The Mystery of the Ghostly Galeon

visible a little way from the inn. “Did you look there? Mart, you search around the corner. Jim and I will explore the back of the place.”
    “I wonder what luck Dan and Di are having,” Trixie muttered, feeling foolish as she peered under a redwood table.
    “Have you lost something?” a man’s voice asked suddenly behind them. “Do you need any help?”
    Trixie spun around and saw a tall, gray-haired man watching them. She knew he must be wearing a dark suit of some kind, because all she could see of it was his gleaming white shirt front. His shoes, too, seemed to glimmer with some strange kind of polish. Then he stepped forward into a misty strip of light cast by one of the inn’s windows, and she saw that his well-cut business suit was a very dark gray, and his shoes were just plain black ones, after all.
    “I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said. “It merely looked as if you could use a hand. Did you lose a kittycat?”
    “No, we were looking for someone,” Honey said, before Trixie could stop her.
    The man looked surprised. “Oh, I didn’t realize you kids were playing a game.”
    “But it isn’t a game,” Honey cried. “You see, a friend of ours was showing us a disappearing trick. He was just about to say how it was done when he van—” She broke off as Trixie poked her sharply in the ribs.
    “Vanished?” The man stepped closer to them. “Were you going to say your friend vanished?“
    “Of course not,” Trixie said quickly. “You were right. We’re just playing a game.”
    The man began to turn away. Then he said, “Are you by any chance part of the group who came with Marge Trask? Ah, I thought so. I’m an old friend of hers. Frank told me you were arriving today. My name’s Morgan. Nicholas Morgan. Well, goodnight, young ladies. I sure hope you win your game—whatever it is.”
    When he had gone, Honey said, “Why didn’t you let me tell him what happened? He might have been able to help us.”
    Trixie frowned. “I have a feeling that we shouldn’t tell anyone—at least, not yet.” She sat down suddenly on a picnic bench and looked up at her friend. “Have you stopped to think what will happen if neither Mr. Trask nor his money turns up?”
    Honey shivered. “Come on, Trix. Let’s not think of things like that till we have to.”
    Trixie sighed as she and Honey hurried toward the cliffs once more and stared down into the mist below.
    “I still think we ought to climb down and see what’s there,” she said slowly. “I simply don’t believe a ship can just vanish the way that one did. Anyway, suppose there’s some sort of hidden tunnel that leads from the inn to whatever is down there.”
    “But we could break our necks trying to climb down there in this fog,” Honey protested.
    So, for the second time that evening, Trixie allowed herself to be drawn away toward the inn.
    “All the same,” she said, “I still think my idea of a secret tunnel is a good one.” Then, as they reached the picnic area once more, her thoughts returned to the man they had met there. “You know, Honey, there was something funny about him, but I don’t know what it was. I wonder what he was doing here, anyway. I’m sure he’s the man who lent Mr. Trask all that money.” Honey couldn’t help smiling. “Maybe he’s here to get some dinner before the dining room closes for the night,” she replied. “Honestly, Trix, don’t find any more mysteries for us to solve. I don’t think I could stand it.”
    It wasn’t long before Trixie reluctantly had to admit that she was ready to give up. “It’s so foggy out here that I wouldn’t be able to see a clue if one came up and bit me on the nose,” she complained.
    Honey began giggling uncontrollably. “I c-can t imagine a c-clue with teeth,” she gasped, shaking with laughter. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard—”
    “The funny thing is,” Mart said, coming up behind them, “that several of these trees around here have spotlights in them. I noticed them as soon as I got outside. And I even found the switches that are supposed to turn them on, but the dumb things don’t seem to be working.“
    “What’s not working?” Brian asked as he and Jim came hurrying toward them.
    Mart explained and then added, “I kept clicking the switch off and on a while ago, but nothing happened. If I’d been able to make them work, they might have thrown some light on a dark subject. Joke! Get it?”
    Brian didn’t