The Mystery at Mead's Mountain

Anyway, we have an excellent clue as to who T.L.M. is.”
    “We do?” They all stared at her blankly.
    “The footprints near the tree,” she said. “They were man-sized waffle-stomper boot prints.”
    Brian threw his hands up in the air. “Everyone at the lodge wears waffle stampers,” he said. “That’s what you wear in mountains like these, Trixie.”
    “Let’s check our own boots to compare the patterns on the bottom,” said Trixie.
    All of their boots turned out to have the same design of several bars around the outside of the boot. But Di s had crosses in the center and Jim’s had chevrons, while everyone else’s had four-pointed stars.
    “I suppose you remember what our tree trimmer had for footprints,” said Mart skeptically.
    “Of course,” Trixie answered. “They had stars with five points in the center.”
    “So all we need to do,” said Honey, “is find someone with man-sized waffle stampers that have a five-pointed star design, and we have our ghost!”
    Trixie disagreed. “All I need to do,” she said, “is get some sleep!”
    By morning, the wind was gone and the sun reigned over the skies again. After breakfast and their swim, the Bob-Whites asked Katie to make a picnic lunch so they could spend the entire day in the mountains. At the base of the chair lift, they stopped to talk to Pat, who was operating the lift.
    “I called the road crew last night,” Pat told them. “They cleared away the tree the first thing this morning. I sure am glad you kids didn’t get hurt.”
    “Yes, that would have cramped our skiing style today,” Mart observed.
    “Which way are you headed?” Pat asked.
    “Into the valley on the other side of this ridge,” Brian replied. “We were looking at the relief map in the lobby, and that area seems to have lots of small up-and-down knolls.”
    Pat grinned. “It should be good skiing. But then, most places around here are.”
    “Everything is so lovely,” raved Di. “You’re lucky to live here year-round.”
    “Yes, it’s been wonderful,” he said. Then he sighed. “It’s rough to find the perfect place to live and the perfect life-style, only to be forced to give them up. I know we’ll never find another place to match this.” He made a sweeping gesture toward the lodge and mountains.
    “Are you moving, then?” asked Trixie.
    “I guess we don’t really have much choice. Don’t you kids feel bad about it. It’s not your fault, and there’s nothing you can do. I guess there’s nothing anyone can do. I only hope that we can save enough money for a down payment on a farm before we have to leave.” Abruptly, Pat left them to help some other skiers get on the chair lift.
    “How about that!” Trixie exclaimed, once the lift was in action. “He’s moving because he’s being forced to.”
    “What could be wrong?” Brian wondered.
    “He said it’s not our fault,” added Di. “Now, why would it be our fault?”
    “Somebody wants him out of here,” Trixie conjectured after a moment’s reflection.
    “Do you think he’s being blackmailed?” asked Honey.
    “It sounds kind of like it,” Trixie said thoughtfully. “Or else he could be running from something. Maybe he did something terrible, and now he’s being forced to leave—jeepers! If he is in some kind of trouble, he sure wouldn’t want a bunch of detectives here at the lodge.”
    “I see what you mean,” Mart said. “It would be very easy for Pat to be the one playing ghost.”
    “I find that extremely hard to believe,” Jim said curtly. “Pat and Katie O’Brien are two of the nicest people I ever met. They’re always cheerful and helpful. When I told Pat about the deer we saw when we were skiing, he explained how he puts feed out for them and how they’re almost tame now. A man like that doesn’t go around doing the kind of things our ghost has been doing.”
    “But he sure has some kind of a problem,” Trixie said, “and it sounds to me like he’s in trouble.”
    “Maybe,” said Jim as they all stepped off the lift.
    “But let’s just keep alert and not jump to any conclusions. Okay?”
    “I’ve just been adding it up,” Mart groaned. “In between keeping an eye on the O’Briens, Eric, and Mr. Moonshine and looking for Honey’s watch, we won’t be able to do our job and earn our car expenses.”
    “Oh, yes, we will,” said Brian. “That’s the most important thing. And let’s get started, right now.”
    They spent the entire morning