The Mystery of the Castaway Children

skills.
    “Then why aren’t we hunting?” Dan asked. “Because the sergeant thinks Davy will follow the pony, and we’re giving him a little time to do that before we start tearing the woods apart,” Trixie said.
    Bobby felt very important. “Know what else? I answered the phone a while ago. A man said he had a message about a pony from a mu-mutual friend named Moses White. I told him, ‘Moses Bob-White is our baby’s name. What’s mutual?’ Then the man hung up!”
    Jim, Trixie, and Honey heard that news with sinking hearts.
    “Oh, I wish you hadn’t said that,” sighed Trixie. Then she related the morning’s adventures, including the encounter with Roger Higgins, to the others. “That had to be Roger calling, and he’s up to no good,” she finished.
    “Let’s get going, then,” urged Dan.
    “Wait a second,” Brian spoke up. “Moms demanded that Mart and I fix that washing machine before we do another thing this afternoon. The laundry’s piled up to the ceiling, she says.”
    “And we Beldens will be forced to go au naturel soon,” Mart added.
    “Speak for yourself,” said Trixie. “Oh, it’s just as well. Now we can go out in the yard and wait for Davy to show up.”
    “I’ll fetch Dodgy,” volunteered Di. “He could use some sun.”
    Brian and Mart went to work, and the other Bob-Whites gathered around Dodgy outside. Trixie leaned against a maple and anxiously watched the baby, who cooed in a friendly effort to talk to her. As worried as she was, she couldn’t help giggling. “You little salamander,” she teased.
    Bobby dashed out of the house, swinging his jump rope. “Sit still,” he hissed in Trixie’s ear. “You’re the kidnapper, and I’m gonna tie you up while I go find the police!”
    “Okay, I surrender.” Trixie’s fright wasn’t just for Bobby’s benefit. She was feeling uneasy.
    Clumsily but thoroughly, Bobby tied her to the tree. Then he raced away.
    After a while, Trixie had to change position. The rope scraped the skin under her arms when she turned. A few seconds later, the same thing happened. She glanced down at the rope that Bobby had tied across her front, and her mental computer shifted gears. She tried to picture a boy, a baby, and a few supplies. It would be no small task to climb on a Shetland unless... “I know!” she yelled.
    Honey looked concerned and rushed over to untie Bobby’s knots. At once, Trixie ran toward the house, shouting, “Brian, I know how Dodgy got bruised!”
    Brian came outside, wiping machine oil off his hands. Immediately Trixie scooped up Dodgy and asked Honey for the long, sheer scarf she was wearing to tie back her hair. Dodgy squeaked like a mouse.
    “Trixie, Dodgy’s not a rag doll, you know!” said Di, appalled.
    Trixie flung the scarf into place under Dodgy’s tiny bare arms. “Wait just a minute, Di. Here, take the baby, Brian, and pretend you have to get on a horse. You’re not very tall, and you need both hands free. So you tie him to your own chest, and you climb up.”
    Brian whistled. “So Dodgy wasn’t battered, after all. Davy was just trying to get organized. Poor baby.” By this time, Dodgy was screaming. Brian cuddled him close to calm him.
    “We keep saying ‘poor baby,’ ” Trixie fretted. “But what about Davy? What a brave boy he must be! He tried so hard to take care of Dodgy.
    What could have caused him to run away? What did his parents do to him?”
    Honey was aghast. “Trixie, what are you talking about? Both of his parents seem kind and loving.”
    “How do we know what happens when doors are closed?” Trixie asked darkly. “Remember Davy’s note? What made him think he was going to be sold? Who would cast away their children like they were, you know, old cars or something?” Then her mental computer clicked again. “ Cars!” she shouted.
    Everyone turned to look at her as though she had cracked up completely.
    “Honey, Jim, don’t you remember the inventory list?” Trixie rushed on. “They auctioned off two vehicles—an old Dodge and a new Dodge!”
    “That’s a coincidence,” admitted Jim, “but so what?”
    Honey jumped up in excitement. “The new Dodge,” she breathed. “Eileen said that’s why they called the baby Dodgy—because he’s the new Dodge!”
    “I see,” Jim said. “So you think Davy ran away because he thought they were selling the baby, not the car. What could possibly make him believe something so weird?
    “I don’t know, but it