The Gatehouse Mystery

had!"
    Trixie's mouth fell open with surprise. "B-But, Re-Regan," she stuttered. "I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't enough money to buy a horse. In fact, I owe Tom Delanoy fifty cents."
    "I paid him for you," Brian said. "Did Honey tell you that he starts to work out here as chauffeur after Labor Day?"
    "I was there when she interviewed Tom," Trixie replied. "You'll like him a lot, Regan. And, please, don't be so mysterious. What made you say that Honey and I are loaded with money?"
    Regan pushed back his chair and stood up. "You can't sit there and tell me that there wasn't a fat reward offered for the recovery of that diamond! Fat enough, anyway, to convince Jed Tomlin that Susie ought to stay on here." He glared at Trixie again, his mouth twitching as he tried not to smile. "If you don't buy that mare for Miss Trask, Trixie Belden, I'll never let you put your foot in my stable again." He strode out, and the screen door slammed behind him.
    Trixie reached weakly across the table to clutch Honey's hands. "Oh, oh," they cried together. "OH!"
    "Oh, brother," Mart crowed. "Five horses for five mounted Bob-Whites of the Glen. And all of them always needing exercise!"
    "It's the answer to everything, all right," Jim said. "It certainly is," Brian said with a grin. "Now that Trixie doesn't have to save up for the colt anymore, she can contribute every cent she earns toward the clubhouse."
    "I will," Trixie said. "And I've got twenty-five dollars in the savings bank. We should be able to put on a new roof for that."
    Mart flung his arm around her shoulders and hugged her. "You're a great girl, Trix," he said softly. "Super! Even if you can't thread a needle, I wouldn't swap you for any other sister in the world."
    "And Mars," Brian added. "The whole universe, in fact. There never was anyone like Trixie, and I guess there never will be!"