The Secret of the Mansion Read online

"I hope we don't," Trixie said under her breath as he disappeared through the trees. She whistled and Jim came riding back across the brook.

  "It was Mr. Lytell," Trixie said. "We've got to be careful. He knows everybody for miles around, and he doesn't miss a thing that goes on. He's a regular old gossip."

  "What direction did he take?" Jim asked. "The same way we came."

  "Then we'd better take this fork," Jim said. "I'm taking no chances. Sooner or later, Jonesy'll come snooping around here, and it would be too bad if Mr. Lytell was able to describe me." He nudged Jupiter into a canter. "That's the trouble with having red hair. Nobody ever misses it."

  They rode along single file for about twenty minutes and stopped when they came to another fork in the bridle trail. "I don't know which way to go now," Jim said. 'Any ideas, Trixie?"

  Trixie shook her head. 'As far as I'm concerned, we've been lost for hours. I've never been this far into these woods."

  "If we could see the river," Jim said thoughtfully, "I'd know what to do. But we're so far down in the valley I doubt if I could see it even if I climbed a tree." He squinted up at the sky. "Well, the sun's beginning to set, so that way's west. We want to go north so let's take this fork and see what happens."

  An hour passed, and Trixie began to realize that she was not as experienced a rider as the others. Her back ached, and her legs felt numb and stiff. "Golly," she groaned, "I'm so tired I could fall out of the saddle and go right to sleep on the ground. How near are we to home, Jim?"

  Jim frowned. "This is a regular labyrinth! The trail goes round and round in circles. We haven't been getting anywhere since we took that right-hand fork."

  "Well, here's the brook," cried Honey, who was in the lead. "Maybe if we follow it, we'll get back to where we had lunch." She turned around in the saddle. "This looks sort of famil-"

  At that moment, Strawberry placed his foot in a hole and stumbled. Before Honey could turn back and gather up the reins, the horse went down on his knees, so violently that Honey pitched over his head. Strawberry quickly scrambled to his feet and, finding himself riderless, set off at a run with Jim, on Jupiter, after him. Trixie slid off Lady's back and hurried to help Honey to her feet.

  "I'm all right," Honey said. "It was dumb of me to let the reins get so slack. If I hadn't been careless, I could have pulled Strawberry up before he stumbled so badly."

  "I'm glad to know that even good riders fall off, sometimes," Trixie said, grinning.

  Honey rubbed her ankle. "Trixie, I hope Jim catches Strawberry. We're probably miles from home."

  It seemed like hours that they waited, and the sun got so low in the sky that it was twilight under the heavy branches of the evergreens. "I'm too tired to move," Trixie said, at last, "but I think we'd better start back. Jim's probably lost us by now."

  They started off, leading Lady between them, and then Trixie noticed that Honey was limping. "Honey," she cried. "You've hurt yourself. Let me see your leg."

  Honey rolled up her blue jeans, and Trixie saw that her ankle was swelling above her shoe. "It's nothing," Honey said. "Just a wrench. I can manage."

  "It must hurt like the dickens," Trixie said. "You get up on Lady. You shouldn't walk on it until it's strapped. Dad can do it for you when we get home."

  "If we ever get home." Honey giggled. "I feel like an awful dope sitting up here with you walking. It was my horse that ran away, not yours."

  "They're both your horses," Trixie reminded her, with a laugh. "Anyway, I feel so stiff and sc)re I don't think I could climb into a saddle."

  "Well, here comes somebody," Honey said, listening to hoof beats just ahead of them. "I wouldn't even mind if it was Mr. Lytell at this point. I'd hate to spend the night in these woods."

  And then they saw that it was Jim on Jupiter, leading Strawberry. "I had to circle around to head him off," he explained. "That's what took so long. As it was, I didn't catch him until he was just a few yards from Glen Road. Anyway," he finished, "Strawberry showed me the way back."

  "Honey twisted her ankle when she fell," 'Trixie told Jim. "I'll ride Strawberry back."

  "Oh, no, you won't." Honey slid out of the saddle, wincing as her ankle touched the ground. "Remember our promise to Regan."

  "I forgot," Trixie admitted as Jim helped Honey mount Strawberry. "Oh, quick, Jim, somebody's coming." But it was too late for Jim to hide, and in a minute

  Mr. Lytell appeared on a narrow path off the main trail. "So we meet again," he said, staring curiously at Jim. "That's a beautiful horse. I think I saw your father riding him early Friday morning."

