The Gatehouse Mystery

that the windows of my room face the garage. After we'd gone back to bed and while the old clock was still striking midnight, I heard thumps and bangs. At the time, I thought they had been made by Patch on the porch. He is as restless as we are on hot nights. But when Dick told me how he got his black eye, I realized that it must have been him falling in the darkness."
    Trixie said nothing, but she thought she knew the answer to the thumps and bangs Miss Trask had heard on Thursday night. Dick had been in a fight that night —a fight with the man he had tried to double-cross.
    Mr. Leather Heels, seeking revenge, had probably been following his trail ever since he regained consciousness after the Tuesday night quarrel. By asking at various restaurants along the river, he could have traced the green jalopy in a circle that ended at the second set of footprints and tire-tread marks on the shoulder of Glen Road.
    It was Mr. Leather Heels, Trixie decided, who had trampled away the clues. He might have been hiding in the cottage on Thursday and had seen Dick, in his chauffeur's uniform, driving the Wheelers' cars. Between then and midnight, Mr. Leather Heels had merely bided his time. When Dick sneaked back to the garage after trying to steal Honey's jewelry box, he had walked right into the arms of the man he had tried to double-cross. Trixie winced at the thought.
    "Dick," Trixie said to Honey later while the boys were making Bobby's scooter, "didn't stumble into a door Thursday night. According to Mart, that's what everyone says to explain how he got a black eye."
    "Well, how did he get it then?" Honey demanded. Trixie grinned. "According to Brian , when a boy comes home with a black eye he got in a fight, he tells his father, 'You ought to see the other fellow.' "
    Honey gave a gasp. "Mr. Leather Heels! Someone trampled up the clues in the cottage and near the road. It must have been him. He came back and had a fight with Dick!"
    "That's what I think," Trixie said. "Regan was away, and Patch was shut up on the porch. If the two men had a fight, it would explain a lot of things."
    Honey nodded. "The black eye and the noises Miss Trask heard. What else?"
    "It would also explain," Trixie said, "why Dick left on Friday and didn't come back until this morning. My guess is that he spent that time trying to find the man who blackened his eye. Because I think that very same man knocked Dick out Thursday night and took all of the loot, except, of course, the diamond, away from him."
    "The suitcase," Honey interrupted. "The loot was in Dick's suitcase. Remember? You said he was very rude when Regan offered to carry it up to the top of the garage for him."
    "That's right," Trixie said. "But I don't think it's there anymore. I think Mr. Leather Heels has it, and that's why Dick must be bound and determined now to get the diamond for his share." She leaned forward to whisper. "I'm sure he'll walk into our trap tonight, Honey. I'm sure of it."

Where Is Jim? • 17

    AT FIVE O'CLOCK Jim left with Dick in the Ford for a steering lesson. Honey and Trixie kept as cool as they could down by the lake. Brian was mowing a lawn, and Mart was working in the vegetable garden.
    "I should be mending," Honey said. "Your brothers make me feel guilty."
    "Pooh," Trixie said with a sniff. "They had a long, lovely vacation at camp. You know perfectly well kids Bobby's age aren't nearly as much trouble as they try to make out."
    Honey climbed up the ladder to the boathouse porch and pulled off her cap. "As soon as we dry off a bit," she said, "we ought to get dressed, so we can help Miss Trask take things out of the refrigerator and fix the leftovers attractively."
    "Okay," Trixie said. "I hope there's some sherbet left. It's the only thing I feel like eating. I stuffed at lunch."
    "I don't think anybody will be very hungry," Honey said. "It's so horribly hot. But let's go and help Miss Trask. It was darling of her to offer to take us to the movies."
    "She's always darling about everything," Trixie agreed. She looked at the clock inside the boathouse and whistled. "It's almost six thirty. We'll have to hurry."
    They trudged up the path, and just then the Ford appeared on the driveway. Dick was at the wheel, but there was no sign of Jim.
    "Now, where could he have gone?" Trixie asked crossly. "If he stopped off somewhere, we'll be late to the movies."
    They hurried across the driveway to where Dick was parking the Ford. "Where's Jim?" Honey