The Mystery of the Emeralds

Carver’s head.
    “I’m pretty certain there’s no concussion,” he said, “but I want to be absolutely sure, and an X ray is the best way to check.”
    “Oh, come, now, Alex, you’re making a mountain out of a molehill,” Edgar Carver chided his friend. “My head’s beginning to feel better already. I even think I could drink a cup of tea.”
    “No, I won’t let you talk me out of it,” Dr. Brandon replied. “You’ve had your way too long about that operation I want you to have, so now it’s my turn to be stubborn.”
    Trixie was immediately attentive. “An operation?” she asked, turning to the doctor.
    Dr. Brandon glanced at his friend, who, with a slight wave of his hand, indicated that it would be all right if he answered Trixie’s question.
    “Well, when Mr. Carver was a little boy— You weren’t more than five or six, were you?” he asked, looking at the other man, who nodded almost imperceptibly. “He fell downstairs on Christmas morning, injuring his back so that he lost the use of his legs.”
    “How dreadful!” Trixie cried. “Couldn’t anything be done?”
    “Were not sure what steps were taken at the time,” the doctor went on, “and it’s useless to try to fix the blame for things that happened so long ago, but I have reason to think it’s not too late to do something about it. Medical science has made tremendous strides since then.”
    “And you don’t favor an operation, Mr. Carver?” Brian asked solicitously.
    Mr. Carver was silent for a minute before he answered, and then, with a smile at the doctor, he said, “I’ve learned to get along very well over the years, and I....” His voice trailed off into silence.
    “Come, now,” Dr. Brandon said, laying a hand gently on Edgar Carver’s shoulder. “I don’t want to upset you after the shock you’ve had this morning. Let’s just say your refusal is a matter of pride. I think your young friends here will understand.”
    “Indeed we do!” Trixie spoke for all of them. “But wouldn’t it be wonderful if something could be done?”
    “It certainly would!” the doctor replied earnestly. “But now, Brian, to get back to more immediate problems. I noticed, didn’t I, that you came down in a station wagon? Would it be possible for you to drive Edgar to my office? I have an X-ray machine there, and it would save a good deal of time.”
    “Of course we can,” Brian said, jumping to his feet. “We’ll put the backseats down and fix up a comfortable place for Mr. Carver to lie; lie won’t have to sit up at all. Come on, Jim, and you, too, Mart. Take out some of those pillows and that afghan over there on the chair, and as soon as we have everything ready, we’ll be back to carry Mr. Carver out.”
    “Well, I guess I’m outnumbered,” said the invalid with a smile. “You win!”
    “We’ll stay here and clean up the tea things,” Honey said as she began gathering up the empty cups and plates. “Good luck, Mr. Carver, and don’t you worry about a thing!”
    Trixie had already left the room, and when Di and Honey got to the kitchen, they were surprised not to find her there.
    “I wonder where she could have gone,” Di said, frowning. “It isn’t like her to run off without telling us where she’s going.”
    “She probably went to help the boys,” Honey answered mildly. “You know she’d much rather do something like that than wash dishes. Don’t worry. She’ll be back soon.”
    Trixie had guessed rightly that her services wouldn’t be missed in the kitchen for the next few minutes and had run out the back way to talk with Neil. As she approached him, he came down the path to meet her.
    “I was so afraid you wouldn’t come!” he said. Trixie thought he sounded like a little boy.
    “I said I would, didn’t I?” she answered with a hint of a smile. “But I only have a few minutes, so tell me what you have on your mind.”
    “Well, I guess you know what I was after when I came to Cliveden,” he began, kicking the gravel in the path with the toe of his shoe.
    “I can guess,” Trixie answered, “but I can’t figure out how you got here from Croton so fast.”
    “Oh, that was easy,” he explained. “Almost too easy to be true. The day after Miss Julie told me about the necklace, I went down to the farm to help with the horses, and there was this van waiting to pick up one of the mares to take to Virginia.”
    “And you managed to hitch a ride to Cliveden?” Trixie asked.
    “Not