The Mystery at Mead's Mountain

morning, and then Jim remembered that you must have taken it to hold on to for safekeeping.”
    “What do you mean, Honey? What watch?” Miss Trask inquired calmly.
    “You don’t have my grandmother’s gold watch?” Miss Trask shook her head. “No. What happened?” Honey’s eyes filled with tears. “It’s gone! We’ll never find it now!” She tore into the bedroom and threw herself down on the bottom bunk, sobbing.
    Trixie followed her, even though she wasn’t sure what to do or say. Honey was the one who was good in situations like this. From the bedroom, she could hear Di and the boys explaining everything to Miss Trask. Trixie sat down on the bunk next to Honey and put her arm around her friend.
    “Honey, we’ll find that watch,” she said firmly. “We’ll go through the entire suite again. We’ll talk to Pat and Katie. We won’t leave Mead’s Mountain until we find out what happened to it!”
    “Oh, Trixie, I wish we’d never come to this place,” Honey wailed.
    “I didn’t want to tell you this until we’d talked to Miss Trask,” Trixie said hesitantly, “but—Honey, I think your watch may have been stolen.”
    “Stolen?” Honey sat up.
    “Remember how our front door was unlocked when we came back from swimming, but the patio door to the pool was mysteriously locked? Someone could have seen us swimming, come into the suite, locked the patio door so we wouldn’t disturb him, and taken your watch.”
    “Why wouldn’t he have taken other things, too?” Honey asked logically. “And who would do something like that, anyway?”
    “Don’t you remember running into Eric right near our front door?” asked Trixie.
    “He was looking for Rosie,” said Honey.
    “Oh, Honey,” said Trixie impatiently, “can’t you see? Wanda’s quarters disappeared the day Eric arrived. Your watch was discovered missing right after we saw Eric outside of our room.”
    “It is kind of suspicious, isn’t it?” said Honey.
    “He must have just come into the room when we were getting out of the pool,” Trixie continued. “When we started banging on the door, he grabbed the first thing he saw—your watch—and quickly left. That’s when we met him in the hall.”
    “You’re probably right,” sighed Honey. “But that doesn’t help me get my watch back.”
    “We’ll have to report it missing to the police and Pat,” Trixie decided. “Then we’ll have to keep a very close eye on ol’ Eric. Don’t worry, Honey. I just know you’ll get your watch back before we have to leave Mead’s Mountain.”
    “Trixie, one other thing,” Honey faltered. “You don’t suppose our friendly neighborhood ghost took my watch, do you?”
    Trixie was sure that the “ghost” was tied in somehow with this, but she was trying to calm Honey down, not upset her more. “I don’t think so,” she said. “Stealing doesn’t seem like a very ‘ghostly’ thing to do.”
    “I wouldn’t know,” Honey said, shivering. “I’ve never met a ghost before, real or not. And you know what? I don’t think I want to start making their acquaintance now!”
    “I don’t think you’ll have to,” Trixie said, hugging her friend. “I’m sure Eric took your watch. Right now let’s worry about dinner. Who can go sleuthing on an empty stomach for valuable family heirlooms?” Honey giggled. “Now you’re beginning to sound like Mart!”

Snowfield Danger ● 7

    THE FOLLOWING MORNING dawned bright and beautiful again, but the Bob-Whites, exhausted from their first day on the mountain, decided to sleep in late.
    At nine, Miss Trask awoke the girls to tell them that a policeman had come to get a full report on the missing watch. Trixie decided not to tell him anything about seeing Eric around their room. She could prove nothing, and she had a feeling that if she just bided her time, Eric would prove himself the thief without any help from her.
    After the policeman left, Trixie and Honey called the only pawnshop in Groverville to see if the watch had been pawned. The pawnbroker was a pleasant, talkative man who called himself Pawnbroker Joe.
    He asked all about the watch and all about the girls. Although he hadn’t seen the watch, he was very sympathetic about Honey’s loss, and he promised to let them know if he heard anything about it.
    Miss Trask joined the Bob-Whites for their swim that morning and enjoyed it as much as they did. Afterward, they all got dressed for breakfast. Honey’s blue and brown