The Mystery of the Galloping Ghost

looked
pale, exhausted, and depressed. Charlene immediately began clucking over them
like a mother hen, giving each a cup of steaming coffee laced with milk and
putting that morning’s third batch of bacon on to fry.
    “No
luck?” The way Bill asked, it was more of a statement than a question.
    Pat
shook his head. “I would have given up a long time ago, but Honey wanted to
keep going.” There was a note of admiration in his voice.
    “I
just wanted to make sure we’d covered everything,” Honey said.
    “You
did all you could,” Pat told her.
    That’s the warmest look I’ve ever seen him give
anything on two legs, Trixie thought.
    Honey
smiled back at Pat.
    “After
breakfast, we’ll drive around and alert the neighbors ,”
Bill said to Pat. “Maybe the horse will turn up in a nearby feedlot when he
gets tired of foraging for himself. That’s about all we can do.”
    “Was
Al- Adeen insured?” Trixie asked timidly.
    Bill
shrugged. “He’s insured for what he cost, not for what he’s worth. There’s only
Pat’s and my word for that, anyway. Insurance companies are pretty wary of
inflated claims from down-and-out horse ranchers.”
    “We’re
not down and out!” Pat protested. “We’re down,” Bill said firmly. “We’re not
quite out—not if Al- Adeen shows up in the next couple
of days. After that— Well, Fair-haven is going to be a ghost ranch, one way or
the other.” He rose to his feet slowly, as though he’d suddenly grown old. “Gus
should be here by now. I’d better go tell him what happened. Then we can start
making the rounds of the neighbors .”
    “Gus!”
Trixie almost shouted the name, then turned beet red
as everyone stared. “I forgot he didn’t know, yet, about what happened,” she
said lamely.
    That
explanation seemed to satisfy everyone except Honey, who continued to stare at
her friend. That was exactly the way Trixie wanted it. She motioned toward
their bedroom. Honey quickly excused herself, saying she wanted to lie down for
a few minutes, and Trixie followed her to their room.
    “What’s
up, Trixie Belden?” Honey asked. “I know that look of yours.”
    Trixie
plopped herself down on the bed, then immediately sprang up and began pacing as
best she could in the tiny room. “The ret- rocognition was a setup, Honey. I figured it out last night in a dream. Oh, I know what
you’re thinking—” She held up a hand to stop Honey’s protest, then snapped her fingers as a new thought occurred to her.
“Hey, I’ll bet I know where Al- Adeen is, too.
Listen!”
    Briefly
she described her dream, the conclusion she’d drawn from it, and her theory on the disappearance of Al- Adeen .
    “It
makes perfect sense,” Honey said. “But what do we do about it?”
    “Confront!”
Trixie said , her eyes narrowed with determination.
    “Shouldn’t
we tell Bill and Charlene first?”
    “About the retrocognition ? About sneaking out at night to meet Wilhelmina James? Maybe you could pull that
off and not be shipped home on the next bus, then grounded for a month once you
got home. I know I couldn’t.”
    “You’re
right,” Honey admitted. “We’ll have to handle it ourselves. I hope like
anything you’re right about the retrocognition , but I
sort of hope you’re wrong about Al- Adeen .”
    “I
know what you mean,” Trixie said. “But remember, the important thing is to get
the horse back, fast . ”
    Without
further discussion, the girls left their room. On their way through the
kitchen, they were stopped by Charlene. “Are you up already?” she asked. “Don’t
you think you should get a little more rest? That was such a hard morning.”
    “I
thought a nice slow walk might do me good,” Honey said. “I don’t want my
muscles to tighten up, or I’ll never walk again!” She managed a wan smile.
    “Well,
just don’t overdo it,” Charlene warned.
    The
girls found Gus alone in the stable, rubbing down one of the horses that had
been ridden that morning. Regan must
have gone with Pat and Bill. At least our luck is holding so far, Trixie thought.
    “Hi,
Gus,” she said, trying to sound casual.
    “Hello,”
Gus replied. He tried to grin, but he didn’t manage.
    “It’s
pretty awful about Al- Adeen , isn’t it?” Trixie asked.
“I was wondering if the Galloping Ghost stole the horse. It would be right in
character, wouldn’t it?”
    “Old
Gunnar never stole any horses,” Gus mumbled, still currying the horse.
    “That’s
true,” Trixie