The Mystery of the Blinking Eye

all the time—not in New York!”
    “You’re dead right, Dan,” Jim agreed. “I’m sure Trixie’s going to be all right, though. I’ll go back to the apartment with her... Brian, too. The rest of you go on to the zoo.”
    “Please do,” Trixie begged. “All I need is an antiseptic and some fresh stockings.”
    “I’ll go with you,” Honey insisted. “The rest of you can tell us about the zoo later.”

“It Isn’t Any Joke!” ● 5

    TRIXIE LIMPED SLIGHTLY as they left the cab at their apartment. “It did hurt you more than you admitted, didn’t it, Trixie?” Brian asked. “Sit down here and let me look at it. Say, the skin sure took a beating. It’s all off your knee. I’d better put a bandage on it as soon as I clean it thoroughly.”
    “Brian, it doesn’t hurt at all,” Trixie insisted. “Heavens, when you think of all the accidents Bobby has! I can’t remember him without a bandage on his body somewhere. The only thing that hurts me is thinking about those terrible men. And they got away! You landed a good punch on that shorter one, Jim. He’ll remember that for a while.”
    “You don’t suppose he could possibly have thought the horse was going to run away, do you, and really was a hero trying to stop him?” Honey’s face showed her concern.
    “Don’t waste any tears over him,” Trixie answered. “I saw the two men slinking along trying to hide behind the shrubbery just before we turned onto Fifth Avenue—you know I mentioned it to you, Jim. And furthermore....” Trixie stopped, put her hand over her mouth, and looked quickly at Honey.
    “Furthermore, what?” Jim asked. “What were you going to say?”
    “Shall I tell him?” Trixie asked Honey.
    “You might as well. You’ve been dying to for hours.”
    “Tell me what?”
    “I’ll show you.”
    Trixie opened her straw handbag and found the folded paper. “What do you think of this? The Mexican woman at the airport tucked it into my purse. Honey and I found it last night. It was written in Spanish. Miss Trask translated it for us. What do you think of it?”
    Jim read the couplets through hurriedly, then passed the paper on to Brian. He looked puzzled.
    “It sounds like something out of Alice in Wonderland,” he said. “It has just about as much sense as the Jabberwocky.’ What do you think, Brian?”
    “I think it was about time that woman left the country,” Brian replied, handing the paper back to Trixie. “They probably put her in a straitjacket when she got to Mexico City.”
    Trixie limped over to the sofa, sat down, and put her leg up to rest. “You couldn’t be more mistaken,” she said solemnly. “I was impressed with the prophecy from the very start. Now I’m convinced it isn’t any joke. It’s real.”
    “What are you talking about?” Honey asked.
    “Just this—if you haven’t noticed it. Look at the very first two lines. ‘Great-headed man’... that’s the cab driver who thought he knew it all. ‘Shaded road’... that’s the road through the park. ‘A horse’s cry’... well, that horse whinnied like mad when the man grabbed the reins. What more do you want from a prophecy?” Trixie looked about her triumphantly.
    “Trixie Belden, you can read anything into two lines that you want to read!” Brian said impatiently. “Look at all the rest of it. What do you make of all the rest of the crazy things on the paper?”
    “I don’t know, but I’m sure going to find out,” Trixie stated firmly. “Jim, you think there’s some sense to it, don’t you?”
    “I didn’t at first. It’s beginning to get through to me, though. Say, Trixie... it’s terrific!”
    “I know it,” Trixie said happily. “Barbara and Bob and Ned would think so, too, if they knew about it.”
    “Don’t worry.” Honey spoke a little sharply. “You’ll let them in on it just as you did Jim and Brian, when the right time comes.”
    Trixie’s face fell. Honey ran to her quickly and dropped on her knees beside the sofa. “Oh, Trixie, I wasn’t criticizing you. I think you should tell the others. It’ll be heaps of fun to watch what happens from now on.”
    “The trouble with the darned thing,” Brian mused, “is that we can’t figure out what it means till after it’s happened.”
    “That’s right. I don’t like all the ‘guns’ and ‘dangers’ and ‘bewares’ that run through the thing.” Jim shook his head as though he’d like to clear his brain. “What’s the matter with