The Mystery at Maypenny's

want to give.”
    Honey giggled as she took the dollar. “You make it sound as if he gives you the third degree with spotlights shining in your eyes to make you talk.”
    Trixie, too, started to giggle. “That’s how it feels sometimes. Remember when I left my diamond ring with him so he’d hold Brian’s jalopy until we earned back the money he needed to pay for it? Mr. Lytell peered at me through those wire-rimmed glasses of his and asked me all kinds of questions about where I’d gotten the ring and whether my parents knew about it. I just wanted to turn and run out of the store.”
    “But you didn’t,” Honey said loyally. “You got him to take the ring, and you got him to promise not to say anything about it, even though Mr. Lytell likes to gossip more than anything. You managed to do all that because you knew how much Brian wanted that car.“
    “Brian deserved that car,” Trixie said. “He scrimped and saved to get the money together to pay for it. Then, when the Bob-White clubhouse needed a new roof, he donated the money without a second thought. I could never be that unselfish. All I did was let Mr. Lytell keep my ring for a week. That’s no big sacrifice. I never wear it, anyway.”
    “Well, I think it was perfectly perfect of you to do that for Brian. So—” Honey giggled again as she dismounted and handed Strawberry’s reins to Trixie. “I guess the least I can do is go inside and get some change.” Honey ran to the door, then checked herself and opened it slowly and with dignity.
    “Honey won’t have any trouble with Mr. Lytell,” Trixie said to Susie. “Mr. Lytell likes Honey because she’s a young lady, not a tomboy like I am. He likes Miss Trask, too. He wouldn’t do anything to Honey that would make Miss Trask mad at him.”
    Sure enough, Honey was already emerging from the store, holding out a handful of change for Trixie to see.
    Trixie handed Strawberry’s reins back to Honey and climbed down from the saddle. The girls led their horses to the phone booth, where Trixie handed her horse’s reins to Honey and went inside.
    First she dialed long-distance directory assistance and asked for the number of David May-penny in New York City. She held her breath while the operator looked it up, hoping that there wasn’t more than one David Maypenny. She had no idea what his address was—or his middle initial. And she didn’t have enough change to waste on any calls to the wrong David Maypenny.
    To Trixie’s relief, the operator found only one David Maypenny, and she gave Trixie the number. Trixie repeated it loudly enough for Honey to hear, wishing she’d had her friend ask Mr. Lytell for paper and a pencil.
    Trixie dialed 0, the area code, and the number. As the ringing started, a recorded voice asked her to deposit money for the first three minutes. Trixie fed most of her change into the telephone and hoped that David Maypenny would agree to reverse the charges if she couldn’t get her whole message out in three minutes. Knowing herself, she reflected, three minutes would be just enough time to get him confused. Straightening out what she’d said would take a lot longer.
    Ten rings later, Trixie hung up. She gathered the change as it tumbled into the coin return and went outside to where Honey was waiting.
    “No answer?” Honey guessed.
    Trixie shook her head. “We can try him again later.” She felt suddenly tired and listless as the excitement of calling David Maypenny—of doing something—drained from her.
    “Should we give up and go home?” Honey asked.
    “I don’t want to,” Trixie replied. “I don’t know what else to do, though.” She looked at Honey helplessly. “Let’s go back to the ravine,” she added suddenly.
    “Oh, Trixie,” Honey wailed, “we already looked at the car once. What good will it do to go back again?”
    “I don’t know,” Trixie confessed. “I just need to feel as though I’m doing something to help Mr. Maypenny. Maybe we’ll be able to find a clue that we missed the first time. We were awfully nervous back there, after all.”
    “I’m not sure I’ll be any less nervous this » time,” Honey said. “But I know what you mean about wanting to do something. I don’t feel like going home and listening to everyone talk about the town council meeting.” Honey put her left foot in the stirrup and swung up onto Strawberry’s back. “Let’s go,” she said.
    Trixie settled herself in Susie’s saddle and urged the