Summary
Ten to Midnight
Tommo reflects on his religious beliefs. He remembers how he used to feel sorry for Jesus, hanging on a cross in church. He believes that Molly's stones and crossed fingers are just as reliable as praying to God. Still, he wants to believe that there is a heaven where they will all see each other again.
During Molly's illness, Charlie and Tommo still go poaching. However, they seem to have bad luck without her, because Tommo falls asleep while on lookout duty and wakes up to the bailiff's dog sniffing him. Lambert, the bailiff, walks Charlie and Tommo to the Colonel's house at gunpoint, locks them in the stable, and leaves them. They wait in the dark until the Colonel (wearing his slippers and a dressing gown) and Grandma Wolf appear. The Colonel tells them that he will give them the beating they deserve the next morning and then they will clean out his kennels.
Charlie and Tommo confess what happened to Mother, and she tells them that there will be no public beatings. She will not let the Colonel lay a finger on them. Mother does make them apologize to the Colonel and clean out his kennels every weekend until Christmas, but, true to her word, she saves them from being beaten.
The boys actually enjoy this work because they like spending time around the dogs, especially a beautiful white dog named Bertha. Grandma Wolf still sometimes comes in to lecture them and tell them that they should be ashamed of themselves.
Finally, Christmas comes and they are released from their duties. They are excited to find Molly waiting from them when they return. She has grown up more and is even more beautiful, and Tommo feels an even deeper love for her. However, both Molly and Charlie are a few years older than Tommo and he is beginning to see the gap between them, especially when Molly moves into the Bigguns class. Still, they all walk home together every day, an event that Tommo looks forward to.
Shortly after Tommo's twelfth birthday, that all ends. Charlie and Molly both start working at the Colonel's Big House (which is where most people from the village work), Molly as a maid and Charlie at the kennels. They talk about the other people who work on the estate, which now seems like a world that Tommo is not a part of. For example, they learn that the Colonel and Grandma Wolf have a romantic relationship, which is why the Colonel's wife kicked her out all those years ago. They both work six days a week, so Tommo does not see them very much. Charlie now puts his coat on the peg where Father used to hang his coat, and he puts his feet on the oven where Father used to put his. One day, Tommo sees Molly and Charlie holding hands as they walk. Tommo is jealous and wishes he were old enough to work as well, but most of all, he wishes to be close with Charlie and Molly again.
They do have some moments when they feel close again. They are fishing when they hear the sound of an engine, and, to their shock, they see an airplane. They wave and the pilot waves back. The plane lands and the pilot asks for directions because he's lost, and Charlie tells him how to get to the next village. The pilot thanks them and gives them some humbugs, a type of candy. The children stare in awe as they watch him depart.
Tommo tells everyone at school about this event and even shows them the humbugs as proof; Mr. Munnings learns about this and confiscates the candy. He also gives Tommo several slaps with the ruler on his knuckles. Tommo is proud that he does not cry out while Mr. Munnings is doing this and even looks him in the eye. He wants to tell Charlie about this, as well as his secret about the day Father was killed, but he stays quiet. Before he has a chance to say any of this, Charlie tells him that he's in trouble. He explains that the Colonel has been discussing putting Bertha down since she's getting old, and when Charlie begged him not to, the Colonel laughed in his face. So, Charlie ran off with Bertha and hid her in a shed. Tommo asks what he'll do with her, and Charlie says he doesn't know.
Twenty-Four Minutes Past Twelve
In the present, Tommo muses that he hasn't seen any foxes while he's been out here, but he has seen a lark over no man's land. That gives him hope.
Back in the past, Charlie insists that he won't tell the Colonel where Bertha is, even though he will probably know that Charlie was the one who took her. The Colonel comes to their house and confronts Charlie, calling him a thief for stealing one of his foxhounds. He demands to know where Bertha is; Charlie refuses to tell him.
Thinking quickly, Mother asks the Colonel if he has been planning to shoot this dog. The Colonel replies that what he does with his own animals is no business of hers and that he will not tolerate thieves. Mother grabs the "money mug" from the mantel and gives it all to the Colonel. She explains that she's buying the useless dog off of him for sixpence, so it's not stolen anymore. The Colonel accepts this, but he tells Charlie that he will no longer be employing him. The Colonel leaves and the Peaceful family celebrates.
Charlie introduces the rest of them to Bertha, who takes a special liking to Big Joe. In return, Big Joe cares for Bertha lovingly. In the next few weeks, Charlie finds a job at Farmer Cox's dairy farm, which he enjoys because he does not have to deal with Grandma Wolf, nor with the Colonel.
Molly has stopped visiting the Peaceful home. Tommo goes to Molly's house, but her mother stops them and tells them that they are not allowed to socialize with her daughter anymore. Molly waves to them from a window and indicates that she will meet them by the brook. There, Molly tells them that her parents are infuriated with Charlie's thieving behavior and she is not allowed to see them anymore. She is miserable without them. Molly's parents tell her that she was born in sin and will likely go to hell if she is not careful.
