The Mystery at Mead's Mountain

England?”
    Trixie glared at him and sputtered, “Well, you’re certainly no king, Mart Belden. You’re not even a prince or—or a very nice brother!”
    Jim laughed. “However that may be, I think we should head back to the lodge. It looks like a dandy storm is brewing.”

Some Answers ● 13

    WHEN THE BOB-WHITES got back to their suite, Pat, Katie, and Rosie were waiting for them with Miss Trask.
    “Honey,” said Miss Trask, “Pat and Katie have some news for you.” Her tone of voice did not indicate whether the news was good or bad.
    Katie gave Rosie a little shove toward Honey. “Tell her, Rosie.”
    Very shyly, Rosie went up to Honey. She held out her hand. In it was Honey’s watch.
    Honey squealed with delight. “Rosie! You found my watch!” She bent down and gave the girl a big hug. “Oh, you little darling!”
    “Just a minute, Honey.” Something in Pat’s voice made Honey stand up and look at him questioningly. “Go ahead, Rosie,” he said. “Tell Honey the rest of the story.”
    In a quivering whisper, Rosie said, “I—I took it.” Then she turned, ran back to Katie, and hid her face in her mother’s lap.
    Katie automatically began to stroke the girl’s soft black curls and continued the story. “The first morning you were here, Rosie came to your room to meet you. She walked in and saw all of you out in the swimming pool. She tried to go outside, but she couldn’t get the patio door open.”
    “Rosie must have been the one to lock our door!” exclaimed Trixie. “She did it by accident, thinking she was unlocking the door.”
    Pat went on, “When she went into the bedrooms to see if anyone was there, she saw Honey’s watch. She thought it was pretty, and she’s wanted a watch since a friend of hers got one for Christmas. Rosie has a problem understanding that she can’t have everything that she wants or likes.”
    Katie sighed. “We re really sorry for all the inconvenience and worry we’ve caused you. Aren’t we, Rosie?” She pulled Rosie up to a standing position.
    “I’m sorry,” Rosie sniffed. “I won’t ever touch your watch again.” Tears rolled down her round cheeks.
    Honey realized that it was very important for Rosie to understand that she had done something wrong, but her compassionate nature couldn’t tolerate any more of the child’s unhappiness. She hugged Rosie again and said, “It’s okay, honey, someday you’ll have a watch of your very own.”
    Trixie’s mind was racing. She remembered the first time she had met Rosie—when she got a scolding for taking a jar of peanut butter she shouldn’t have. Jeepers, did I miss that clue! she thought. Eric even said he was looking for her outside our suite.
    “Wanda’s quarters!” Trixie interrupted her own thoughts out loud. “Has anyone asked Rosie about Wanda’s quarters?”
    Everyone turned to stare at Trixie.
    “Well, I mean, if she thought Honey’s watch was pretty, maybe she thought Wanda’s quarters were, too.”
    “We returned them a few hours ago,” said Pat. “Trixie, you’re some detective, you know that?”
    “That’s what I told you,” said Katie. “She’s even famous!”
    Mart cleared his throat. “Not to put an end to our shamus’s hour of glory,” he said, “but how did you find out that Rosie had the watch and the quarters?”
    “She’s supposed to rest every day after lunch,” said Katie. “Lately she’s been sneaking out of her room, so I went in to check on her today. There she was on the floor, making stacks of quarters. We had quite a little chat, and then she showed me the watch. But—we really have to go now. I’m just so happy we found the watch while you’re still here.”
    “This time I will give it to Miss Trask for safekeeping,” promised Honey.
    After the O’Briens had left and Miss Trask had gone to her room to put Honey’s watch away, Jim leaned over to Trixie and said, “I guess this lets Eric off the hook.”
    “No, it doesn’t.”
    Jim raised a questioning eyebrow.
    “Maybe he’s not a thief, but don’t forget the funny conversation I overheard,” Trixie explained.
    Mart snorted. “And don’t you forget, Miss Scarlett O’Hara, that the man you heard him talking with is one of the most respected artists in the country. And furthermore, don’t you forget your disposition toward overemphasizing, exaggerating, and downright imagining anything even remotely suspicious!”
    “Some Rhett Butler you’d make,” giggled Di as