Girls of Chequertrees

Pamela Heath, a pleasant 16-year-old girl living quietly at home with her parents and siblings, receives a peculiar invitation one day. An odd little old man delivers a letter from Emily Crabingway, her mother’s fourth cousin, who wants to know if Pamela will come and look after her house, Chequertrees, for 6 months while she is in Scotland on business. Three other girls will stay there with her. If they all comply with certain conditions (no visits to/from relatives; no letters, only one postcard a month; and stay out of the locked room on the first floor), they will each receive £50 at the end of their stay. Pamela decides to accept the invitation, and the rest of this delightful story is about her experiences at Chequertrees. Summary by Winnifred Assmann