The Indian Burial Ground Mystery

going to let two dumb, rich girls stand
in the way of what I need.”
    “For your information,” Trixie began, “I’m not rich, and...”
    Honey, who had been listening quietly, suddenly stood up. She
interrupted Trixie and started yelling at Charles. “You can’t talk to us that
way,” she snapped. Trixie was surprised at Honey. She’d hardly ever seen her
get angry. “It’s not your fault that you’re poor, and it’s not my fault that my
parents have money. You have no right to be so nasty. Besides, your dumb
treasure couldn’t be down here, because this isn’t a cave—it’s a cellar. Look!”
    Grabbing Trixie’s flashlight out of her hand, Honey directed the beam at
the section of wall Trixie had scraped clean earlier.
    “See? Nice square building stones—a cellar!”
    There was a moment of silence. Then, to both girls’ amazement, Charles’s
face crumpled. He began to cry.
    Trixie and Honey were shocked.
    “What did I say that was so bad?” Honey whispered to Trixie.
    “I don’t know,” Trixie whispered back. “What do we do now?”
    The girls stood still and watched quietly as Charles Miller’s shoulders
shook, and sobs of anguish came brokenly from behind the hands that covered his
face.
    Soon it was over. Charles gave a shuddering sigh and wiped his hand
across his eyes. It left a dirty smudge across the bridge of his nose.
    “What an idiot I am,” he mumbled. “Now I have no money, and I won’t be
able to pay my tuition anymore. I had thought the gold would make it easier,
make it possible for me to get my Ph.D. I can’t go on like this, doing part-time
jobs and being so tired all the time. I can’t even study anymore. There’s no
time. And what’s worse, my grades are going down, so I’m probably going to lose
the small scholarship I have. I guess I’ll have to quit school and forget about
ever being an archaeologist.” Trixie could see by the expression on Honey’s
face that the kind-hearted girl was starting to feel sorry for Charles Miller.
But not Trixie. She was feeling cautious. Maybe Charles Miller was deliberately
trying to make her feel sorry for him. Was all this crying an act
to throw them off the scent?
    “I’m sure it’s hard having to quit school,” she began, never letting her
eyes leave Charles’s face. “But if you knew there was treasure down here, why
did you bother to break into people’s houses and steal paintings and silver?”
    “Break into? Steal?” Now it was Charles’s turn to be shocked.
    “Trixie!” said Honey, horrified.
    “That’s right,” Trixie continued. “I think all this moaning and groaning
of yours is just an act. You’re part of the burglary ring that’s been breaking
into the Westchester mansions —the Wheelers’
house, too. I would think the money you got from selling all those stolen goods
would be more than enough to cover your tuition.”
    Charles stood up with a look of complete dismay on his face. “I don’t
know what you’re talking about,” he said. “I’d never do anything like
that—never in a million years. What kind of a person do you think I am?”
    “Do you really want to know?” Trixie asked coldly.



12 * A Surprise Suspect
     
    Trixie took a deep breath and squared
her shoulders. Before telling Charles everything she knew, however, she decided
to ask him to help them out of the old cellar first.
    “I’ll have a much better idea about the kind of person you are if you
help us get out of here,” she said quietly.
    “Sure. Of course,” Charles mumbled. “I wasn’t planning not to, you
know.”
    “We know that,” Honey said reassuringly. She cast an irritated look at
Trixie.
    “I mean, why do you think I tied one end of the rope to the tree up
there before I joined you two in this hole in the ground?” Charles said
sarcastically. “If I only wanted to yell at you, I could have done that easily
enough from outside.”
    “Maybe we should let Honey go first,” Trixie said. “My only worry is how
we’ll get Reddy out of here.”
    “No problem,” Charles said firmly. “I’ll go last, and I’ll carry him in
my arms. If I tie the rope around my waist, you two can pull us both up.”
    “I hope so,” Trixie said as she watched Honey climb up the rope hand
over hand. Using the thick knots Charles had made in the rope as footholds, she
inched her way up and out of the old cellar.
    “Okay,” Charles said when Honey was safely out. “You next, Trixie.”
    “Gee,” Trixie