The Mysterious Code

that Bull had been living with him.”
    “I might as well
give up,” Mrs. Belden said. “I thought your mind was miles away from all that
burglary business.”
    “Why, Moms, you know
that Honey and I are going to be detectives someday, and you know very well
there are other thieves loose who know about the antiques we’ll have at the
show. They read about the jewel box in the Sleepyside Sun, and the news
story had to go on and tell about a lot of other things we’ll have such
as—well, the samurai swords, for instance.”
    “Do you see what I
have to put up with?” Mrs. Belden appealed to Mrs. Lynch.
    “It makes me
nervous, too,” Mrs. Lynch said. “I’ll be glad when the UNICEF show is over and
all the antiques are safely back with the people who own them. Do you honestly
want to be a detective someday?” she asked Trixie.
    “Indeed I do, more
than ever,” Trixie said. “If Spider would only help a little more, I think we
could find out who those other crooks are, and—”
    “Maybe I should be
glad that Diana just wants to be an airline stewardess,” Mrs. Lynch said,
“though it will be a long time yet before the girls really have to decide. I
used to shiver when I’d think of the possibility that Diana would be up in the
air so much of the time. Maybe the girls will change their minds by the time
they finish college.”
    “Not me,” said
Trixie, the box with the white knit dress forgotten, and the green party shoes
farthest from her mind. Her thoughts centered about the Bob-White clubhouse in
the woods, the antiques they had repaired, and the need for protecting them
from the thieves who were still at large.

Going
Partying • 13
     
    The day of Diana’s party a
cellophane-topped box was delivered to Miss Trixie Belden. Bobby answered the
door and took the box to his mother, who was working in the kitchen.
    “It’s a corsage,”
she said. “Trixie will love it. Put it in the refrigerator, Bobby.”
    “Can’t I open the
box?” Bobby asked, his eyes popping.
    “Of course not. It’s
Trixie’s,” his mother said.
    “I’ll bet Daddy sent
it, ’cause he sent a box like this to you on your birthday,” Bobby said.
    “I doubt if Daddy
sent this one,” his mother answered with a pleasant smile.
    “Guess what’s in the
refrigerator!” Bobby called out to Trixie as she got off the school bus.
    “I don’t know,
Bobby,” Trixie said. “A lemon meringue pie?”
    “No, sir,” Bobby
answered, giggling. “It’s not to eat. It’s to smell.”
    “A bunch of green
onions,” Trixie guessed.
    “No, sir!” Bobby
said again.
    “I’ll just see for
myself,” Trixie said and opened the refrigerator door.
    “It’s an orchid!”
she exclaimed. “A white one-see, Moms—on a red satin heart—who could have sent
me an orchid?” Excitedly she took the little card out of the envelope and read:
     
    Dear
Schoolgirl Shamus:
    Is
this your first orchid?
    I
hope so. See you tonight.
    Jim
     
    Trixie blushed to
the roots of her sandy hair. “Did you ever have an orchid in your life?” she
asked her mother. “A beautiful white orchid from— of course you’ve had them
from Daddy—but from a boy?”
    “It was gardenias
when I was your age,” her mother said. “It will look pretty with your new white
knit dress and green shoes.”
    “Beautiful!” Trixie
said, dancing around the room. “Oh, Moms, take it please and put it back in the
refrigerator. Just look at my hair! I brushed it for an hour this morning, and
it still looks like a Fiji Islander’s hair. And my freckles! May I possibly use
just a teeny little bit of your powder base tonight?”
    “You may use
anything I have,” her mother said, “even my lipstick.”
    “You know you’re
safe, Moms. I have my own. How can I possibly ever dance in high heels?”
    “You’ll be dancing
on air,” her mother said. “You won t notice the heels.”
     
    The record player
was playing softly when Trixie, with Brian on one side and Mart on the other,
walked into the Lynches’ beautiful big living room.
    The ceiling and wall
lights in the long room were covered with gay Japanese lanterns. In the dining
room bright red cellophane hearts dangled from the chandelier. The table,
covered with a Valentine paper cloth, held trays of Cokes, potato chips,
popcorn, pickles, olives, and Valentine candies. On a cart a portable oven held
hamburgers fresh from the kitchen—plenty of them that were replaced just as
fast as the hungry guests could