The Gatehouse Mystery

an unnecessary step. Besides, he couldn't possibly have dropped this stone. I think it's very valuable. Mother has one in her engagement ring that's not much larger than this, and it's worth thousands of dollars."
    Trixie gasped. "Are you sure it's a diamond, Honey?" Honey nodded. "Daddy taught me how to tell the difference between real gems and imitations." She frowned. "But I can't imagine how it got embedded in this dirt floor. As far as I know, nobody has been in here since the old days when the driveway used to wind down here from the house. After automobiles were invented, the people we bought the place from put in the new driveway which goes straight up from the road to the garage."
    "I know," Trixie said, "and it's a wonderful hill for coasting in the winter. The Manor House, you know," she went on, "was vacant for years before your family bought it. Brian and Mart and I grew up thinking that the grounds belonged to our property. We trespassed like anything, but we never even saw this cottage." Honey smiled. "You must always think of the house and the grounds as belonging to you as much as they do to Jim and me," she said impulsively. "Mother and Daddy want you all practically to live here."
    "We will," Trixie assured her with a grin. "Especially now that I know you grow diamonds in dark places." Honey giggled and then sobered. "How do you suppose it got in here?"
    "Perhaps those people who used to live in your house dropped it ages ago," Trixie said.
    "That's not possible," Honey told her. "The stone is too bright and clean to have been here long."
    "Well, then," Trixie cried, letting her imagination run away with her, "some jewel thieves have been using this cottage as their hideout. They probably buried the loot in the floor; and when they dug it up, they missed the diamond."
    "Oh, I doubt that," Honey said.
    "Why?" Trixie demanded. "This would be a perfect hideout for crooks. It can't be seen from your house, and the woods screen it from Glen Road."
    "Not exactly," Honey argued. "As soon as you leave the road and go into the woods, you can see it, even though it is almost completely covered with vines. That's how Jim and I happened to find it one day when we were out walking."
    "That's how the jewel thieves found it, too," Trixie insisted. She grabbed Honey's arm. "Come on. Let's go back and get some shovels. If we dig, maybe we'll find more diamonds in here."
    "All right," Honey said doubtfully. "But it doesn't look as though this floor has been dug up recently. Anyway, before we dig, I think we ought to get some pruning saws and cut away the vines that almost cover the windows."
    "That's a good idea," Trixie said, starting off at a run. "If we let some light into the place, we can both dig instead of one of us digging while the other holds the flashlight."
    When they reached the top of the sloping lawn, Honey pointed to the gleaming, midnight-blue sedan that was turning into the driveway. "I guess Jim and Daddy are back from Mr. Tomlins. You go on and get the stuff from the toolhouse while I give Daddy the diamond and ask him what he thinks we ought to do with it."
    "Oh, no, please," Trixie begged. "Let's not tell anybody about it for a while. Let's try to solve the mystery of how it got in the cottage ourselves. When we cut away some of the vines, we ought to find lots of clues."
    "We-ell," Honey said, weakening. "I don't think we ought to run around with anything as valuable as this diamond in our pockets."
    "You don't have to keep it in your pocket," Trixie said impatiently. "Go and put it in some safe place in your room and don't tell a soul about it."
    "Not even Jim?" Honey asked, surprised.
    Trixie shook her head. "You know perfectly well, Honey Wheeler, that Jim'd make us turn it right over to the police. And then the cottage would be positively crawling with detectives who'd find all the clues before we had a chance."
    "We-ell," Honey said again. "It would be fun to solve the mystery ourselves, the way we found Jim. But it seems sort of dishonest to me not to—"
    "Oh, for goodness' sake," Trixie cried exasperatedly. "It's not dishonest at all. We're not going to keep it."
    "But," Honey interrupted, "suppose the same person who dropped it comes back and finds it gone."
    "Serves him right," Trixie said with a sniff. "He was trespassing. Anyway, it wasn't dropped. I had to pry it loose with a twig. Remember?" She went on stubbornly, "Suppose we hadn't decided to explore the cottage until next week