The Secret of the Mansion (19 page)

whole picture supporting frame sprang away from the wall revealing a hidden alcove. “Honey,” she cried, “I must have accidentally pressed the button which

releases a spring. I thought that apple looked as though it had been painted in as an afterthought.” She ran into the other room for her flashlight.

“Empty,” Honey moaned. “Absolutely empty. Did you ever know anything like it? That old miser must have-“

“Wait a minute,” Trixie interrupted. “There is something way back in the corner.” She thrust her hand into the alcove and triumphantly pulled out a tiny,

leather-covered jewel case. With a flick of her fingernail she snapped open the gold clasp. “It’s an old-fashioned-d engagement ring,” she gasped. “Golly,

did you ever see such an enormous diamond?”

“It’s huge,” Honey breathed excitedly. “And it must

219 198 have belonged to Jim’s great-aunt. Now I know his uncle was crazy. He hid her ring in here, boarded up the top floors, and deliberately let the

summerhouse and the arbor get overgrown. It just doesn’t make sense. I’ll bet he did lose all his money in bad investments.”

“I’m not so sure of that,” Trixie said slowly. “It does make some sense, you know. He just didn’t want anything around to remind him of his wife. Anyway,

this ring is probably worth a lot of money, and I’m glad we found it for Jim.” She stopped. “Oh, heck, somebody’s coming. I can hear Reddy barking.”

Together the girls crept to the open window and saw Reddy racing in angry, threatening circles around a man who had a camera strapped to one shoulder.

“It’s another newspaper photographer,” Trixie whispered. “Boy, I hope Reddy scares him away.”

“I heard the policeman tell them not to go inside the house,” Honey whispered back. “He won’t dare come in, will he, Trixie?”

“That man wasn’t here this morning,” Trixie told her. “He’s probably from the city. Oh, gosh, he’s not the least bit afraid of Reddy. Look, he’s patting

his head, and Reddy’s eating it up.”

“We’d better hide somewhere,” Honey said, in a frightened voice. “Oh, where’ll we go, Trixie?”

“In the cellar,” Trixie hissed. “Quick!”

220 199 As they darted through the kitchen, Trixie suddenly remembered the gaping hole in the dining-room. “I’d better put that picture back in place,”

she whispered. “If a photograph of that secret hiding place appeared in the papers and Jonesy saw it, he’d think Jim found the money and would never stop

looking for him.”

She raced back and slammed the big oil painting against the wall as the photographer climbed in through the living-room window.

“Who’s there?” he called out as he heard the loud bang.

Trixie dodged through the pantry into the kitchen and drew Honey quickly behind her down the cellar stairs. She had left her flashlight in the alcove, so

it was pitch black with the door closed.

“I’m too scared to move,” Honey breathed. “We’ll break our necks on these rickety old steps.” She pitched forward then against Trixie and let out an involuntary

scream.

Trixie groped wildly in the darkness for the railing and found it just in time to prevent both girls from falling to the stone floor below. “We’ve got to

go down and hide behind something now,” Trixie said desperately. “If he heard you scream, he’ll open the door and find us on the stairs.”

222 200 Somehow, they found their way down, and in the narrow shaft of light from the small, cobwebby window, they located the furnace and hid behind it.

just in time, too, because, in a minute, the kitchen door swung open, and a man’s voice called out:

“Anybody home?”

A spider scurried across Honey’s arm, and she had to set her teeth to keep from crying out. She let out a long sigh of relief when the man finally moved

away, closing the door behind him.

They crouched behind the furnace, listening to the footsteps on the floor above for what seemed like hours. At last there was a long silence, and Trixie

groped her way back up the stairs. With the additional light from the kitchen, Honey followed her, and together they tiptoed into the hall. From there

they could see into both the dining-room and living-room and felt reasonably sure that the photographer had gone.

“He may be taking pictures of the outside,” Trixie whispered. “I’ll climb out and look around.” A taxi was just pulling out of the driveway at the foot

of the hill and Trixie called, “He’s gone, Honey. Come on. Let’s go home.”

