The Mystery at Saratoga

take my vacation!”
    But with her suitcase packed, Trixie found herself once again lying sleeplessly in bed, wondering what the next few days would bring. “I’ve called this trip to Saratoga a ‘vacation’ so many times that I’ve begun to believe that’s all it is,” she said aloud. “But finding Regan and solving the mystery that made him leave Sleepyside is the important thing. I just hope that Honey and I will be able to manage it alone.”

The Search Begins ● 6

    TWO RESTLESS NIGHTS in a row made Trixie oversleep the next morning. When she did wake up, she moved with a slowness that was rare for the usually energetic teen-ager. Consequently, Trixie was still eating breakfast when Honey bounded in through the back door, remembering her manners just in time to catch the screen door before it slammed.
    Mrs. Belden shook her head in disbelief. “If you didn’t have the same blond hair and hazel eyes, I’d say you couldn’t possibly be the same frail, timid little girl who moved in next door not so very long ago, Honey,” she said.
    “I’m sorry for being so rude, Mrs. Belden,” Honey apologized.
    “Moms didn’t mean you were being rude, Honey,” Trixie said. “Just normal. Right, Moms?”
    “Exactly,” Mrs. Belden agreed. “And I must admit that I’m quite proud of the fact that my own bouncing daughter had a part in the change you’ve gone through.”
    Honey giggled. “Trixie had more than a part in the change, Mrs. Belden. She practically caused it single-handedly. When Trixie and I first became friends, I was afraid of my own shadow. But Trixie isn’t afraid of anything. And since I was always more afraid of being left alone than I was of following Trixie, I did a lot of things that frightened me at first; then I discovered they weren’t so frightening, after all!”
    “I just wish,” Mrs. Belden said ruefully, “that a little of your caution had rubbed off on Trixie while her fearlessness was rubbing off on you!”
    “I give you a lot of worried moments, don’t I, Moms?” Trixie asked somberly. “Well, I promise I’ll stay out of trouble in Saratoga. So don’t worry about me for a minute!”
    “Saratoga!” Honey exclaimed. “Do you know, I’d almost forgotten that we were leaving? Tom and Celia are waiting in the car. Tom’s too polite to honk the horn, but I’m sure he’s getting impatient. Are you ready, Trixie?”
    “Sure am!” Trixie responded, carrying her breakfast dishes to the sink and giving them a quick rinse. “My suitcase and purse are right there, by the door.” She hugged her mother and younger brother and headed toward the door.
    It was Honey who noticed Bobby’s forlorn look and trembling chin. She knelt beside his chair and hugged him. “Poor Bobby,” she said sympathetically. “You’re going to miss your sister, aren’t you?”
    Bobby nodded sadly. “I’m gonna miss everybody, ’cause everybody’s gonna be gone,” he said.
    “It’s only for a week, Bobby,” Trixie reassured him. “Then Honey and I will be back, and Mart and Brian and Jim will be home a couple of days after that.”
    “As soon as we get back, I’ll come over and tell you all about what we did and what we saw in Saratoga,” Honey promised. “I’ll bring you a souvenir, too. Would you like that?”
    To Honey’s surprise, Bobby shook his head. “I don’t want one of those,” he said. “But would you bring me a present?” He looked around, confused as Honey, Trixie, and Mrs. Belden all burst out laughing.
    “All right, Bobby,” Honey agreed. “I’ll bring you a present, instead.”
    Trixie and Honey were still laughing over Bobby’s unintentional humor as they got into the car.
    Tom put Trixie’s bag in the trunk with Honey’s, then started down the driveway before he asked, “What’s got you girls laughing so hard this early in the morning?”
    When Honey told Tom and Celia what Bobby had said, they laughed, too. “It can’t be easy for Bobby, being the youngest in the family,” Tom observed. “He gets a lot of love and attention when everyone’s around, but he also gets left alone a lot when everyone else has places to go and things to do.”
    Trixie nodded. “I know. I used to feel awfully jealous of Mart and Brian before Honey moved here; they were older and could do more things on their own than I could. I was always asking to come along when they went someplace, but it seemed they always were going someplace I couldn’t go because I