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either.”
    “Daddy
would be delighted if you could work with some of his horses,” Honey said
tactfully.
    “Does
your dad have Arabians?” Pat asked.
    “He
owns mostly Thoroughbreds,” Honey replied.
    “Well,
Thoroughbreds have a lot of Arab blood in them. The temperaments are similar
enough that we should be able to work with them,” Pat said confidently.
    “Oh,
I know you could,” Honey said eagerly. “Of course, after what I’ve seen the
past few days, I might just try to talk him into buying some Arabians.” She
smiled at Pat and, astonishingly, he smiled back.
    He’s making all kinds of changes, Trixie thought. This one is
definitely for the best!
    That
afternoon, Pat proved that the change was not a fleeting one. He spoke often to
Trixie, and even more often to Honey. Pat’s friendliness drove all thought of
mysteries from Honey’s mind, and Trixie was content to let her friend enjoy the
attention she’d been hoping for.
    Honey
felt happy about Pat, and Trixie quickly caught the spirit. Instead of falling
asleep at dusk, as the girls had been doing, they sat up talking in their room.
They reviewed the happenings of their vacation, deciding which ones would most
interest Brian, Mart, and Jim, and which ones Bobby would enjoy.
    For
Honey, the most exciting stories had Pat Murrow as their star. “You know what I
think?” she said, out of the blue.
    “What’s
that?” Trixie asked.
    “I
think this whole incident made Pat realize that he was just too wrapped up in
this ranch. The mere thought that a sale might come between him and his father
made him wake up. I think he knows he has to start paying some attention to the
people in his life.” Honey’s voice was soft and dreamy.
    For
the first time, Trixie realized that it had gradually grown dark in the room.
Quietly, to keep from breaking Honey’s reverie, she got up and crossed the room
to turn on a lamp. A noise outside the bedroom window made her freeze with her
hand on the switch.
    “ Hoofbeats !” Trixie said in
alarm. She raced to the window to look.
    No
one was there.
    “Who’s
riding around at this time of night?” Honey asked.
    Trixie
turned from the window and sat down at the foot of Honey’s bed, weak-kneed. “I
heard galloping hooves and they were close by. But there wasn’t a thing in
sight. Honey, it must have been—” She stopped, reluctant to put her suspicion
into words.
    “The
Galloping Ghost,” Honey breathed. She shivered as if feeling a sudden chill.
    “There’s
no other explanation.”
    “We
have to tell Wilhelmina!”
    Trixie
shook her head. “I wouldn’t go out there tonight for anything. And we don’t
know where she is during the day. I guess we’ll just have to hold off till
tomorrow night.”
    “I
can hardly wait!” said Honey.



7 * The Deal Is Off!
     
    When Trixie and Honey woke up the
next day, they were convinced it would be the longest of their lives. But they
were soon distracted by the arrival of the familiar red pickup truck, followed
by a van with the name D & K Surveying printed on its side.
    Burke
strutted around the ranch yard as though he already owned it, giving
instructions to two surveyors he’d brought along.
    Trixie
and Honey both kept a resentful watch on Burke and a close one on Pat. The boy
was still getting along well with his father, but there was no telling what
might push him back over the edge.
    Everyone
tried to ignore Burke and the surveying crew, and to enjoy the horse-training
session. But it wasn’t easy. Later Burke drove off and the two surveyors stayed
behind. One went to a far corner of the property, and the other stood with a
telescope-like piece of equipment on a tripod. Regan had explained that the
object was called a “transit,” and would let the surveyors determine the exact
limit of the Murrows ’ property.
    “I
don’t know why he needs to know all that just to make an offer,” Trixie said
sullenly.
    Regan’s
lip curled in a rare look of contempt.