Reddy was waiting for them in the clearing, and then they saw Queenie, proudly marching from the underbrush, clucking to five little newly hatched chicks.

223 201 Reddy circled around them with great interest but kept at a safe distance.

“Oh, aren’t they darling?” Honey gasped. “She’s really a wonderful mother. I don’t blame her now for flying at me the other day. I must have almost stepped

on her nest.”

Trixie chuckled. “Even Reddy has sense enough to stay away from her when she has chicks.” She patted her pocket to make sure the ring was safe. “I’m glad

we have something for Jim, anyway. And let’s try to keep him from worrying the rest of the time. I can hardly wait for our ride tonight. Regan was swell

to let us go.”

“He said he wouldn’t worry about us if Jim was along,” Honey said. “But I had an awful time talking Miss Trask into letting me stay with you tonight. At

first she wanted to come, too, or invite you up to our place.”

“I was afraid of that,” Trixie admitted. “How’d you ever make her give in?”

“I honestly don’t know.” Honey smiled. “She was arguing with me when suddenly she stopped in the middle of a sentence. ‘Why, Honey Wheeler,’ she sort of

gasped, ‘you’re getting fat! And you’re as brown as a berry. Your parents will be very pleased when they get back and see you looking so well.’ And then

she said, more to herself than to me, ‘It’s that Belden child that’s

224 202 done it,’ and added, ‘All right, Honey, you have my permission to spend the night with Trixie. As a matter of fact, there’s a movie in the village

I want very much to see. Regan will be here if you need him. I’ll tell him to stay up till I get back.’ “

“It’s perfect,” Trixie cried. “Now she’ll be away from the house when we go for our ride.”

Jim was asleep on the living-room sofa when they got back, but he awoke with a start when Trixie yelled, “Jim, look what we found! A diamond ring!”

He rubbed his eyes dazedly as he stared at the huge stone, and then he carefully examined the inside of the gold band. “It belonged to my great-aunt, all

right,” he said. “See, here are the initials and what was probably the date of their wedding. I hate the thought of selling it, but it’ll keep me for a

long time, in case I don’t get a job right away.” He grinned up at Trixie. “Well, you win. You did find some hidden treasure, after all.”

“It was really Honey who found it,” Trixie said generously. “It was her idea that there might be a wall safe behind that old painting.”

Honey flushed with pleasure as Jim smiled his thanks. “This is one thing Jonesy won’t get his greedy hands on,” he said determinedly. “He can do what he

likes with the money he gets from the sale of the property, but this belongs to me.”

225 203 “I don’t think he’ll be allowed to touch that money,” Trixie objected. “Not unless he can prove that he’s supporting you.”

Jim shook his head. “He’ll get around that somehow. You don’t know Jonesy.”

Trixie and Honey fixed a delicious supper of frankfurters, rolls, salad, and chocolate milk shakes. It was almost nine o’clock when they finished talking,

eating, and washing the dishes.

“You stay here, Reddy,” Trixie said as she held the screen door open for the others. “Take good care of the house.”

Reddy looked depressed but obediently lay down on the kitchen floor with his nose between his paws. Trixie laughed as she let the screen door slam behind

her. “That dog’s so friendly he’d probably lead a burglar right to Mother’s silver chest and help him cart it away.”

“He certainly made friends with that photographer quickly,” Honey said and then bit her lip as Jim asked, “What photographer?”

“Oh, nothing,” Trixie said, trying to make her voice sound casual. “There was one up at the Mansion this afternoon, but he didn’t stay long.”

They were halfway across the lawn when Reddy,

226 204 pushing open the catch on the screen door with his nose, came bounding after them.

“Oh, look at this!” Trixie grabbed at Reddy’s collar, but he leaped away and began running around them in circles, pretending that he’d known all along

they were just playing a game and had no intention of leaving him behind. “He’s a nuisance,” she said when Jim finally caught him. “I’ll have to lock him

in. We can’t take him with us. He’d chase everything in the woods and wake the dead with his silly barking.”

