The Black Jacket Mystery

have to do all the work, and be insulted in the bargain, the least you squaws could do would be to rustle up the eats.”
    “Come on, Trix, I think my big brother has a point there.” Honey laughed.
    “All right, but we won’t tell them what Mr. Maypenny said, just for that,” Trixie said with a sniff.
    “Okay, get the frying pan to work, and we’ll try to keep from dying of curiosity,” Brian said dryly. “As a matter of fact, I don’t believe you even saw Mr. Maypenny. You’d still be there gobbling his stew.”
    “But we did see him, really. And we told him we had decided it was somebody besides Dan who sold my watch,” Honey told him earnestly.
    “Did Dan forgive you?” Mart grinned. “Bet he just hissed at you and coiled up.”
    “That’s a mean remark,” Honey said, with as much anger as any of them had ever seen her show. “It’s not fair.”
    “I’m sorry,” Mart said humbly. “I was just being a clown. I guess it comes natural to me. I don’t really feel that way about Dan Mangan.”
    “I hope not,” Jim said seriously. “I think we ought to show we’re sorry we misjudged him.”
    “We could ask him to come and have some of our supper here tonight,” Trixie suggested. “Though I know he’d say no.”
    “He might not,” Honey argued. “He waved to me and told us where to find Mr. Maypenny.”
    The boys exchanged looks. “All right. Tell us the story of your gay afternoon in the woods. Let the hamburgers and hot dogs wait.” Mart pulled at a stray blond curl that had escaped from Trixie’s head scarf.
    But when the girls had told about the talk with Mr. Maypenny, including his strange sympathy for “poor lad” Regan, the boys had no more idea than they what he had meant.
    “Anyhow,” Brian told them when they had given up guessing, “one of us should go over to Mr. Maypenny’s and talk to Dan. And it wouldn't do any harm, if he’s at all friendly, to invite him to bring his skates and take a few turns around the lake. It might break the ice.”
    “That’s what we need, broken ice to skate on,” Mart said, grinning at his big brother.
    “Smarty! We know what Brian meant, if you don’t.” Trixie sniffed at him. “And just for that, you ought to be the one who goes to Maypenny’s and talks to Dan. Does everybody agree? All in favor, say aye!”
    And before lie could beg off, a chorus of ayes from the other four members of the Bob-Whites elected him their messenger, although he sputtered protests.
    Still grumbling, he left the warm circle of the fire and mounted Jupiter. “If I come back fast, he took a pitchfork to me!” he called to them as he rode into the darkness of the trail.
    It was less than fifteen minutes later that they heard him come riding down the trail a lot faster than he had gone up it. When he was still a score of yards away, he called out, “Jim! Brian! Come here!”
    There was such an edge of excitement in his voice that the two boys looked at each other in sudden alarm. “Sounds like trouble!” Jim exclaimed, setting aside the frying pan he was holding over the fire. “Lets go!”
    The girls were right on their heels when they reached Mart as he swung off Jupiter, panting for breath.
    “It’s Mr. Maypenny! There’s been an accident!”
    “Where?” Jim asked at once.
    “Mr. Maypenny?” the two girls chorused.
    Mart nodded.
    “Where is he?” Brian was the only calm one. “Let’s go, boys. Girls, you’d better stay here and tend the fire. We’ll be back as soon as possible.”
    “What happened to him, Mart?” Trixie insisted, holding onto Mart’s sleeve as the others started to mount.
    “Looks as if a branch broke off one of the birches, about half a mile from his house. I don’t know what he was doing out there this time of night, but it seems to have hit him on the head. He’s got a nasty gash, and he’s unconscious,” Mart told them.
    Trixie and Honey looked at each other as Mart hurriedly mounted to join his brother and Jim. “He said he was going out to get Dan,” Trixie reminded Honey. “I hope they didn’t have an argument.”
    “Oh, Trixie! Don’t even think such a thing!” Honey moaned.
    “Well, I’m not going to stay here and just wait and worry. I’m going to find out if there’s something we can do.” Trixie started away, but Honey held her arm.
    “I’ll dump snow on the fire. You wrap up all the food, and we’ll put it in the boathouse so the porcupines won’t get at it.” Honey was