Tommo gives Molly the letter from Charlie, and Molly tells Tommo to tell Charlie "yes." Tommo passes letters back and forth between them, and he enjoys the brief moments that he gets to spend with Molly. Molly also talks to him about the war in Germany, which she has read about in the newspapers. An archduke was assassinated in Sarajevo, and Germany and France have gone to war over it. Everyone up at the Big House is discussing the matter since the Colonel seems very irritable about it.
Tommo leaves school and goes to work with Charlie at Farmer Cox's dairy farm, which he enjoys. Farmer Cox is a fair man and a good employer, though he is rather fond of alcohol. Charlie begins to treat him like an equal as well.
One day, the two boys come home to find Molly, red-faced and crying, at their house with her Mother. Molly's mother holds up the stack of letters from Charlie and tells him how disgusting they are, filled with love talk. Even worse, Molly and Charlie have been meeting up by themselves, which shocks Tommo. Mother tries to defend them, but Molly's mother refuses to hear it, taking Molly with her.
Tommo is so angry at Charlie that he doesn't speak to him all night. Charlie apologizes for not telling Tommo about his meetings, but he says he loves Molly and will not stop seeing her. The brothers never speak about Molly again.
Shortly after, Bertha starts going missing sometimes, even wandering off away from Big Joe. She always comes back, but the family is worried that she will be shot by a confused farmer. One afternoon, Bertha has gone missing again and Tommo hears a shot echo out across the valley. Tommo runs toward the sound and finds himself by Father's old shack. He seeks the Colonel with a shotgun standing over the dead body of Bertha, and he sees Charlie and Molly emerge from the shack. Molly stares at the Colonel and asks why he would do such a thing.
Nearly Five to One
In the present, Tommo stares at the moon and tries to make a wish on it before deciding that wishes are silly.
In the past, the family buries Bertha. Big Joe asks if Bertha is up in heaven now with Father, and Mother assures him that she is.
That evening, Big Joe goes missing. He sometimes goes wandering off, but the family grows increasingly worried when he does not return. Eventually, the whole village joins in the search for him—even the Colonel helps. Charlie goes down to the pub and explains to the others that Big Joe has gone missing, and they all put on their hats and head out to look for him.
Molly suggests that Big Joe might be hiding somewhere in the churchyard, which is his favorite place; they search all around but do not find him. The Colonel calls in the police and they all search for him. Tommo watches them search the rivers and ponds and is filled with worry because Big Joe cannot swim. Mother is very worried about her eldest son, but she tries to be brave for the rest of her children. They search everywhere but find no trace of Big Joe.
Molly asks where Big Joe would most want to be, saying that he would probably want to be with Bertha in heaven. At first, Tommo is worried that she means Big Joe might have killed himself, but Molly says that Big Joe often points at the church tower when he talks about heaven. Perhaps he is hiding there.
Tommo and Charlie race toward the church and head up the tower. Filled with dread, they push open the door and find Big Joe there, pale and still. He opens his eyes and tells them that he's hungry. Charlie rings the bell to tell everyone the good news, and the sound is very loud inside the tower.
Everyone—Mr. Munnings, Miss McAllister, the Colonel, Grandma Wolf, Mother, and Molly—celebrates that Big Joe has been found alive and safe. Swifts swoop through the air, and it seems to Tommo as though they were also celebrating the fact that Big Joe is still alive.
Analysis
Tommo's religious beliefs are a motif in the novel. Though he attended church as a child and sings songs with religious themes, his own faith in a benevolent all-powerful God was shaken by his experiences in the war. Tommo's discussion of his crisis of faith also suggests that there is something special or different about the present night of the narrative, but it is still not clear what that is.
This section also evidences Mother's wit. When the boys are found poaching on the Colonel's land, she makes sure that they do not get publicly beaten for this crime. When Charlie steals Bertha to save her life from the Colonel, Mother hands the Colonel a large sum of money to make up for this. Throughout the novel, Mother shows that she is resourceful, kind, and protective of her own.
Charlie and Molly begin to deepen their relationship in a romantic manner, as shown by the fact that they are seen holding hands. Tommo still loves Molly deeply, a fact he states outright and which is also suggested by a number of small details, such as his observation that Molly and Bertha have similar eyes. However, Tommo lacks the courage that his older brother Tommo has and misses his chance to confess his feelings to Molly.
The encounter between Molly, Tommo, Charlie, and the airplane pilot is a remarkable one for two reasons. First, it is one of the first hints of the war in the idyllic countryside; the war is already underway and Britain has entered the fray, but this has still not impacted the lives of average citizens in England. Second, it is a symbol of how the war will suddenly enter the lives of the children when Tommo and Charlie eventually enlist.
Birds are a recurrent theme throughout the novel. Swifts swoop through the air when the townsfolk find Big Joe, and previously, a bird flew around the area during Father's funeral. Birds are a symbol of the soul, human resiliency, and joy.
