The Mystery of the Ghostly Galeon

everything you hear, Marge, my girl,” her brother interrupted. “I’m sure this was just one of those freak things. It could have happened to anyone. Maybe it was spontaneous combustion or something.”
    It seemed to Trixie that Miss Trask was about to answer him sharply. Instead, she turned on her heel and hurried away.
    “What was all that about, Trix?” Honey asked.
    “I’m not sure,” Trixie whispered. “But for right now, I’m very glad we’re here. I have an idea that Miss Trask does need the Bob-Whites, Honey. I think there’s something going on here that we know nothing about.”

    Mr. Appleton politely declined when first Mart, and then Jim, offered to help him move his belongings to his new room. “I can manage, thanks,” he said.
    He opened his closet door and threw his clothes into a suitcase. Then, after retrieving whatever was in the desk, he casually picked up the dummy from the floor. He tucked it under his arm and wandered out of the room and along the passage.
    As soon as he was out of earshot, Trixie was completely overcome by an attack of giggles. “I’ve never seen anything so funny in my life,” she gasped. “The dummy’s head stuck way out in front, its legs stuck way out in back, and its body was shoved under his arm like a sack of potatoes. At any moment, I expected Mr. Appleton to use C-Clarence as a b-battering ram.”
    Her giggles were catching, and it wasn’t long before* they were all holding on to each other and shouting with laughter.
    Di wiped her eyes. “It’s really great to see you happy again, Trix,” she said, smiling.
    Trixie grinned. “And all that laughing has made me hungry. Jeepers, I’m starved!”
    Jim looked ruefully at his soot-stained jeans. He sniffed at his shirt. “I hate to tell you this, gang, but I smell like a fugitive from a forest fire. I’ll have to take another shower before we eat.“
    “I guess we all must smell pretty smoky, at that,” Mart said. “Therefore, I assume it’s back to the showers for all of us. In that case, we’d better meet downstairs when we’re ready.” He sighed. “And let’s hope that there’re going to be no more worrisome adventures between now and then, okay?”
    He didn’t look in Trixie’s direction, but she knew he meant her. The last of her giggles subsided at once, and she bit her lip.
    I seem to cause nothing but trouble for everyone , she thought. But , gleeps! I didn't start the fire. That wasn't my fault.
    “Exactly what did you two girls expect to find at the bottom of that dumbwaiter shaft, anyway?” Brian asked.
    “I daresay Trixie was looking for Captain Trask’s secret exit,” Jim answered, smiling at her. “And I, for one, think it was a good idea.” Everyone knew that since Trixie had rescued Jim from his cruel stepfather, she could do no wrong as far as he was concerned.
    “I hate to shatter your illusions,” Mart drawled, “but I beg to differ. It was a bad idea. Figure it out for yourself. The soldiers enter the room. They’re going to arrest the captain. Are you trying to tell me that from that point on, they hang back and do nothing while their prospective arrestee strolls over to a wall somewhere and disappears into the woodwork? If they had seen him do that, why didn’t they follow him?”
    Trixie gritted her teeth with frustration. She knew that Mart was right. It was the same argument she had used when she had been thinking of searching for a trapdoor.
    She knew now that she had been too impulsive—too willing to grab the first idea that popped into her head. When would she ever learn?
    “Maybe the soldiers didn’t follow Captain Trask because they didn’t see where he went,” she answered slowly.
    “Weak,” Mart said, shaking his head, “very weak, Sherlock. The table’s in the middle of the room, remember? How could they have not seen him? No, you’ll have to do better than that, me hearty. Come on, Brian, I’ll race you to the shower.”
    When everyone had gone, Trixie couldn’t resist glancing around Mr. Appleton’s room for one last look. Her puzzled gaze lingered on the charred mattress on the floor.
    Had someone deliberately set fire to it? And had that someone been Mr. Appleton himself? It was entirely possible. After all, he had a key to the room. By why would he have done such a thing? Why would anyone?
    Trixie sighed and turned to leave. As she turned, she noticed a small crumpled sheet of white paper that lay at her feet. She bent