stories than Bobby does. Anyway, when I was reading the story of Snow White to Bobby last night, he said the seven dwarfs and the seven Bob-Whites were kind of alike, you know, because there are the same number and because we both—I mean, we all —like helping people.”
“That’s pretty smart!” Honey exclaimed. Because she had no younger brothers or sisters of her own, Honey doted on Bobby Belden, showing more patience and, sometimes, more affection than his real siblings.
“Isn’t it?” Trixie replied. “Well, I was thinking about how the Bob-Whites are helping Laura Ramsey, just as the seven dwarfs helped Snow White. Then I realized that most of the other Bob-Whites haven’t met her. I think we ought to arrange an introduction.”
“A party, you mean!” Honey exclaimed. “Oh, Trixie, that’s a perfectly perfect idea. Laura will feel better, I’m sure, if she knows how many of us there are to care about her and help her. And a party is just the thing to cheer her up. What kind of party shall we have?”
“When it’s August and we’ve been in the midst of a heat wave for over a week, there’s only one answer that I can think of to that question,” Trixie said.
“Of course!” Honey exclaimed, reading her friend’s mind. “A swimming party at the boathouse. And a picnic lunch afterward. Sunday afternoon?”
Trixie nodded. “That sounds fine. Now, let’s get that map.”
A Spy! ● 6
ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON, Trixie, Brian, and Mart piled into Brian’s jalopy for the ride to the boathouse. It was within easy biking distance, but, in addition to their swimsuits and towels, the three Bob-Whites were burdened with a large picnic basket supplied and filled by Mrs. Belden.
“Miss Trask told Honey she’d have Cook pack us a lunch,” Trixie had told her mother that morning.
“Miss Trask is very generous,” Mrs. Belden had said. “But I think she supplies the lunch for the Bob-White picnics far too often. It’s high time I took my turn. Besides,” she had added with a smile, “the more, of these tomatoes and cucumbers I give away, the fewer I’ll have to can and pickle.”
“In that case,” Trixie had said, “put in a lot more of each.” Canning was never her favorite activity, and the current soaring temperatures made the thought of standing over the steaming jars even less attractive than usual.
When the Beldens arrived at the boathouse, the other Bob-Whites and Laura were already there. Jim, Honey, and Laura, in fact, were already in the water. Trixie ran ahead, calling hellos to Dan Mangan and Di Lynch, whom she hadn’t seen for several days, while Brian, with an exaggerated groan, hoisted the heavy picnic basket out of the car.
“How have you two been?” Trixie asked, plopping down on the ground between Dan and Di.
“Hot,” Di Lynch said, gathering her shoulder-length black hair in one hand and pulling it up off her neck to emphasize her statement. With her violet eyes, fringed by thick, curly lashes, and her slender figure, Di Lynch was the prettiest of the Bob-Whites—the prettiest girl at Sleepyside Junior-Senior High School, in fact. But she, like Trixie, was not partial to hot weather. Her face looked slightly drawn, as if she hadn’t been sleeping well.
“All I want to do when it’s this hot is to stay inside and not move any more than I can help,” Di continued. “Unfortunately, the hot weather doesn’t slow the twins down one little bit.”
Trixie smiled sympathetically. Di had a set of twin brothers and a set of twin sisters. She was fond of them, and she earned her contributions to the Bob-White treasury by taking care of them for her parents. But sometimes, as now, that wasn’t an easy job.
“How about you, Dan?” Trixie asked. “Why haven’t we seen you lately?”
Dan turned his thin, dark face toward Trixie. There was a hint of worry in his black eyes. “I’ve been working overtime for Mr. Maypenny,” he said. “All this hot, dry weather has
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