  A dull red crept up Jim's cheeks to his ears, and Trixie could guess how he hated acting a lie.

  Honey said with quick tact, "Dad was out on Jupiter Friday, Mr. Lytell. He went to Canada Saturday night. Mother can't stand this heat, you know."

  "I can't stand it myself." Mr. Lytell began polishing his glasses. "The perspiration fogs up my specs so I can't see." He peered nearsightedly at Jim. "You don't look much like your sister, do you?"

  "We don't look at all alike," Honey said truthfully, and Trixie felt nervous laughter bubbling up inside her. Jim's face was almost as red as his hair as he silently swung up on Jupiter. "We'd better start for home," he mumbled uncomfortably.

  "Yes, indeed," Mr. Lytell nudged Belle into a walk. "It's time for me to go to the train for the city papers. I'm taking the short cut to the store, but you youngsters had better stick to the trail."

  They watched him move slowly through the trees, and Trixie sighed with relief. "Whew! He's so nosy. Honey, you were wonderful to let him go on thinking Jim was your brother."

  Jim's jaw was set. "And this is just the beginning," he thought out loud, his green eyes dark with misery. "It'll be one lie after another, I guess, if I don't want to get caught." He slumped in the saddle. "I don't think I can stand it."

  Trixie felt a quick pang of sympathy. She hated to lie herself and remembered how miserable she always felt whenever she evaded the truth. "You didn't really lie, Jim," she tried to comfort him. "And neither did Honey. That nosy old man had no business prying in your business, anyway."

  Jim straightened. "Well, I'm not going to lie when I apply for a job as a junior counselor. I couldn't live with myself if I did."

  "But," Honey objected, "they won't hire you if they find out you ran away from home, will they?"

  "That remains to be seen." Jim shrugged. "I'm strong, and I'm good with animals. They'll give me a job on a cattle boat without asking any questions. I'd like to see Europe, anyway."

  They rode back to the Mansion in a depressed silence.

  "Thanks a lot," Jim said as he handed Jupiter's reins to Honey. "If I shouldn't see you again, I want you to know how much I appreciate all you two did for me."

  "Now, Jim." Honey's huge hazel eyes clouded with tears. "Promise you won't go away without first letting us know."

  "I can't promise anything," he said almost brusquely and vaulted in through the window.

  Regan was waiting for the girls at the stable. "You've been gone a lot longer than you thought you would," he said, trying to hide his anxiety. "Have any trouble?"

  Honey told him about her fall, and Regan carefully examined her ankle. "I'll strap that up for you, so it won't bother you at all." He glanced out of one eye at Trixie. "You look all in," he told her. "I'll give Lady her rubdown. Run along home, now."

  "Thanks," Trixie murmured and went wearily down the road.

  Trixie was so tired she didn't see how she was going to make herself feed the chickens, but somehow she managed to throw out the grain and gather the eggs. As she came out of the coop, she saw her father putting his car away in the garage. "Any news of Mr. Frayne, Dad?" she called out.

  Mr. Belden closed the doors to the garage before replying. "Yes," he said soberly. "He died this afternoon."

  Unwelcome Guests

  "Oh, Dad." Trixie looked up at the Mansion, thinking, Poor Jim! He's alone in the world, now. Even if Mr Frayne was a mean
old miser, at least he was somebody Jim felt he belonged to. Aloud she asked her father, "Did he say anything before he died? About a will, I mean."

  "No." Mr. Belden looked grave. "He never regained consciousness. We're still trying to locate some member of his family, but so far without success. There was a nephew, I remember; but he died about five years ago, and nobody knows what became of his widow." He walked slowly beside Trixie to the house. "It's too bad, because there's no mortgage on that property and it's worth at least ten thousand dollars. The widow and her children, if there are any, would inherit it."

  "Where are they looking for her, Dad?" Trixie asked.

  "Mainly in Rochester, where she was living at the time of her husband's death; but, so far, all the Frayne's we've contacted in New York state do not belong to the same family."

  It was on the tip of Trixie's tongue to suggest that maybe the widow had married again, but she thought better of it and said nothing. Such a trail would lead straight to Jonesy, which was the one thing Jim wanted to avoid.

