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Authors: Julie Campbell
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disappointed when he heard he wasn't going to sleep in the house. He was mad when Miss Trask told him he was to share Regan's suite over the garage. He was so mad," she finished, "that he was rude to Regan. All Regan did was offer to help him carry up his suitcase, and Dick snarled and grabbed it away from him."
Mart rolled over on his stomach. "Aha, the plot thickens. Maybe there was a time bomb in his suitcase."
Trixie glanced at him swiftly and saw that he was laughing. "Oh, all right, make fun of me," she said crossly. "But I know Dick wanted to sleep in the house. That would have made it easier for him to swipe the diamond. This way, he has no excuse for ever going beyond the servants' dining room next to the kitchen. But, if he had a room on the third floor, he—" She stopped, for Miss Trask was coming down the path to the lake.
"Good morning, Trixie," she said with a smile. "Your mother just phoned and told me your brothers came home last night. She wanted you to hurry home for breakfast, but I persuaded her to let you all have pancakes and sausages down here at the boathouse."
Mart and Trixie scrambled to their feet, and Trixie introduced him to Miss Trask. "Brian," she said, "is the tall, dark boy on the raft with Honey and Jim." She cupped her hands and yelled across the water. "Brian! Come back and meet Miss Trask. We're invited for breakfast."
Celia and one of the other maids brought trays of delicious food down to the boathouse, and in a few minutes they were all gathered around the rustic table on the sunny porch.
"This is the life," Mart said, buttering his fifth pancake. "At camp we were so busy seeing that our small fry didn't drown in the maple syrup, we didn't have time to eat ourselves."
"You look starved," Trixie said with a sniff. "You've both grown inches and gained tons."
"You haven't done so badly yourself," Brian said with a laugh. He turned to Jim. "Say, I think the boys' outdoor school you were telling me about is a great idea. Can I sign up now for the job of resident doctor?"
Jim nodded, grinning. "How about you, Mart? You like small fry. Will you be the kindergarten teacher at my school for underprivileged boys?"
"Thank you, no," Mart said with an elaborate bow. "One summer with that age group was enough for me. Next year I'm going to work on a farm. I plan to go to agricultural college when I get out of high school, you know."
"Swell," Jim said. "Part of the curriculum at my school will be farming. You can be in charge of that department."
"That I accept," Mart said. "What about the girls? Trixie loves housework," he said sarcastically. "She'll be a big help. What she misses with a dustcloth would clog a vacuum hose."
"Is that so?" Trixie demanded. "I'll have you know that Honey and I did all the cooking on our trailer trip and kept the Swan tidy, too."
"Well, sort of tidy," Honey said with a giggle. "Anyway, we're going to be detectives, Trixie and I."
Brian and Mart howled with laughter. "That does it," Brian said. "No matter what we do next summer, Mart, we'll have to take Trixie with us. Without us around, she goes completely off her rocker."
Trixie tossed her short, blond curls. "You and Jim," she told them, "are just too, too funny. Wait and see. We'll find out who dropped the diamond in the cottage long before you do."
"How do you know it was dropped?" Brian asked.
"Oh, for pete's sake," Trixie gasped. "You don't think
somebody deliberately buried it in the floor, do you? I got over the silly idea of looking for buried treasure in the cottage ages ago."
Honey told them then about the heel prints and the tire-tread marks they had found. "Trixie is really very smart about clues," she finished seriously.
"Let's all go have a look at those clues," Brian said. "But we'd better first change into shirts and dungarees on account of poison ivy."
"Once I go home, I'm stuck for hours," Trixie said mournfully. "There are about a thousand chores waiting for me. But Honey will
Mart rolled over on his stomach. "Aha, the plot thickens. Maybe there was a time bomb in his suitcase."
Trixie glanced at him swiftly and saw that he was laughing. "Oh, all right, make fun of me," she said crossly. "But I know Dick wanted to sleep in the house. That would have made it easier for him to swipe the diamond. This way, he has no excuse for ever going beyond the servants' dining room next to the kitchen. But, if he had a room on the third floor, he—" She stopped, for Miss Trask was coming down the path to the lake.
"Good morning, Trixie," she said with a smile. "Your mother just phoned and told me your brothers came home last night. She wanted you to hurry home for breakfast, but I persuaded her to let you all have pancakes and sausages down here at the boathouse."
Mart and Trixie scrambled to their feet, and Trixie introduced him to Miss Trask. "Brian," she said, "is the tall, dark boy on the raft with Honey and Jim." She cupped her hands and yelled across the water. "Brian! Come back and meet Miss Trask. We're invited for breakfast."
Celia and one of the other maids brought trays of delicious food down to the boathouse, and in a few minutes they were all gathered around the rustic table on the sunny porch.
"This is the life," Mart said, buttering his fifth pancake. "At camp we were so busy seeing that our small fry didn't drown in the maple syrup, we didn't have time to eat ourselves."
"You look starved," Trixie said with a sniff. "You've both grown inches and gained tons."
"You haven't done so badly yourself," Brian said with a laugh. He turned to Jim. "Say, I think the boys' outdoor school you were telling me about is a great idea. Can I sign up now for the job of resident doctor?"
Jim nodded, grinning. "How about you, Mart? You like small fry. Will you be the kindergarten teacher at my school for underprivileged boys?"
"Thank you, no," Mart said with an elaborate bow. "One summer with that age group was enough for me. Next year I'm going to work on a farm. I plan to go to agricultural college when I get out of high school, you know."
"Swell," Jim said. "Part of the curriculum at my school will be farming. You can be in charge of that department."
"That I accept," Mart said. "What about the girls? Trixie loves housework," he said sarcastically. "She'll be a big help. What she misses with a dustcloth would clog a vacuum hose."
"Is that so?" Trixie demanded. "I'll have you know that Honey and I did all the cooking on our trailer trip and kept the Swan tidy, too."
"Well, sort of tidy," Honey said with a giggle. "Anyway, we're going to be detectives, Trixie and I."
Brian and Mart howled with laughter. "That does it," Brian said. "No matter what we do next summer, Mart, we'll have to take Trixie with us. Without us around, she goes completely off her rocker."
Trixie tossed her short, blond curls. "You and Jim," she told them, "are just too, too funny. Wait and see. We'll find out who dropped the diamond in the cottage long before you do."
"How do you know it was dropped?" Brian asked.
"Oh, for pete's sake," Trixie gasped. "You don't think
somebody deliberately buried it in the floor, do you? I got over the silly idea of looking for buried treasure in the cottage ages ago."
Honey told them then about the heel prints and the tire-tread marks they had found. "Trixie is really very smart about clues," she finished seriously.
"Let's all go have a look at those clues," Brian said. "But we'd better first change into shirts and dungarees on account of poison ivy."
"Once I go home, I'm stuck for hours," Trixie said mournfully. "There are about a thousand chores waiting for me. But Honey will
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