange about Mr Ross.'

44About a week later, I finished work early one day and came back to the house. My mother was working in her small room, next to Mr Ross's office. Mrs Duncan was in the kitchen. Greta Ross was painting in her room upstairs.

45I went to my room and began reading a book. I was sitting beside the window. After half an hour, I got tired of reading. I looked out at the rain, and the grey sea and rocks between the trees.

46'My book isn't very interesting,' I thought.

47I got up and went out of my room. I walked along the passage and turned a corner. Then I saw the door at the end of the passage. There was a large plant in a plant pot outside the door.

48I remembered the face at the window in my first week on the island. 'Perhaps it's the door to that room,' I thought.

49I walked along to the door and turned the handle. The door didn't move. It was locked.

50'What are you doing!' said a voice behind me.

51I turned round quickly and saw Greta Ross. She looked angry.

52'That room is private,' she said.

53'I'm sorry,' I said. 'I didn't-'

54'Stay away from there,' she told me.