The Gatehouse Mystery

Why, if there's enough to do, I could make five dollars a week, tool"
    "Don't worry about the amount," Trixie said, giggling.
    "There's always a huge basketful at our house. Bobby never ties his shoelaces, so there are never any heels in his socks. You all know about his shoulder straps, and you've seen the knee patches on the jeans Brian, Mart, and I wear."
    "Next to darning," Honey said dreamily, "I love patching the best."
    "It's nice," Brian said to Miss Trask, "to know a girl who likes to do girlish things. Our sister must have been frightened by a darning needle in the cradle."
    Celia came in then to clear the table for dessert. Trixie glared at Brian. "Says you! I love darning needles when they're dragonflies. My first pet was one, and after that I collected walking sticks. They're the cutest bugs ever, except for the praying mantis."
    "I hate bugs," Honey said. "No, I don't mean that. I'm just a sissy. I'm scared of them. I'm even scared of Bobby's leopard frogs, although they are pretty."
    "Most girls," Mart said, "are afraid of bugs. It's the normal thing to expect, and more fun. Trix is no fun at all. I tried to scare her with a garter snake when she was Bobby's age, but she made a pet out of it and sicked it on me."
    "That's not true," Trixie stormed. "It was a great big, black snake. And I never sicked it on you. You teased it until it finally chased you into the pond." Celia, by this time, was laughing so hard she had to set her tray down on the table for a minute. "Honest to goodness, Miss Trask," she said, "these Beldens will be the death of me. That Bobby! When he helped Jim and Honey move, he got everything mixed up. When I dusted Jim's room this morning, I found Honey's dainty little jewelry box on her dressing table. It looked so silly sitting there in the middle of Jim's fishing tackle, I took it right across the hall and put it on the bureau in his old room." Still shaking with laughter, she picked up the tray and went through the swinging door into the butler's pantry.
    No one said anything for a long minute. It was Mart who finally broke the silence. He cleared his throat and said, "That was the best shrimp salad I ever tasted, Miss Trask. Could we have it again for supper this evening?"
    "That's a wonderful idea, Mart," she cried. "Why don't we just have a potluck supper this evening and give Celia and the cook the whole afternoon off? We can raid the icebox and finish up all the leftovers."
    "I love leftovers," Honey cried. "No matter what it is, I always think it tastes better the next day, but our cooks almost never let us have delicious things like the Beldens do. They have warmed-up stews and fried macaroni-and-cheese and chocolate. bread puddings." Celia appeared then with strawberry sherbet in strawberry-shaped crystal dishes.
    Mart glared at Honey. "Don't mention bread pudding in the presence of that divine-looking ambrosia." He kicked Trixie under the table. "Our frail, feminine sister is especially fond of strawberries. In any shape or form, she adores them. Even when they're stuffed with rocks, she finds them delicious."
    Celia giggled. "You mean seeds, Mart, not rocks."
    "In Alaska," Mart told her, "which is the land of the midnight sun, practically, strawberries grow to giant size. The seeds must grow, too."
    "Oh, stop it, Mart," Trixie said, kicking him under the table. "We'll all catch pneumonia if we even think about Alaska in this weather."
    "If you had my superior education," Mart said, "you would know that Alaska is the hottest place in the world, practically, during its short summer. Why, the mosquitoes get so big they steal children Bobby's age right off the doorsteps." He turned to Brian. "Next time I'm a junior counselor I must remember to import a few mosquitoes from Alaska."
    "You'll never get another chance at a job like that," Trixie informed him briskly. "Not unless you stop exaggerating. I studied about Alaska in school, too, Mart; and the mosquitoes do not grow quite to the size of eagles."
    Miss Trask laughed. "But they are a problem. One has to wear special head-nets and gloves for protection against Alaskan mosquitoes." She turned to Celia. "We've decided to raid the icebox this evening, so you and Cook won't have to fix our supper. Why don't you fill the gallon Thermos jug with iced tea and make a big platter of sandwiches for Regan and Dick? Then they can eat whenever they want to."
    "Thank you very much, Miss Trask," Celia said gratefully. "It's so hot!