The Mystery of the Emeralds

suddenly it went out completely, leaving them in utter darkness!
    “Oh, Jim! What will we do?” she moaned, giving the flashlight a desperate shake to see if it had any more life in it. “The batteries are completely dead, but we can’t leave now!”
    “Wait a minute, Trix,” Jim said. “The brick is so loose it’s practically out. Here, change places with me. Maybe your fingers are small enough to pry it out of the wall now.”
    Feeling her way, Trixie reached between the bricks, where the crack felt widest, and, with a desperate effort and a silent prayer, she pulled. Suddenly the brick came out and fell to the floor with a dull thud. The sound of Jenkins’s digging stopped abruptly, and Trixie’s heart skipped a beat as she and Jim waited to see what would happen. After what seemed an eternity, the noises started up again, and Trixie cautiously reached into the open space where the brick had been. She felt something cold. With shaking hands, she lifted out what she was sure was a small metal box.
    “Come on, Jim,” she said under her breath. “Let’s get out of here. I think we’ve come to the end of the trail!”
    They felt their way along the wall of the tunnel to the bottom of the stairs, where the light from above, dim though it was, let them see well enough.
    Once back in the music room, the first thing Trixie did was to pull the panel down.
    “I don’t want to run the risk of Jenkins’s coming through there,” she explained. “He just might dig his way through that barrier.”
    “Come on into the study,” Jim suggested, noticing that Trixie’s face was unnaturally pale and that, despite the heat of the day, she was shivering. “It’ll be more comfortable in there, and you look as though you need to sit down for a while.”
    He took her gently by the hand and led her out, Trixie still clutching the unopened box.

The First to Know • 17

    TRIXIE SLUMPED into a chair near the window, where the warm sunlight poured in.
    “It does feel good to relax,” she said. “I’m glad it’s all over. I feel as though I’d been on the jump for days.”
    “I won’t believe the hunt is over until I actually see the necklace, Trix,” Jim said. “Go on; open the box.”
    “No, Jim,” she answered slowly. “Don’t think I’m not just as anxious as you are to see what’s in it, but I’ve been thinking.”
    She paused, looking out across the stretch of lawn toward the old burying ground. Jim didn’t hurry her. He sensed that she was preoccupied with a decision that she had to make herself.
    “Jim,” she finally began again, “I don’t think Ruth would have wanted a complete stranger to open this box. She hid it for her sister, and, since she’s not here, I feel Mr. Carver should be the one. Do you see what I mean?”
    “Of course I do,” Jim said. “You know, Trix, people may say you’re impulsive, but when it comes to something really important, you’re the most thoughtful person I’ve ever known.”
    Trixie thanked her lucky stars that Jim was standing in back of her so he couldn’t see the telltale blush she knew was flooding her face. She couldn’t say a word.

    Mart came running in ahead of the others, holding a big paper bag high over his head.
    “Belden catering service!” he shouted. “Double hamburgers and french fries, coming up!”
    “And chocolate malts!” Honey, who was just behind him with Di and Brian, held up two tall plastic containers.
    “Anything new, Trix?” Brian asked eagerly.
    Trixie shook her head enigmatically. She didn’t want to spoil the surprise for all of them when she told Mr. Carver of her discovery. “Be patient while I eat. I’m starved, and I can’t talk with my mouth full, you know,” she chuckled, hoping to put them off.
    When Trixie smelled the delicious odor of food, she suddenly realized how hungry she was. She unobtrusively pushed the metal box under the chair cushion for the time being. As Mart handed her the big juicy hamburger, he told her that Mr. Carver was giving the Lynches a glimpse of the formal gardens but they would be along in a few minutes.
    Just as Trixie and Jim had finished eating, Mr. and Mrs. Lynch and Edgar Carver came in. As soon as Mr. Carver entered the room, he wheeled his chair over to Trixie. There was no need for him to speak. The question in his eyes was there for all of them to see. Trixie started to reach under the-cushion for the box, when the silent tableau was shattered.
    “Mr. Lynch!