The Mystery of the Galloping Ghost

the trailer, stumbling over branches and tree roots. A
few feet away, they both halted. Trixie held her breath, listening, knowing
that Honey was doing the same. For a long, horrible moment there was silence.
Then the girls heard the sound of hooves shifting on the trailer floor and the
soft nickering of a horse.
    “Let’s
see if we can get him out,” Trixie said. She started to circle the trailer in
one direction, and she signaled Honey to head off the
other way.
    Rounding
a corner of the trailer, Trixie noticed a louvered vent high up near the flat
roof. By standing on a piece of molding at the bottom
of the trailer and grabbing the top molding with her
hands, Trixie was able to boost herself up and look inside. She got a
reassuring sight of Al- Adeen , asleep on his feet. The
smell of hay told her that at least the horse’s basic needs were being met.
    She
let go of the molding and dropped to the ground,
massaging her scraped hands as she continued around the trailer. Honey was
coming toward her. “There’s a padlock this big,” Honey whispered, curving her
hands to indicate an object the size of a grapefruit. “The door is hinged from
the inside, too. There’s no way we can get it open.”
    “There’s
nothing on that side but a little vent,” Trixie said. “You can see Al- Adeen , though.”
    Honey’s
eyes shone. “Really? Oh, Trixie, I want to see for
myself that he’s all right!” She hurried to take a look.
    Trixie
made her hands into a stirrup and offered Honey a leg up. With the advantage of
added height off the ground, Honey was able to steady herself by holding on to
the roof of the trailer.
    It
was in that position—Trixie bent over and holding Honey’s foot, Honey spread
spiderlike against the trailer—that they were caught in the beam of Burke’s
flashlight.
    The
man’s left hand was still wrapped around the wire binding of a bale of hay. In
his right hand was the flashlight, probably pulled out of his pocket when he
saw the shadowy shape against the trailer.
    All
three of them remained frozen for a long moment. Burke seemed not to have
realized that he could let go of the hay bale. Trixie and Honey simply didn’t
know what to do.
    Desperately,
Trixie tried to think. More than anything, she wanted to get away from Burke—to
run straight for the edge of the forest, then across the clearing to the Murrows ’ house. She trusted herself to be able to
outdistance Burke on the open land.
    But he probably wouldn’t even try to chase us across
the open land, Trixie thought. Once we’d run toward the house, there’d be ample time for him to kill the
horse and tumble its body into the river. Then it would be our word against his
that Al- Adeen was ever here. He’s a big-shot land
developer, and we’re a couple of kids who believe in ghosts. Who are they going
to believe?
    Burke
was starting to act now. He set down the hay bale and began walking toward the
girls—confidently, but with a look of anger on his face.
    Trixie
began to panic, when suddenly a second option occurred to her: the girls could
make a run for it, staying in the woods along the river. If they didn’t head
straight for the Murrows ’, Burke might chase them
without thinking about where he was headed. When the girls finally cut across
the open land, they’d be closer to the Murrows ’—and
he’d be farther from Al- Adeen . He might not have
enough time to harm the stallion before help arrived.
    Very
softly, Trixie said to Honey, “When I count three, I’m going to let you drop.
We’ll run back toward the Murrows ’, but stay in the
woods.”
    “All
right,” Honey said. Her voice sounded high-pitched. Trixie could only hope that
her friend understood the plan. Whether she did or not, Trixie knew she’d
follow it.
    “One,”
Trixie counted softly, “two... three!” She unclasped her hands and started
running for the woods. This time, she made no attempt to keep quiet. She wanted
Burke to know exactly where she was.
    Trixie
ran as fast as she could. She could hear Honey close behind her, making as much
noise as she herself was. There were other, distant noises, too. Oh, please, let Burke be following us! Trixie thought. At that moment there was a loud thud and an even louder curse
in a masculine voice. Trixie felt a wave of relief that she turned into a renewed
burst of energy.
    Trixie
suddenly realized that she must be nearing Wilhelmina’s hideout at the edge of
the woods. This is no time to run
into