The Mystery at Saratoga

being under all those covers by that time. I think the best thing we can do, under the circumstances, is to meet Mother and Daddy in the dining room at seven and have a perfectly perfect dinner. Then, with our stomachs so full of good food that our minds can’t worry about finding Regan, we can come back to our room and fall right to sleep.”
    “You’re right, Honey,” Trixie admitted. “We did come to Saratoga for a vacation, after all, so we might as well enjoy ourselves. I’m sure I will enjoy myself, too, once the dinner gets started.”
    “Goodness!” Honey exclaimed as she glanced at the clock above the desk. “Dinner gets started in less than an hour! We’d better get up to the room right away, so we’ll both have plenty of time to shower, dry our hair, and change clothes!”

    Forty-five minutes later, Honey was ready to go, her hair brushed and shining, her white pleated skirt and lime green top looking crisp and cool. Trixie was standing in front of the mirror, looking critically at her reflection. She was wearing a gingham sundress, but the navy pantsuit that was lying on her bed was evidence that the dress hadn’t been her first choice.
    “I think you look fine, Trixie,” Honey said.
    “I don’t know, Honey,” Trixie said. “It still seems too casual, compared to what you’re wearing, even though it is a dress. The pantsuit really seems dressier, but that’s pants, and— Oh, never mind. Let’s just go downstairs. It’s so dark in that restaurant that nobody will be able to see what I’m wearing, anyway.” Turning resolutely away from the mirror, she snatched the pantsuit off the bed, put it on a hanger, and hung it in the closet.
    Honey took Trixie’s place in front of the mirror, smoothing her skirt and giving her hair one more sweep with the brush. Trixie stood behind her and looked at their reflections in the mirror. Her eyes moved from Honey’s hazel eyes, smooth blond hair, and slender body to her own curly hair, snub nose, and stocky figure. Then she crossed her eyes, wrinkled her nose, and stuck her tongue out. As Honey burst out laughing, Trixie let her face relax in a smile. “See?” she said. “No matter how funny I look ordinarily, it’s nice to know that I can look even funnier if I really try.”
    “You’re not funny-looking, Trixie,” Honey protested. “You’re very nice-looking. If you don’t believe me, you should hear what Jim said about you right before he left for camp.”
    “What did he say?” Trixie demanded. “No, don’t tell me.” She covered her ears with her hands and closed her eyes. Then, realizing that she was overreacting, she lowered her hands, opened her eyes, and repeated nonchalantly, “What did he say?”
    “What he said,” Honey drawled slowly, knowing that her friend was itching with impatience, “what he said,” she repeated, “was, ‘As pretty as Trixie has been getting lately, I’m almost afraid to leave for camp for three weeks. When I come back, she’ll probably be the belle of Sleepyside, with so many boyfriends lined up that she won’t have time for old friends!’ ”
    Trixie blushed violently. “Jim didn’t say that,” she said. “Even if he did, he was just teasing. He couldn’t have meant it.”
    “I don’t think Jim really meant that you wouldn’t have time for him,” Honey agreed. “He knows you’re too loyal a friend to let that happen. I do think he was being perfectly serious about how pretty you’re getting, though.”
    Trixie looked at her blushing face in the mirror and sighed. “Right now, I must admit that I have an all-American look, Honey: blue eyes, white teeth, and bright red face! Let’s go, before you make me so embarrassed that I go back to my original plan and spend the rest of the night hidden under the covers!”
    Laughing, Honey picked up her purse and followed Trixie to the door. Pausing in the doorway, Honey suddenly turned serious, and she reached out and put her hand on Trixie’s arm. “Before we go downstairs,” she said, “I just want to ask you one more time: Do you still feel that we should keep the fact that we found Regan’s boots a secret from Mother and Daddy?”
    “Do you want to tell them, Honey?” Trixie asked. “I don’t know,” Honey said, shrugging. “What you said before is true. A lot of people looking for Regan while he’s trying to stay hidden could drive him away. I just hate to think that he could need food or money, or even a doctor,