  Trixie did her chores early the next morning and raced up the hill to bring Jim the latest news.

  "He's dead, Jim," she said quietly. "I'm awfully sorry. I wish there was something I could do."

  Jim stared down at the toe of his moccasin. "They're trying to find your mother," Trixie said uncomfortably.

  "Then that settles it," Jim said. "Sooner or later, jonesy will appear on the scene. I'd better be on my way now.

  'Jim, please." Trixie thought she couldn't stand it if Jim went off by himself. "It's all so unfair. This place belongs to you now, and there's no reason why you shouldn't have the money from the sale of it." She stopped as a heavy droning sound filled the air, and, looking up, she saw a squadron of airplanes approaching from the north.

  As they stared up at the sky, one of the planes dropped out of formation and began flying very low. "Looks like it's going to land somewhere," Jim said.

  "Golly, it's turning over and over! That doesn't look like a stunt to me! Wonder if the pilot's having trouble?"

  As he spoke, there was the deafening sound of an explosion and the plane burst into flames. It hurtled through the air, careening dangerously close to the Wheelers' house; then, shooting flames and roaring like a dozen fire engines, it crashed into the woods on the other side of Glen Road.

  Trixie was so horrified that she didn't realize that she had clutched Jim's arm and was yelling at the top of her lungs. Then she saw something white up in the sky and realized, with relief, that the pilot had bailed out before the plane exploded.

  "The wind's blowing in this direction," Jim said. "He's bound to come down somewhere near here."

  Already, the parachute was floating just above the trees on the wooded hill, and in a minute it passed over their heads so close to where they were standing that they could see the tense face of the young pilot. Then the folds of the 'chute became entangled in the branches of a tall tree on the east side of the Mansion. Jim and Trixie raced across the clearing and through the field. The pilot was perched on a branch of the tree, unbuckling his 'chute.

  Trixie gazed up at him. "Are you hurt?" she called breathlessly.

  His face was pale, but he grinned as he climbed to the ground. "No, but, boy, oh, boy, I thought I was going to be. I don't know what happened to that engine, but I bailed out just in time." He leaned weakly against the tree trunk. "I am a little shaky. Where am I, anyway?"

  "You're on the Frayne place," Trixie told him. "I'm Trixie Belden, and I live down in the hollow. This is She turned around to introduce Jim. "Why, he's gone."

  "The redheaded kid?" The young lieutenant pulled off his helmet and mopped his face. "He disappeared in those bushes over there. Maybe he doesn't like pilots." He laughed. "But a lot of others seem to be interested." He pointed down to the road.

  As if by magic, Glen Road had suddenly become packed with cars and trucks, and people were already swarming up the rutted driveway. Two policemen reached the clearing first and began questioning the pilot, while Trixie ran around to the back of the house to bring him a drink of water. When she returned from the well, reporters were scribbling in their notebooks, and a news photographer was taking a picture of the pilot with the old Mansion in the background. Then she saw Mr. Lytell climbing up the short cut from the hollow, though how he got there so quickly Trixie didn't know. Regan and Honey came galloping through the woods on horseback, and in a few minutes the clearing was filled with a crowd of milling, curious people.

  "The ground shook for miles around when that plane crashed," Mr. Lytell was telling the pilot. "You were lucky to get out in time."

  "Say, I've got to call headquarters and report," the lieutenant interrupted. "Is there a phone in this old house?"

  "Not here," Mr. Lytell said. "This is the Frayne place. He was an eccentric old man. Supposed to be a miser. Died yesterday of pneumonia, I hear."

  "A miser?" The reporters moved closer to the house and peered in through the windows. "Zowie!" one of them yelled. "Look at all that junk. This'll make a swell yarn."

  "Take all the pictures you want of the outside," a policeman cautioned. "But don't any of you cross the threshold without a permit from the chief. Come on," he said to the pilot. "Our car's parked down below. We'll drive you in to the station and you can make your report from there."

  "Oh, no," Honey whispered to Trixie. "All these people! And look at that photographer. He's taking pictures of the living-room through the open window. Where's Jim?" I don't know," Trixie whispered back. "He just disappeared suddenly."

  Regan cantered away, leading Strawberry, and in a short while the crowd dwindled down to Mr. Lytell and the girls.

  "Lucky we weren't in those woods today," he said, shaking his head. "The fire department was having quite a time down there when I drove past."

