The Mystery of the Galloping Ghost

toward
her.
    Burke
saw them, too. He looked frantically from the trailer to his truck, as if
trying to decide whether to escape with one or both. He finally chose to make a
run for it.
    But
it was too late. Pat Murrow had already swung down off his horse and gone after
Burke. He caught the man easily and forced him to the ground.
    “The key!” Honey shouted. “Make him give you the key to the
trailer!”
    Regan
ran over to help. The two men forced Burke to hand over the key, then they pulled him to his feet. Regan held Burke, one arm
twisted behind his back, while Pat ran back to the trailer.
    He
unlocked the door and went inside. Trixie, Honey, Charlene, and Bill waited,
hearts pounding.
    The
wait stretched on for so long that Trixie had begun to suspect the worst. Then
she heard the sound of hooves, and Pat led Al- Adeen out into the open. Pat was wiping the sleeve of his shirt across his eyes, and
Trixie realized that it was his own emotions, not Al- Adeen’s condition, that had caused the long wait.
    Charlene
and Bill ran to Al- Adeen and began stroking the
stallion’s neck.
    “Is
he all right?” Regan called, still maintaining a firm hold on Burke.
    “He’s
just fine,” Charlene said.
    Pat
left the horse with his parents and strode over to Honey, who was shivering. He
took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Are you all right?”
he asked.
    Honey
smiled up at him. “I’m just fine,” she said.
    Yet
another series of noises broke the stillness of the woods. Trixie turned and
saw Wilhelmina James hurrying toward her. Left behind by the riders, Wilhelmina
had followed on foot. Her glasses had fallen off, and she was squinting as she
tried to make out the scene in front of her. Since Trixie was the closest to
the edge of the woods, Wilhelmina approached her first. She thrust her face up
to Trixie’s and asked, “Are you all right?”
    Trixie
tried not to laugh. She knew that she owed her safety—and Al- Adeen’s —to Wilhelmina. But she couldn’t help it. “I’m just
fine,” was all she could manage to say before the giggles overtook her.



13 * Was It—or
Wasn’t It?
     
    Pat and Regan bundled Burke into his pickup,
wedging the developer between them on the front seat.
    “Are
they taking him to the sheriff?” Trixie asked. “I want to go along. I can
explain everything.”
    “You
most certainly will explain everything,” Charlene Murrow said in an unusually
sharp tone. “First thing tomorrow morning. Right now,
you’re going home to bed.” She took Trixie by the arm and led her to the horse
that Regan had been riding.
    There
was no point arguing, Trixie knew. Besides, the idea of home and bed was
suddenly very appealing. She began to fall asleep on the ride home, soothed by
the gentle rocking of the sure-footed little Arabian mare. The memories of the
past few hours grew hazy in her mind.
    Back
at the ranch house, Trixie pulled off her damp clothes, got into a nightgown,
and tumbled into bed. She was only dimly aware of Honey doing the same.
    The
next morning, Trixie still felt a little dazed. She kept drifting in and out of
sleep, sensing that there were reasons to be up and questions to be answered,
but too cozy and content to move. At last, with
bright sunlight coming through the window, she forced herself to sit up in bed
and stretch.
    “Is
it time to get up?” Honey mumbled. She rolled over and watched in amazement as
her friend suddenly leaped out of bed.
    “ Gleeps ! I’d forgotten
all about Al- Adeen and Pat and—and everything,”
Trixie said. “Come on—we’ve got to find out what happened.”
    Honey
rubbed the last traces of sleepiness from her eyes and jumped out of bed. In
minutes, the girls were dressed and heading down the hall.
    Trixie
had expected to find the kitchen deserted at that late-morning hour, but there
was a full crowd around the table: Regan, Pat, Bill, Charlene—and Wilhelmina
James!
    Conversation
ceased as the two girls entered the room. Pat jumped to his feet and hurriedly
pulled out the vacant chair between him and Wilhelmina. There was no mistaking
whom the invitation was for.
    Honey
happily took her place next to Pat. Then she asked Wilhelmina, “Have you been
here all night?”
    “Oh,
no,” Wilhelmina said. “That is, I was out in the woods for most of the night.
Then, early this morning, I went back to my room in town for a brief nap. I
must admit I couldn’t sleep, however. The Murrows had
told me that I might