The Gatehouse Mystery

but I honestly do like television at times. And Mr. Lytell is a rather lonely old man. I'll have a pleasant evening with him and pick you children up in front of the Cameo at nine thirty."
    "You'll have a pleasant evening if it doesn't rain," Honey pointed out. "Besides, the wrestling matches don't start until nine."
    "Oh, there are other programs," Miss Trask said cheerfully. "No, my mind's made up. I'll go and telephone Mr. Lytell right now and prepare him for my company."
    "I know," Honey cried. "Why can't we come home in a taxi, Miss Trask? Then you can stay right on at Mr. Lytell's and see all the wrestling matches."
    "That's it," Trixie said. "We can all chip in and pay for the cab now that we're all wage earners."
    "That's right," Honey said, smiling. "I'll have to borrow fifteen cents from you, Trixie, until I darn the first batch of socks. Please say yes, Miss Trask. You haven't had any time off in ages."
    "We-ell," Miss Trask said doubtfully.
    "You couldn't possibly worry about us for a minute," Trixie said. "You just said yourself that Jim is supersensible. And Celia and the cook will still be awake when we get back. So will Regan."
    Miss Trask chuckled again. "As Mart would say, 'You twisted my arm.' All right. I'll probably be back home while you're still raiding the refrigerator." She frowned. "I was looking forward to meeting your friend, Tom Delanoy, Trixie; but I suppose that can wait."
    "Of course it can," Honey said, giving her an affectionate pat. "We'll interview him for you. I need practice, anyway, if I'm going to be Mother's private secretary for a birthday present."
    "That's a very good idea, Honey," Miss Trask said approvingly. "Although you're only thirteen, you are the young lady of the house. If you do a good job of interviewing Dick's successor, I'll have other tasks for you. What are you going to say to him?"
    "I'm going to tell him the truth," Honey said promptly. "You know perfectly well, Miss Trask, that you made up your mind to fire Dick on September first, as soon as you heard he was rude to Trixie."
    "What a mind reader you are," Miss Trask said with a broad grin. "I instantly decided that he could keep the advance salary we gave him in lieu of two weeks' notice. I'd rather do all the driving myself than have a rude employee on the place."
    Honey giggled. "And as soon as I heard about Tom Delanoy, I made up my mind that you'd want him to start work right after Labor Day."
    "Good for you," Miss Trask said. "With the help of Trixie and her brothers, maybe you can persuade him to do just that."
    "And Jim," Trixie added. "Don't forget that Tom is a good friend of Jim's, too."
    Miss Trask nodded. "We've certainly settled a lot of things in such a short time. I guess your brothers have had a swim and changed by now, Trixie. I'll go call Mr. Lytell and then get the station wagon out of the garage." Half an hour later, she let them out in front of the Cameo Theater. "Be good, boys and girls," she said, waving from behind the wheel. "And have fun."
    Trixie hastily pushed her way through the crowded lobby to the ticket collector's stand. "Hi, Tom," she said. "Has Jim gone in yet? Jim Frayne, you know. The redheaded boy our neighbors adopted last month."
    "No, he hasn't," Tom Delanoy said. "I haven't seen him since we both had haircuts in the barber shop last week."
    Trixie blinked. "Jim had a haircut just last week?" The tall, good-looking young man stared at her. "What's so remarkable about that? You need a haircut yourself, and so does Honey Wheeler."
    Honey, who had followed closely behind Trixie, giggled. "If this weather keeps up, I think I'll get a crew cut like Mart's. Jim was supposed to meet us here at seven thirty, Tom. Sure he didn't go in ahead of us?"
    "Not unless he was wearing a wig," Tom said. "Which I very much doubt in this heat. If you kids are smart, you'll go in and hold a seat for Jim. The place is filling up fast."
    "We'd better do that," Brian said, producing the four tickets he had just bought. "Jim probably got delayed getting a bite in the dog wagon. It's always packed and jammed on Saturdays at this time."
    They filed inside and soon discovered that the Cameo was packed and jammed, too. Trixie and Honey finally found two seats together on the aisle.
    "I don't know where the boys went to," Trixie whispered. "And I couldn't care less. I'm so worried about Jim I can't stand it."
    "But why?" Honey whispered back.
    "Sh-h," Trixie cautioned her. "Well be asked to