The Mystery in Arizona

apartment.”
    “Oh,” Di said in dismay, “that means Uncle Monty and Rosita can’t go to the festival. I think those three guests are mean. Who are they, anyway?” Maria smiled. “I think you can guess, Diana.”
    “Our three pets!” Honey exclaimed. “Well, I’m just going to tell Mrs. Sherman that she has to go. I’ll tell her that we can’t go unless she is willing to come along as our chaperon.”
    “That’s a thought,” Trixie said. “I’ll tell Calamity the same thing. How about Mr. X, Di? Do you think you can persuade him to go?”
    “Oh, yes,” Di replied. “He really is a lamb. While I was tidying his room, I told him about how we Bob-Whites had taken the Orlandos’ place, and he thought that was just wonderful. We got very chummy, and then he told me why he had been so awfully blue. He has two sons and a daughter who are all in their teens and are at boarding schools in the East. At Thanksgiving time he asked them if they would like to spend the Christmas holidays at an Arizona ranch, and they said they would. Then, at the very last minute, they changed their minds. The girl’s roommate is giving a house party, and that’s where they’re all going.
    “Mr. Wellington was so depressed at the thought of staying alone in his big house at this time of year, that he closed it up as soon as they told Him the change in their plans and came here. He had reserved one of the large cabins for the kids, and it’s still in his name because he’s sort of hoping that maybe they’ll change their minds again and will decide to join him here, after all.”
    “Oh, I hope they do,” Honey cried out sympathetically. “It was very selfish of them to disappoint him at the last minute. Try to persuade him to come along with us tonight, Di, and let’s all make sure that he has a wonderful time.”
    Di nodded. “If ever a man needs to be around a bunch of teen-agers, he is the one. Let’s adopt him for the duration.”
    Jim and Brian came into the kitchen then, and Jim asked, “Adopt whom?”
    Di explained while they stacked dishes on the trays.
    “I’m in favor of adopting him,” Jim agreed. “He’s a nice guy. You know him, Brian, and so do you, Mart, although you may not know his name. He’s the sort of plump, middle-aged man with thinning gray hair and nice brown eyes. He didn’t eat any breakfast this morning. Remember? You must!”
    “I remember him,” Mart said with a grin. “He absentmindedly put about ten lumps of sugar in his coffee and then left the table without even sipping it. He did, however, give me a dollar tip. I didn’t know his real name; I call him Bonanza.”
    “Tips!” Trixie fairly shouted. “That’s another thing that’s unfair about this setup. You boys are going to get tips for waiting on the tables, and we poor girls won’t get a single cent.”
    “Calm down,” Jim said quietly. “If you could read, you’d see the sign in the dining room that says ‘No tipping allowed.’ So Mart had better return that dollar pronto.”
    Mart snorted. “And hurt the poor guy’s feelings? Not me.”
    “Obey orders, sonny boy,” Brian told him sternly.
    Just then Petey came into the kitchen, and Maria introduced him to the Bob-Whites. Then she said, “You didn’t wash your hands, darling. You can’t have anything to eat until you do.”
    “Don’t wanna eat any of your silly ole stuff,” he retorted sulkily.
    “Oh, yes, you do,” Maria said patiently. “You’ll love this rice dish. Just think! The boys fixed it.” Petey’s eyes wandered from Mart’s face to Brian’s and then to Jim’s. “I don’ b’lieve it,” he mumbled.
    “But it’s true,” Jim said, grinning. “We can’t cook as well as your mother does, of course, but won’t you please taste the rice and let us know what you think of it?”
    Weakening, Petey let Jim lead him toward the table, but he wriggled free when Jim tried to lift him up onto the kitchen stool.
    “No!” he yelled and raced over to clasp his mother’s skirts. “I don’ wanna eat that rice stuff. If you’d let me go with my granddaddy, I’d be eating skeletons now.” His outraged yell rose until it became a scream. “I—”
    But Maria had gently covered his mouth with her hand and was hurrying him out of the kitchen. The door closed behind them with a sharp click.
    The Bob-Whites stared at one another in wide-eyed amazement.
    “Do my old ears deceive me?” Mart finally asked. “Did he say something