The Mysterious Code

fists. “What makes you think people would be so crazy as to let
you exhibit their valuable heirlooms? You take a lot for granted.”
    “We know people will help us
when they find out our show is for UNICEF,” Trixie said quite indignantly.
    Spider looked at his
watch and jumped to his feet. “I’m supposed to be out on Main Street,” he said.
“See you kids later. Come on, Tad.”
    Tad picked up his
brother’s unfinished Coke, gulped it down, and swaggered after Spider. “See you
later,” he said. “Us Hawks want to see how the board jumps tonight; too.”
    Trixie looked
through the window and saw Spider open his wallet and hand a bill to Tad. Then
she heard the sputter of Spiders motorcycle.
    “We want to be
careful not to mention how valuable some of the antiques are that we will
show,” Trixie said. “It might give people ideas about stealing them.”
    “There you go,” Jim
said, “wearing your Schoolgirl Shamus badge again. Forget it, Trixie. Here
comes the food.”
    Mike put the hot,
fragrant plates before them. “Is there anything in the world better than a
hamburger?” Jim asked. “More French fried potatoes, please, Mike.”
    “I could eat a
boiled owl I’m so hungry,” Trixie said. “What do you suppose made Spider act so
odd?”
    “I didn’t notice
anything queer,” Brian said.
    “I didn’t, either,”
said Diana.
    “Then it must have
been my imagination,” Trixie said. She bit into her juicy sandwich.
    “Boy, do you have a
supply of that!” Mart said. “Maybe I do have imagination, Mart, but I don’t
talk with my mouth full,” Trixie retorted. “How are we going to kill time till
that meeting is over?”
    “We have plenty of
homework to do. We could go over to the library, and I could help you with your
math, Trixie.” Brian was the most earnest one in the group. He always did his
homework.
    “Jeepers, I couldn’t
put my mind on anything till we find out what the board is going to do. I know
I’m the one who needs homework most, Brian; you don’t need to look at me like
that. My math is getting worse every day. But could any one of you do justice
to lessons now?”
    They shook their
heads—even Brian.
    “Then I vote for an
early movie.”
    “If we have the price,”
Mart said. “Someone will have to stake me.”
    They hunted in
pockets, poured out their contributions, and passed the collection down to Jim.
“It’s more than enough,” he said. “There’s even some left for popcorn.”
    The movie was a
stirring Western. Honey, who was timid and easily frightened, moved closer to
Trixie. Absentmindedly Trixie patted Honey s arm to reassure her, her own eyes
glued on the screen, her spirit far away, galloping madly across the prairie.
    Finally the “bad
guys” were rounded up, the cartoon flickered to an end, and the Bob-Whites were
out on the street again.
    “Five minutes after
ten,” Jim said, turning his watch faceup under the light. “It must be nearly
time for the meeting to be over.”
    “How far is it to
Mr. Stratton s house?” Honey asked, shivering. She hadn’t liked the movie.
    “Just around the
comer, Sis. Are you cold?” Jim asked and pulled a wool scarf out of his pocket
to wrap around Honey's shoulders.
    “Not cold,” she
answered. “Those western pictures frighten me.”
    “How you could have
followed Trixie into some of the tight spots she's led you into, I’ll never
know,” Mart said.
    “I didn't know about
them until I was into them.” Honey sighed. "When I did know, I’d have been
more frightened to have her go on alone.” They walked along briskly. There was
only a faint light in an upstairs room of Mr. Stratton’s house. The family must
have gone to bed.
    “We’ll have to be
quiet,” Trixie whispered. “Oh, gleeps, there's Tad. Warn him to be quiet,
Brian. I’m freezing. I hope Mr. Stratton isn’t too long getting here.”
    Tad came up to them,
swelled his chest out, and beat on it with his two fists to keep warm.
    “The meeting was
just letting out as I passed the school,” he whispered. “If the board thinks
they can put the Hawks out of business, they’ll have another think coming.
We’ll just go under cover.”
    “You couldn’t do
that,” Diana said.
    “Oh, we couldn’t?”
Tad jeered. “Just watch. No, honestly, I sure hope we can carry on as we are.
Say, Mart”—his voice grew louder; then Trixie shushed him—“this spring we’ll
have the sweetest thing at bat you ever saw, in the Pony