The Indian Burial Ground Mystery

stairs. Jake Hanson was sitting at
his desk near the entrance.
    “Well, girls,” he said, “did you find anything interesting?”
    “Yes, sir,” Trixie answered. “We certainly did. But we’re finished now,
so you can lock the door.”
    Mr. Hanson pulled himself slowly out of the chair and crossed the foyer.
    “ Yessiree ,” he said with a laugh. “It sure is
nice to see such enthusiastic young people. Lotta young people are getting interested in those archives, and it’s a good thing. I
always have held with learning from the mistakes of history, hehheh . Most people wait until they’re too old to read
history. By then, they’ve already made all their mistakes.”
    “Thanks very much, Mr. Hanson,” Honey called after him.
    “No problem, young lady,” he replied from the stairs. “Just drop by
anytime, anytime.” Trixie and Honey walked back to the library. It was cool and
quiet inside, and they were grateful for the water fountain. Trixie felt hot,
and she let the cool stream of water run over her wrists for a while. Honey
looked as neat and comfortable as always. When they felt a little more settled,
they went over to the information desk.
    “I don’t know,” mused Mrs. Field, the librarian. “ Depew ...
that name doesn’t ring a bell. But I have a few books here that might help you.
They’re in the reserve collection, so I’m afraid you can’t take them out of the
library.”
    “That’s all right, Mrs. Field,” Trixie replied. “We’ll work at one of
the tables.”
    “You girls just wait here,” the pleasant older woman said. “I’ll be
right back.”
    Trixie and Honey sank down onto the comfortable old wooden chairs, and
stuck their feet out under the table.
    Soon Mrs. Field returned with a stack of old volumes.
    “Now, I don’t know which of these will be most helpful,” she said,
putting them down on the table. “I’d try History of the Province of New
York first. It was written by William Smith in 1757, and it might have
a listing of the old families. There is also Letters from an American
Farmer by St. John de Crevecoeur. Oh, and this book on architecture
might be helpful, because it describes various great houses of the
Pre-Revolutionary period. Perhaps the family you’re thinking of is mentioned
there.”
    “Oh, thank you,” Trixie said. She tried to smile cheerfully, but the
sight of all those fat books with their tiny print made her feel gloomy.
    “You’re welcome, Trixie,” the woman said. “And if you need anything
else, just ask. I’ll be at my desk.”
    “ Gleeps ,” Trixie sighed after Mrs. Field was
out of earshot. “Look at these books! It’s going to take us all week to find
anything.”
    “No, it won’t,” Honey said, opening one quickly. “We’ll check the
indexes first. If we don’t find the name listed, we can just skim the pages.
That’s easy enough.”
    “Easy for you, maybe,” Trixie muttered. “You’re good at that sort of
thing.”
    “Stop grousing and read,” Honey replied with a laugh. “We’ll have our
answer in no time.”
    But two hours later, at closing time, the girls hadn’t found anything
about a family called Depew . In fact, there
was no mention at all of the name. They were very discouraged. “Now what?”
Trixie muttered after they’d handed the books back to Mrs. Field and thanked
her.
    “Now we go home,” Honey said. “We need a rest.”
    “I don’t feel like resting,” Trixie replied sadly. “Why don’t we take
the horses out? It doesn’t look like it will rain anymore.”
    “That’s a great idea,” Honey answered. “Regan has been after me to
exercise the horses. I haven’t had a minute since we started working on the
dig, though.”
    “Maybe we can think while we ride,” Trixie said as she got on her bike.
    The Wheelers had a stable and several horses which the Bob-Whites were
encouraged to exercise. Mrs. Wheeler’s horse, Lady, was Trixie’s favorite. She
was a dappled gray mare who had an unusual habit of “blowing herself up” when
being saddled. Usually the cinch had to be retightened after riding some
distance because the saddle would start to slip. Susie was a beautiful black
mare that Trixie and Honey had purchased for Miss Trask with the reward money
they’d earned after solving a mystery. Although Honey had her own horse, she
often rode Susie because she was so gentle.
    Regan was delighted to see the girls, and he quickly saddled Susie and
Lady.
    “Now don’t get them