  Trixie and Honey stared down at the wisp of smoke that was rising above the pine trees. "Golly," Trixie breathed. "Do you suppose they'll be able to put it out?"

  "Oh yes," Mr. Lytell said. "There wasn't enough left of the plane by the time it hit the ground to start much of a fire. Never saw anything like that before in all my life. The explosion was deafening down at the store. Even Belle was startled, and she's stone deaf." He chuckled. "And where did all those cars come from? I couldn't park any nearer than the Wheeler place. The plane had hardly hit the ground before there was a solid line from here to the Post Road." He peered through his glasses at Honey. "Funny your brother wasn't up here, too. Strikes me that a boy his age would be kind of interested in a pilot bailing out of an exploding plane."

  "My little brother got bitten by a copperhead," Trixie said hastily. "You know, Bobby."

  "Read about it in the paper," Mr. Lytell said. "Glad to hear he's doing so well." He moved over to the open window. "Better close this. It might rain, although it doesn't look like it. Those nosy reporters must have left it open."

  Trixie thought he would never go away, but finally he did and she whistled, "Bob Mite! Bob Mite."

  Jim came crawling out from the old arbor that led to the summerhouse. "Whew!" he said. "Some excitement. The story will be in the New York papers for sure. I don't dare hang around here any longer."

  "No, Jim," Trixie broke in. "I've got a plan. Dad and Mother are leaving right after lunch for the seashore. The doctor thought the change would be good for Bobby." She turned to Honey. "I was going to ask you the first chance I got. They said I could stay home if you stayed with me. just for the night. Dad'll be back tomorrow. Do you think Miss Trask'll let you?"

  "I guess so," Honey said. "But why don't you spend the night with me, instead?"

  Trixie shook her head. "No, it's better this way, because our house is nearer the Mansion. As soon as the family leaves, Jim can hide down there, and you and I can give the place one last search. Please, Jim," she finished. "One more day. You'll be perfectly safe in our house, and there's going to be a full moon tonight, so maybe we could go for a moonlight ride."

  "Well, all right,"
Jim said, after thinking it over for a minute. "But I'd better hit the road the first thing in the morning."

  When Trixie got home, Bobby was full of the story of the plane crash. "Our house shook so I almost fell out of bed," he told Trixie. "Mummy said the pilot came down up at the Mansion. Did you see him? Did he get hurt?"

  "Yes, I saw him," Trixie said. "And he wasn't hurt at all. But the plane was blown to bits."

  Bobby bounced up and down in bed. "It 'sploded in midair," he yelled. "Hey! Soon's I get well I'm going to 'splore through those woods for shiny pieces of metal. You're not the only one who can 'splore 'round here."

  Mrs. Belden came in with Bobby's luncheon tray. "It was certainly thrilling," she said. "I was down in the garden picking lettuce, and it looked to me as though the plane missed the Wheelers' chimney by inches." She tied a napkin under Bobby's chin. "Is Honey going to stay with you, Trixie? If not, you'd better start packing. I'm not at all sure we ought to leave you girls here alone, but your father seems to think you'll be perfectly all right." "Of course we will," Trixie said quickly. "And it's only for one night."

  Her mother snapped the lock on a small suitcase. "Bobby and I will probably stay for a week or ten days. The doctor said he could play quietly on the beach tomorrow and go in swimming by the weekend." She pinched Bobby's pale cheek. "You've got to get back those big red apples, you know."

  "Don't worry about anything while you're gone," Trixie said. "I'll take good care of Dad. It'll be fun cooking for him."

  She waved good-by to the family from the terrace, and in a little while she heard a bobwhite call from the woods behind the garage. She whistled back, and in a moment Jim darted out and ran down the driveway with Reddy barking at his heels.

  "Saw the car leaving," he said. "I don't even feel safe here. Mind if I go in?"

  "Of course not." Trixie led him into the living-room. "You don't have to worry. Nobody'll arrive without warning. Reddy barks his head off at everybody."

  "That's pretty good." Jim stared around the low-ceilinged room admiringly. "This is a nice place. It reminds me of the house we had in the country before Dad got sick. We had to sell it then and move to a small apartment in Rochester." His eye fell on a loving cup on the mantel. "Golly, I left in such a hurry I forgot to bring down my cup and the will."