The secret guard consisted of a group of eight-year-old girls at Hailsham who decided to “protect” their favorite guardian, Miss Geraldine, from a kidnapping plot. The girls do not know the details of the abduction, but they are certain it will involve the dark woods around the school. The students have many horrible stories about the brutal murders that befall anyone who enters the woods. The guardians insist these stories are false, but the students believe they know better. The plan to protect Miss Geraldine depends on collecting as much evidence as possible about the plot by spying on the potential conspirators. As the group’s leader, Ruth makes herself the authority on any evidence.

Ruth pretends to understand chess to make herself seem more intelligent. Kathy buys a chess set from the Sales and asks Ruth to teach her to play. Ruth invents a game to show Kathy, who becomes frustrated and leaves. The next day Kathy discovers that she has been kicked out of the secret guard. Kathy takes the rejection personally and two days later finds herself shouting at another former secret guard about the truthfulness of the plot. The incident sticks in Kathy’s mind for many years.