The Mystery of the Emeralds

dinner.”
    “That sounds great!” Mart cried. “Come on, gang. Last one in is a monkey!”
    After a refreshing swim, they were relaxing by the side of the pool, and Trixie told them about the horse van at the restaurant.
    “Oh, it couldn’t have been Neil,” Honey said. “How could he have gotten a job on a track, living way back off the main road at Miss Julie’s?”
    “Well, you know our Trixie,” Mart gibed. “She can’t let a day go by without something mysterious happening. Incidentally, even if it was—I mean were— Neil what s-his-name, what’s that got to do with the emeralds?”
    “Oh, nothing, I suppose,” Trixie said. “It’s just one of those peculiar things that always bother me. They don’t seem important at the time, and yet....” Trixie’s voice trailed off into silence.
    “Well, that’s all too vague to make me lose any sleep,” Mart drawled, stretching out full length on the warm tiles.
    “You don’t have to lose any precious shut-eye,” Brian told him in a slightly acid tone. “All we ask is that when you are awake, you make an attempt to keep your eyes open. You might pick up some information that would be helpful.”
    Mart took this dig in silence, but Di jumped to his defense.
    “Oh, don’t be hard on Mart. He may talk a lot, but you know he’s come up with some good ideas in the past. Hasn’t he, Trix?”
    “He sure has,” Trixie replied warmly, not wanting any quarrels to spoil the trip, “and I’m willing to bet he will again.”
    “Just so we’ll all know what to look for,” Di continued, “why don’t you describe that old horse van in detail, Trixie?”
    At first everyone laughed at Di’s naive suggestion. It seemed so unlikely that they’d ever see the truck again, but Trixie had second thoughts about it.
    “Don’t be so sure we wont bump into that pair again sometime,” she said. “Stranger things have happened. Well, the van was dirty green and large enough for two horses, but there was only one in it today, a black one. At least, its head was black, and it had a white star on its face. The left taillight of the truck was broken. On the side of the van was the word ‘Stable’ in big white letters and another word had been painted out with black paint.”
    “Wow! How’s that for a photographic memory?” Jim exclaimed. “How do you do it, Trix?”
    “I’ll let you in on the secret of my enormous success as a detective.” She laughed. She felt the color rising in her cheeks at Jim’s praise. “It’s a kind of game. You see, I look at some new thing—a room, a person, or a scene like the van at the gas pump. Then after a few seconds I close my eyes and see how much I can remember of what I’ve seen. Then I check to see how accurate I’ve been. At first I’d leave out a lot of details, but the more I practiced, the better I got. Now a quick glance at something is all I need.”
    “That sounds like fun,” Honey said enthusiastically. “Let’s all start practicing. Why didn’t you ever tell us about it before, Trixie?”
    “Oh, I thought it was a little silly, I guess, but I’ve found I really see things now and don’t just look at them,” she answered.
    Their discussion was broken up when they heard Mrs. Lynch call out that it was time to get dressed.
    It was such a hot night that the girls decided to wear light blouses and skirts. Everyone took a long time over the delicious dinner. The restaurant was air-conditioned, and the soft music and excellent service made it a pleasant hour. As they came out, it was beginning to grow dark. Trixie, turning to Mr. Lynch, asked him if they could go for a walk along the Mall, which was quite near the motel.
    “I’ve eaten so much that I need exercise,” she laughed, “and besides, I’d love to see the Lincoln Memorial while I’m here in Washington.”
    “That will take us past the Washington Monument, too,” Jim said after Mr. Lynch had urged them to look around the neighborhood.
    Although the Bob-Whites had seen many pictures of the capital city, none of them had actually been there, so the experience was a new one for them all. It was a beautiful evening, with a three-quarter moon shining in a cloudless sky and a soft breeze from the Potomac River beginning to cool the air. No one said anything as they approached the awesome figure of Lincoln. They were silent, too, as they read the inscription on the wall behind the great stone chair: “In this temple as in the hearts of