The Mystery of the Antique Doll

either.
    “Talk about stage fright,” Honey said as they left the room.
    “I really wasn’t that keen on winning,” Trixie said, punching the elevator button. They all stood waiting.
    “Well, I’m glad you feel that way,” Miss Trask said, with a somewhat pleased expression. “After all, winning isn’t everything, you know.”
    “I know. It’s how you play the game,” Honey said. Honey always knew how to finish Miss Trask’s sentences.
    “Well, I thought you girls did very well,” Helen Belden said, gazing at them with obvious pride. “Some of those words were terribly difficult!”
    “Oh, Moms,” Trixie said. “You’re so sweet to feel that way. I’m sorry I lost, but, to tell you the truth, I’m sick of studying spelling words!”
    “Me, too,” Honey agreed. “I was beginning to dream spelling words! If we had won this contest, we would have had to spend the next six months saying things like ‘iconoclastic’ and ‘discrepancy’ to each other. I don’t think I could have stood it!”
    Trixie suddenly felt free. In the elevator, she and Honey could hardly keep from giggling. Finally, the doors slid open in the main lobby, and released them.
    “Are you sure you don’t have some odd form of claustrophobia?” Honey said, bursting into laughter. “You know, the kind that gives you hysterics in enclosed spaces?”
    “Claustrophobia,” said Trixie. “C-l-a-u—” Before she could finish, they fell against each other, laughing.
    They made their way across the big lobby behind Mrs. Belden and Miss Trask. Trixie loved to look at people when she was in New York City. Their faces seemed so much more interesting than the ones she saw every day in Sleepyside.
    She realized that it was probably just her own imagination that made it seem that way. But so what? She still liked to look at each person and try to figure out what sort of life they led. Perhaps they were movie stars, or maybe rich financiers, or even spies from foreign governments!
    Suddenly, she was jolted out of her reverie by something far more upsetting than her own romantic imaginings. Her stomach contracted sharply as she caught sight of a familiar face in the lobby, and she grabbed Honey’s arm for support.
    “Honey!” she gasped, pointing toward a group of armchairs by the window. “He’s right there! Look!”
    “Who?” Honey asked.
    “The red-haired man from Paris!” she managed to say. “He’s sitting right there!” Honey looked. Sure enough, there was a man with red hair sitting in the Sheraton lobby.
    “But Trixie,” she whispered. “Are you sure he’s the same one you saw in Paris?”
    “I’m positive,” Trixie said. “What on earth is he doing here? I wonder if he saw us? Let’s get out of here.”
    When Miss Trask asked the girls if they wanted to stop for ice cream sodas, she was mildly surprised that they turned down the offer and asked to be taken home. Miss Trask and Mrs. Belden glanced at each other, deciding that perhaps the girls were more upset about losing the Eastern Regional than they’d originally let on.
    “All right then,” Mrs. Belden said, smiling at them sympathetically. “I believe we can just make the 4:40 out of Grand Central if we rush.”
    “Yes,” Trixie said, glancing over her shoulder. “That sounds like a terrific idea. Let’s rush!”
    Trixie practically dragged the two women through the street and onto the bus. It wasn’t until they were all settled comfortably on the train to Sleepyside that she let out a sigh of relief.
    “I kept my eyes peeled while we were walking,” she whispered to Honey, “and I don’t think he followed us.”
    Honey glanced around them nervously, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
    “Trixie,” she finally said when Miss Trask and Mrs. Belden were involved in a conversation. “Are you really sure that man was the same one you saw in Paris?”
    “I’m positive,” Trixie said firmly. “Now, I just have to figure out why he’s here!”



8 * Wrongly Accused

    TRIXIE PUSHED through the crowds of students in the school cafeteria, and tossed her books down on the table. She squeezed in between Mart and Brian, and tried to catch her breath. All the other members of the Bob-Whites were there too, because Trixie specifically asked them to meet her that day.
    Trixie had decided that it was time to discuss her problem with all the Bob-Whites. She knew she could count on their help in times of need. But since they all had such busy