The Gatehouse Mystery

to sleep in the house," Regan said, reaching into the back of Dick's car for his suitcase. "Come on, fella; I'll help you put your gear away."
    "Gimme that!" It was almost a snarl, and Trixie stared at the new chauffeur, who grabbed his bag roughly away from Regan.
    Regan stared at him, too. "Take it easy, fella," he said quietly. "I only meant to be helpful."
    Instantly the expression on Dick's face changed. "Sorry," he said contritely. "Got two new summer uniforms in my grip and a bottle of black shoe polish. If it broke, I'd be out fifty bucks!"
    "Fifty dollars," Miss Trask said, scribbling on a pad. "You'll be reimbursed at once, Richard. Mr. Wheeler said you were to charge anything you needed at the Sleepyside Department Store."
    "Thanks," Dick said pleasantly. "I thought I might as well come prepared, so I bought a couple of gabardine coats and caps yesterday in town."
    "Fine." Miss Trask smiled at him. "As soon as you're settled at bit, you'd better get into uniform. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler will want you to drive them to the station. They're taking the eleven forty-seven express to New York." She hurried away into the house.
    Trixie followed her more slowly. Bobby flatly refused to leave his new friend and, with an important air, led the way up the stairs to the suite over the garage.
    In the spacious hall of the Manor House, Trixie met Honey.
    "Such excitement," Honey said wearily. "Every time Daddy tries to take a vacation, something happens. When Mother heard he had to go to Chicago this morning, she didn't know whether to go with him or not."
    "I take it she's going," Trixie said. "But I know she hated to leave you, Honey."
    Honey nodded. "I could have gone along, but they won't be back for at least a week." She slipped her arm through Trixie's. "I couldn't be gone that long; not with what's upstairs in my jewelry box. Let's search the cottage for more clues."
    As they strolled down the lawn, Trixie asked, "Are we in the doghouse? Did Gallagher really quit?"
    "That's right," Honey said, "but Miss Trask isn't angry with us. She's already hired another gardener. A man named Nailor appeared right after breakfast asking for the job. He didn't have any really good references, but Daddy said to try him out for a week. Nobody could be worse than Gallagher was." She giggled. "I dashed right down to the cottage and brought the pruning saws and shovels back to the toolhouse. And I do mean dash. I was scared to death for fear someone was lurking in the woods."
    "I'm sorry I said what I did yesterday," Trixie admitted. "Whoever was eavesdropping must be miles away by now. I hope you didn't take the flashlights back to the tack room," she added. "I think we ought to go over every inch of the floor. Maybe we'll find more footprints."
    "I never even thought about the flashlights," Honey said. "Here they are. Right where we left them, outside by the window."
    "Thank goodness it didn't rain last night," Trixie said. "The batteries would have been ruined, and Regan would have been as mad as a hornet."
    Honey smiled. "We get worse every day, you and I. We're always taking things and forgetting to return them."
    Inside the cottage, they got down on their hands and knees with the flashlights and examined the dirt floor.
    "This looks like another heel print," Trixie said suddenly. "And it's not the same as the other one. Look, it was made by a rubber heel. You can see the trademark plainly."
    Honey pointed the beam of her torch on the new clue. "You're absolutely right, Trixie. Two men must have been in here since the rain Monday night. And they must have walked up and down a lot. That's why we can't find the other footprints. They've been scuffed away."
    Trixie thought for a minute. "I don't think they walked up and down. I think they had a fight. That's why all but the two heel marks were scuffed away."
    "Oh, oh," Honey gasped. "They fought over the diamond, Trixie. Maybe one of them murdered the other one!" She moved closer to Trixie. "Now I am scared!"
    Trixie grinned. "You're as bad as I am, Honey. You're letting your imagination run away with you. People don't go around killing other people for a diamond which they go off and leave behind."
    Honey sighed with relief. Then she frowned with a puzzled expression on her pretty face. "Why did they go off and leave the diamond behind, Trixie? It's very, very valuable."
    Trixie shrugged. "One of them dropped it while they were fighting, and it got ground into the mud. Then maybe