A nostalgic re read of the first book in a classic children's series from the early 20th Century. Although some of the attitudes are somewhat dated they are also criticised (the older siblings criticism of young Bunkle for speaking French well enough to be taken for a French boy is countered in several places). It's fast paced and fun with the children on the run in pre war Frances with a package entrusted to them by an injured secret agent, trying to track down their father (also a secret agent) to hand it over. It could be seen as a juvenile forerunner to James Bond. We have a couple more (there were 12 in all) of this series in the family and I'll be chasing them up. ( )