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"I want to go to Read Hall, too," he said.

Suddenly, we heard the noise of horses behind us. We got off the road, and watched the horses. It was Roger Nowell with some of his men. They saw us, and Mr Nowell stopped.

"My name is Jennet," I said. "We 're going to Read Hall. I want to talk to you."

"It's the Device children," he said. "What's your name, child?"

We ran through the trees to Sabden Brook. The noise of the river was beautiful in my ears. We went along the river to the village of Sabden, and then it began to rain.

I ran from Malkin Tower, down the hill into Newchurch. James followed me.

Roger Nowell looked at me with his warm brown eyes. "Very well," he said. "Come home with me, and we can talk." He lifted me up on to his horse, and the horse moved quickly along the road to the village of Read. James ran along behind us.

Mr Nowell put his black hat down on the table. "Bring a hot drink and some food for these children," he told the servant. "They're cold and hungry."

Very soon, we arrived at Read Hall. The servant opened the door for us, and we went into the warm house. James came in, too, and sat down next to me near the fire.

When we finished eating, Mr Nowell looked up from his book. "You wanted to talk to me," he said quietly. "Well, I'm listening."

I got up, went across the room and stood in front of Mr Nowell. "I'm afraid of my mother," I began. "I'm afraid because she's a witch and she can kill people."

Mr Nowell got up and left the room. After some time, he came back with two of his friends. They all sat down at the table.

The servant brought bread and hot milk for us, and James and I ate hungrily. I felt warm and happy in Mr Nowell's house. I wanted to stay there all my life; I never wanted to go back to Malkin Tower.

"Jennet, I want you to tell me again about your mother and her friends."

The room was quiet. Mr Nowell said nothing, but his brown eyes were kind.

"My mother and her friends are at Malkin Tower," I told him. "They want to go to Lancaster Castle and kill the guards. They're going to bring Old Demdike and Alizon home again."

"They want to kill the guards at Lancaster Castle and bring Old Demdike home to Malkin Tower," I said. Then I began to cry.

"She's a witch. We're all witches," James began. "Old Demdike's a witch. One night, she went to the church at Newchurch and got some teeth from dead bodies there. The Devil talked to her and she brought the teeth to Malkin Tower. They're under the ground by our door!"

"Mother's a witch," James said. "She killed Mr Robinson, from Barley village. She made a clay picture, and then she broke it, and Mr Robinson died a week later." James smiled at Mr Nowell. He liked Mr Nowell because Mr Nowell didn't shout at him. "And I'm a witch, too! I can kill people!"

"Old Demdike's a witch; we know that," Mr Nowell said. "Tell us about your mother."

"No, James!" I cried. "You're not a witch! You don't kill people!"

"Don't cry," Mr Nowell said kindly. "We can help you, but we must talk to your brother first. James!" he called. "Tell me about your mother. Is she a witch?"

"Yes, I do," James said angrily. His face went red. "My dog, Dandy, is the Devil and he killed a man for me. I wanted a shirt and Mr Duckworth was going to give me one of his old shirts. But in the end, he didn't give it to me and I was very angry. I nearly killed Mr Duckworth! But I called Dandy, and he killed Mr Duckworth for me!"

"Don't cry, Jennet," Mr Nowell said. "Someone must take care of you. You can stay here at Read Hall with me."

I began to cry. My brother was a witch, too! All my family were witches!

"Tell us about the pictures of clay," Mr Nowell said. "My men found pictures of clay at Malkin Tower."

My mother said nothing.

"James told us about Mr Robinson of Barley," Mr Nowell said. "Did you kill him?"

When Mr Nowell's men brought my mother to Read Hall, she said nothing at first.

My mother said nothing.

"Your mother, Old Demdike, is a witch. Your daughter is a witch," Mr Nowell said. "Your son killed Mr Duckworth because of shirt. Now, tell us about the clay pictures."

She stopped and looked at me. I wanted to run away but Mr Nowell's servant stood in front of the door. Then my mother laughed. "Jennet Device, witch's daughter! You hate us, I know that. Well, it doesn't matter because you're right: you are different. You 're my daughter, but you're not the daughter of my husband. Your father was a rich man, but he never gave me money. A witch's child, he called you. And when you were born, he never came near me ngain. Jack Robinson learnt the truth about your father. He told the villagers of Barley and they called me a bad woman, but they didn't call your father a bad man! Nobody in Barley gave me food again, because of Jack Robinson. I hated him, and so I killed him!"

Suddenly, my mother's face went red and she began to shout at James. "A good son, you are! You told this rich man about Jack Robinson of Barley. Well, you told the truth. I killed him! I made a clay picture, and then I broke it, and a week later he died. I killed him because I hated him."

My hands felt cold and my face was hot, but I didn't cry. When Mr Device died, I cried for days. But he was not my father. I looked at my mother, at her dirty hair and her ugly face, at her angry eyes. I hated her then, and I hated her for many years.

The room was very quiet and my mother laughed again.