The Gatehouse Mystery

"A woman convinced against her will is of the same opinion still," he said. "Just because Bobby said he showed Dick Honey's windows doesn't mean a thing. Bobby's reports are generally garbled to death."
    "That's not the only thing that makes me suspicious," Trixie said. "Come on, let's take a quick swim in the lake. It must be almost time for breakfast." She started up the path, and they all raced after her.
    The girls were wearing denim shorts and tops so they didn't bother to change into swimsuits. Honey had to stop long enough in the boathouse to get a cap to pull on over her shoulder-length bob. She was the last one in.
    "Boy! Can she swim and dive," Mart whispered to
    Trixie as they lay on their backs, floating. "She could give us all lessons."
    "Honey," Trixie said, 'learned how to swim and ride at camps and boarding schools. She hardly knew her parents until this summer. That's why she had governesses. Miss Trask was the math instructor at the last school Honey went to. And," she added enviously, "Honey has already had some algebra. They taught it in the seventh grade. She'll probably get much better marks than I will."
    "Oh, you'll be okay," Mart said affectionately. "It kills me to admit it, Trix, but you're really smart at times. What other reason makes you suspect Dick?"
    "Let's go back to the boathouse and get dry in the sun," Trixie said. "Ill tell you then."
    When they were stretched out on the hot boards of the porch, she explained. "Dick was very disappointed when he heard he wasn't going to sleep in the house. He was mad when Miss Trask told him he was to share Regan's suite over the garage. He was so mad," she finished, "that he was rude to Regan. All Regan did was offer to help him carry up his suitcase, and Dick snarled and grabbed it away from him."
    Mart rolled over on his stomach. "Aha, the plot thickens. Maybe there was a time bomb in his suitcase."
    Trixie glanced at him swiftly and saw that he was laughing. "Oh, all right, make fun of me," she said crossly. "But I know Dick wanted to sleep in the house. That would have made it easier for him to swipe the diamond. This way, he has no excuse for ever going beyond the servants' dining room next to the kitchen. But, if he had a room on the third floor, he—" She stopped, for Miss Trask was coming down the path to the lake.
    "Good morning, Trixie," she said with a smile. "Your mother just phoned and told me your brothers came home last night. She wanted you to hurry home for breakfast, but I persuaded her to let you all have pancakes and sausages down here at the boathouse."
    Mart and Trixie scrambled to their feet, and Trixie introduced him to Miss Trask. "Brian," she said, "is the tall, dark boy on the raft with Honey and Jim." She cupped her hands and yelled across the water. "Brian! Come back and meet Miss Trask. We're invited for breakfast."
    Celia and one of the other maids brought trays of delicious food down to the boathouse, and in a few minutes they were all gathered around the rustic table on the sunny porch.
    "This is the life," Mart said, buttering his fifth pancake. "At camp we were so busy seeing that our small fry didn't drown in the maple syrup, we didn't have time to eat ourselves."
    "You look starved," Trixie said with a sniff. "You've both grown inches and gained tons."
    "You haven't done so badly yourself," Brian said with a laugh. He turned to Jim. "Say, I think the boys' outdoor school you were telling me about is a great idea. Can I sign up now for the job of resident doctor?"
    Jim nodded, grinning. "How about you, Mart? You like small fry. Will you be the kindergarten teacher at my school for underprivileged boys?"
    "Thank you, no," Mart said with an elaborate bow. "One summer with that age group was enough for me. Next year I'm going to work on a farm. I plan to go to agricultural college when I get out of high school, you know."
    "Swell," Jim said. "Part of the curriculum at my school will be farming. You can be in charge of that department."
    "That I accept," Mart said. "What about the girls? Trixie loves housework," he said sarcastically. "She'll be a big help. What she misses with a dustcloth would clog a vacuum hose."
    "Is that so?" Trixie demanded. "I'll have you know that Honey and I did all the cooking on our trailer trip and kept the Swan tidy, too."
    "Well, sort of tidy," Honey said with a giggle. "Anyway, we're going to be detectives, Trixie and I."
    Brian and Mart howled with laughter. "That does it," Brian