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the changing room the next morning. “Looks like Horace decided not to shorten those pants again,” she said. “Thank goodness for that!” Then, after a moment’s thought, she added, “But we must be on our guard. Horace might have left his mark somewhere else.”
    Jessie was hurrying off with Violet to get the farmhouse ready for the day. “Don’t worry, Miss Pennink,” she said. “We’ll keep an eye out for any more practical jokes.”
    Jessie and Violet did just that as they went from one room to another, lifting shades and opening windows. “So far, so good,” said Violet, coming out of the study.
    Jessie nodded. “The last thing Gwen needs today is another practical joke.”
    “I was hoping my snapshots would cheer her up a bit,” remarked Violet. “But . . .” Her words trailed away in a sigh.
    Stepping into the parlor, Violet stopped so suddenly that her older sister almost bumped into her. Then Jessie realized what was wrong—all the family portraits were facing the wrong way. Somebody had hung them up backward!
    Jessie and Violet stood frozen to the spot. They couldn’t believe their eyes! Finally, they ran to the office and told everyone of their discovery.
    “The pictures really are backward,” said Benny as he peered into the shadowy parlor.
    Sharon turned to Miss Pennink in surprise. “Horace did leave his mark again.”
    “I wish there were some other explanation.” Miss Pennink sat down on the front staircase in the entrance hall. “But there’s no doubt in my mind. This has Horace’s name all over it.”
    “Unless I miss my guess,” said Gwen, “Horace once played a practical joke just like this one. Am I right, Miss Pennink?”
    The elderly woman nodded slowly as she began to tell them about her great-great-grandfather’s practical joke with the backward pictures. “Horace had a good friend named Tom Brankin,” she said. “When Tom was turned down for membership in a fancy Elmford club, Horace was so angry he decided to give this club a taste of its own medicine.”
    Benny’s eyes were huge. “What did Horace do?”
    “He applied for membership himself,” Miss Pennink went on. “Of course the club was delighted. Horace, you see, was highly regarded in the community. When the membership committee paid a visit to the Wagner home, they discovered the portraits on the walls and the pictures on the piano were facing the wrong way. I believe,” Miss Pennink added, “the pictures on the piano are probably facing the wrong way now, too.”
    They all crowded around the parlor doorway to check it out. Sure enough, the pictures in fancy frames on the piano had indeed been turned around.
    Miss Pennink continued. “They say Horace enjoyed the look of surprise on the faces of that membership committee. They had no idea what the backward pictures meant, of course. At least not until the next day. That’s when Horace sent them a note.”
    “What did it say?” Sharon asked in a hushed voice. “The note, I mean.”
    Miss Pennink smiled a little. “It said that Horace was turning his back on their little club, the same way they had turned their backs on his good friend Tom Brankin.”
    “Oh, I get it!” said Benny. “That’s why the pictures were turned away from everyone.”
    “Exactly,” said Miss Pennink. “And now the entire Wagner family have turned their backs on those who have ignored Horace. Carl Mason, for one.”
    When Gwen noticed Draper trimming the hedge out front, she asked him to step inside. He looked into the parlor and shook his head.
    “How could such a thing happen?” he asked.
    “I wish I knew,” said Gwen. “Did you see anything suspicious last night, Draper?”
    Draper Mills gave his head a firm shake. “Not a thing.”
    At that moment, the door opened again. It was Carl Mason, and he had a rolled-up newspaper in his hand. “Miss Corkum, if you thought I’d approve of this publicity stunt,” he said, holding up the paper, “then you’re in