Jim helped her drag the resisting Reddy back to the house. This time, Trixie locked the door and slipped the key into the pocket of her dungarees. “I hope

he doesn’t tear up the place out of spite while we’re gone,” she said. “He’s never been left alone before. Mother always takes him with her in the station

wagon when she goes shopping.” They hurried across the lawn in the bright moonlight and started up the path to the stable. “He’s nothing but a big, overgrown

puppy,” Trixie went on. “We all spoil him, and Bobby-” She stopped, rooted to the spot with horror, for the stillness was suddenly broken by the sound

of crashing glass behind them, followed by the cry of an animal in pain.

227 205

The Moonlight Ride

“Oh, oh,” Honey gasped, “somebody’s broken into your house and hurt Reddy.”

At first Trixie thought something like that must have happened, and then as she turned she saw with relief that Reddy was bounding across the lawn.

“He must have gone right through a window,” she said. “The only ones that aren’t screened are the ones in Dad’s study overlooking the terrace. He must have

gone up there to watch us and then decided to jump out, even though the window was closed.” Reddy dashed past them into the woods. “He’s probably cut to

ribbons.”

“Not necessarily,” Jim said. “I saw a policeman break through a window once without getting a scratch. Reddy might have broken a leg; but, from the way

he’s running, I’d say he was okay.”

Trixie whistled and called, and finally Reddy came close enough to be caught and dragged back. From the terrace, Trixie pointed up to the shattered remains

of the second-story window. “It’s lucky our ceilings are so low,” she said. “Otherwise he would have been badly

228 206 hurt. I still can’t believe he hasn’t a cut, somewhere.” Inside the house, they examined him carefully but could not find a scratch. “We’d better

put you in the cellar, old man,” Jim said patting the dog affectionately. “It’s a mean trick, but we won’t be gone long.”

Reddy was scratching and whining and snuffling on the other side of the door as they left the house for the third time.

“He’s some dog,” Jim said. “As soon as I get settled somewhere, I mean to get a pointer or a setter. You’ve never gone shooting with Reddy, have you, Trixie?”

“Brian and Mart do, sometimes,” she told him. “But he isn’t much good. Dad says we all tried to train him at once and that’s what ruined him. Brian taught

him to heel, Mart taught him to retrieve, and I taught him to come when called.” She giggled. “You can see how well he obeys me, so you can imagine how

good he is in other ways.”

Regan was waiting for them with the three saddled horses. “I was just about to come down after you,” he said. “Thought I heard the sound of breaking glass,

but then I saw you coming across the lawn and figured you were okay.”

He greeted Jim with a friendly, “Hi, youngster,” just as though there was nothing unusual about his

229 207 appearing with the girls. “Take good care of Jupe, won’t you? 1

“Yes, sir,” Jim said. “It was swell of you to let me have one last ride on him.”

“Going someplace soon?” Regan inquired as they mounted their horses.

“That’s right.” Jim rode off without another word. In the woods it was cool and quiet except for the occasional who, who-who, whooo of an owl. Every now

and then, they heard the bark of a fox off in the distance and the scurrying of small feet on the path ahead of them.

“This is heavenly,” Honey sighed. “I thought I was going to be scared in the woods at night, but I’m not. It’s much more fun and so much cooler than riding

in the daytime.”

64 Dad used to take me on moonlight rides when I was just a kid,” Jim told them. “Once I fell asleep on the way back, and he had to carry me on his saddle

and lead my horse as well. Then, just as we got home, I woke up and yelled like anything because I’d missed so much fun.” He chuckled. “Dad teased me about

that for a long time.”

“You loved your father an awful lot, didn’t you?” Honey asked shyly. “You must miss him like anything.”

208 Jim nodded soberly. “Guess that’s why I hated jonesy from the very beginning. I didn’t think anyone could take Dad’s place. I knew Mother needed someone

to take care of her, but I wanted to do it. I was too young, of course.” He cantered along the moonlit path in a thoughtful silence. “Sometimes I think