Private Peaceful: Chapter 5 Summary & Analysis

 Back in the present, the teenage Tommo remarks that since he’s “been out here,” he hasn’t seen any foxes, though he’s heard plenty of owls. He has “even seen larks over no-mans’-land,” and this has always given him hope. He resumes narrating the stories of his childhood.

Charlie wakes up the next morning, insistent that he won’t tell the Colonel of Bertha’s whereabouts, no matter what happens. Suddenly there is a knock on the door. Mrs. Peaceful opens it to find an angry Colonel. She is confused, because Charlie hasn’t yet explained to her what he has done. The Colonel rants at the family, calling Charlie a “despicable thief” and accusing him of stealing Bertha. He demands to know where Bertha is, but Charlie doesn’t tell him. Mrs. Peaceful realizes that Charlie has taken Bertha in order to save the dog, so she calmly defends Charlie by offering the Colonel some money for the dog. She claims that if it has been paid for, it’s not stolen. The Colonel begrudgingly agrees and retreats, but fires Charlie from his job. The boys all celebrate wildly when the Colonel leaves, and are full of praise for their mother.

Charlie shows his family where Bertha is hidden, and the dog immediately takes a liking to Big Joe. In fact, after that day, she follows him everywhere. Big Joe is thrilled to have a new friend.

Charlie eventually finds a new job at Farmer Cox’s farm, which is just past the village. The teenage Tommo interjects that Charlie should have been happy there, as he loved the animals and the freedom from the Colonel. However, Charlie isn’t happy, and neither is Tommo, because Molly has stopped visiting. Mrs. Peaceful is sure that someone must have told Molly’s parents about the situation with the Colonel and Charlie, and warned them not to let Molly see Charlie anymore.

Charlie keeps trying to see Molly. He visits her cottage, but Molly’s parents won’t even answer the door. One day, Charlie sends Tommo with a letter instead. Molly’s mother opens the door and shouts at Tommo, telling him to leave and claiming that they don’t want his “kind” anywhere near their daughter.

As he is turning to leave, Tommo spots Molly frantically waving to him from a window. She sneaks out, and they meet down the hill by the brook. Molly is crying and tells him the whole story about how the Colonel came to their cottage and called Charlie a thief, and told Molly’s father that they shouldn’t let Molly see Charlie anymore. She tells Tommo how miserable she is, but her father said he would kill Charlie if he ever goes near Molly. Tommo kisses her on the cheek, and Molly hugs him as she sobs.

Tommo gives Molly the letter, which she opens, and tells Tommo to say “yes” to Charlie in response. Suddenly she looks excited again, and she kisses Tommo quickly and says goodbye.

Over the next few months, Tommo delivers dozens of letters between Molly and Charlie, which he doesn’t mind as it means he gets to see Molly frequently again. During most of Tommo’s visits, Molly talks about Charlie, though she also talks about the news of war. She read in the paper that England might be going to war with Germany, and everyone is talking about it, although Molly doesn’t understand what any of it means.

Soon, Tommo leaves school, and his mother arranges for him to go and work on Farmer Cox’s farm with Charlie. Tommo is much happier; he gets to see more of Charlie, and Charlie no longer treats him as a little boy, but as more of an equal.

One day, Tommo and Charlie return home to find Molly and Molly’s mother waiting for them at their house. Molly looks as though she has been crying, and her mother presents Charlie with a stack of letters he has sent Molly. She found them in Molly’s possession, and both Molly’s father and mother have read them all. She calls Charlie’s behavior disgusting, and then declares that she knows that Charlie and Molly have been meeting, too. Tommo feels completely betrayed, as he had no idea about these meetings. Mrs. Peaceful sticks up for Molly and Charlie, saying she doesn’t see anything wrong with them meeting, and that they’re old enough to decide for themselves if they want to see each other. Molly’s mother angrily storms out, claiming that she won’t have Charlie lead Molly into “wickedness and sin.”

Tommo is so angry and hurt at the news that he doesn’t speak to Charlie all night, at least until Charlie admits to him that he should have told him about meeting Molly. The reason he couldn’t tell Tommo, Charlie says, is that he knows, as Molly knows, that Tommo is also in love with Molly. Charlie tells Tommo that he loves Molly as well, and that he intends to carry on seeing her. The two boys never talk about Molly again.

Shortly after this, Bertha the dog starts going missing occasionally. No one knows why, but everyone gets worried about her and tries to keep her from wandering off. One afternoon, Bertha goes missing for a long time, and Tommo, Big Joe and their mother go looking for her. As Tommo is about to give up, he hears a gunshot “ringing out across the valley.” He races up the path and sees the Colonel standing over a blood-soaked Bertha with a gun in his hand. He has killed her. The Colonel is standing outside Mr. Peaceful’s disused shack, from which Charlie and Molly have now emerged together. Molly screams at the Colonel, asking him in horrified disbelief why he would do such a terrible thing.