The Mystery of the Ghostly Galeon
Page 13
There was something different about the Weasel, but Trixie couldn’t figure out what it was. This new puzzle distracted her attention from Honey’s question.
Mr. Trask chuckled and said, “You’ll be glad to know that Weasel’s put away his eye patch forever. He really does have two good eyes. He was just using the patch and his stubbly chin for—”
“Atmosphere!” everyone shouted.
Trixie felt sorry that she had ever suspected the Weasel of wrongdoing. She knew she would have to learn not to judge by appearances alone.
On the other hand, everything had turned out wonderfully for Miss Trask. She and Trixie had recently had a private talk. Trixie knew now that she had been dreading her visit to Pirate’s Point. She had quarreled with her brother many months ago, but now they had made up and were friends once more. And now that Pirate’s Inn was paid for, Mr. Trask could even help with their invalid sister’s hospital bills.
“And the police have caught Smiley Jackson,” Miss Trask announced. “He’s confessed everything, even to setting the fire. He wouldn’t have let the inn burn, of course. He was just trying to cause the last in a series of ‘accidents’ to force Frank to give up.”
“I still don’t understand how Mr. Morgan and Smiley hoped to get away with kidnapping you,” Di told Mr. Trask.
“I’m sure,” Trixie said, “that they would have denied everything. And they would have let their prisoner go, once they owned the inn, and Mr. Trask couldn’t have proved anything.”
Honey turned to Mr. Appleton and asked, “What do you use Clarence for?”
Mr. Appleton looked uncomfortable. “I really do use him in my work,” he said. “You see, I’m a writer, and Clarence helps me figure out some of my action scenes. Last night, for instance, when you saw us on top of the cliff, Lucy was supposed to be struggling for her life with a foreign spy—” Trixie gasped. “Lucy! Are you Lucy Radcliffe?”
As Mr. Appleton nodded, Mart shouted with laughter. “Eighteen years old and has a peaches-and-cream complexion!” he yelled.
But it was Trixie’s turn to laugh when Mr. Appleton added, “I’m also Cosmo McNaught. I write science-fiction stuff, too. Perhaps you’ve heard of me.”
Brian chuckled. “Oh, they’ve both heard of you, all right. You’re sitting next to two of your greatest fans.”
Trixie was still trying to recover from the shock when Honey said, “We found a scary note that said Trixie was being watched.”
Marvin Appleton chuckled. “It was mine. I was doodling around with another story idea just before the fire, and I must have accidentally dropped it when I changed rooms. Incidentally, I was glad that you rescued my latest manuscript. It was in the desk drawer.”
Jim sighed. “Now all Trixie has to do is to solve the final mystery.”
Mr. Appleton looked puzzled. “What mystery is that?”
“You’re standing in a house,” Honey began. “The house has windows on all four sides,” Dan added.
“Every window faces south,” Di chimed in.
“A quadrupedal animal of the family Ursidae walks by,” Mart said. “Now, the question is, What color is the bear?”
Trixie laughed. “I figured that out, too! The bear was white. The only place in the world where all windows can face south is the North Pole.”
“Of course!” Honey exclaimed. “I should have known.”
“And I,” Trixie said, finally returning to the subject of the missing money, “should have known that enormous paintings can’t disappear into thin air. I finally figured out that the original portrait of the real Captain Trask must be behind the fake one. And that’s where I found the missing money—in between the two thicknesses of canvas. We’d looked everywhere else.”
“After that attempted robbery,” Mr. Trask murmured, “I couldn’t think of a better place to keep it. And I did tell you he was guarding the family treasure.”
Jim frowned. “I still don’t know on which side of the roof the egg fell.”
“The red side,” Mart said promptly.
“The blue one,” Brian sang out, grinning. Trixie smiled affectionately at them both. “You’ve forgotten that some questions have very easy answers,” she teased.
“In the same way that wooden figureheads can’t really cry?” Honey asked mischievously.
“And wily old pirates can’t really vanish?” Miss Trask added, smiling at her brother.
“And as far as I know,” Trixie said, giggling, “roosters never lay eggs.”
Everyone laughed as Mr. Appleton raised his glass of punch. “You know, Trixie,” he said, “I envy you. You lead such an exciting life.”
The Bob-Whites smiled at Trixie’s flushed face. It was thanks to her, they knew, that they all led exciting lives.
“In fact,” Honey whispered, “I can hardly wait for our next mysterious adventure.”
“And neither,” said Trixie happily, “can I!”
The Vanishing Pirate • 1
A Family Quarrel ● 2
Mart’s Ghost ● 3
Ready for Action ● 4
A Narrow Escape • 5
Fire! ● 6
Phantom From die Past • 7
A Second Disappearance ● 8
New Worry • 9
A Fruitless Search • 10
Midnight Mission ● 11
The Crying Lady ● 12
Clues to a Treasure • 13
The Cave ● 14
Treasure Island ● 15
The Vanishing Trick ● 16
More Worries • 17
Disaster! ● 18
A Villain Unmasked • 19
Table of Contents
The Vanishing Pirate • 1
A Family Quarrel ● 2
Mart’s Ghost ● 3
Ready for Action ● 4
A Narrow Escape • 5
Fire! ● 6
Phantom From die Past • 7
A Second Disappearance ● 8
New Worry • 9
A Fruitless Search • 10
Midnight Mission ● 11
The Crying Lady ● 12
Clues to a Treasure • 13
The Cave ● 14
Treasure Island ● 15
The Vanishing Trick ● 16
More Worries • 17
Disaster! ● 18
A Villain Unmasked • 19