The Mystery of the Ghostly Galeon

as the three tried hard to ignore their intense disappointment.
    “I think your idea is a fine one, Trix,” Jim said, trying to sound cheerful. “So now there’s nothing left to do except find Miss Trask and tell her how we feel.”
    “She’ll probably try to be polite and urge us to go with her,” Honey warned, leading the way down the stairs.
    “You’re right,” Jim answered, following close on her heels. “So we mustn’t listen. Eight, Trix?”
    “Right, Jim,” Trixie answered. “Nothing she tells us must change our minds.”
    But when they found Miss Trask, they were surprised when she didn’t try to change their minds at all. As usual, she was neatly dressed in a smart tweed suit, and she stood in the living room and quietly listened to everything they had to say. Once Trixie thought she saw a twinkle in her bright blue eyes, but it disappeared so quickly that Trixie thought she must have been mistaken.
    “And so, dear Miss Trask,” Honey finished at last, “we want you to take your trip the way you’d planned. The Bob-Whites really do have a lot to do right here at home. Isn’t that right?” She appealed to the others, who nodded solemnly.
    “Very well,” Miss Trask declared briskly. “I wouldn’t want to talk you into doing anything you didn’t want to. So, naturally, it’s quite all right if you wish to spend the weekend at Crabapple Farm.”
    Trixie, Honey, and Jim slowly turned to leave. “I must admit,” Miss Trask remarked to their backs, “I was hoping you’d all help me solve a mystery this weekend. But then, I guess you wouldn’t be interested.”
    “A mystery?” echoed Trixie, swinging around. “What kind of mystery?”
    Miss Trask smiled and tucked a stray strand of crisp gray hair behind her ear. “Oh, it happened so long ago that it would probably be a waste of time trying to solve it.”
    Trixie glanced anxiously at Jim and Honey. “It couldn’t do any harm if we just listened to the story for a few minutes, could it?”
    Miss Trask didn’t give them a chance to answer. “The mystery,” she began, “involved a rascally ancestor of mine who was a pirate. I understand that Regan has already told you a little bit about him.”
    Jim nodded.
    “But did you know,” Miss Trask continued, “that Captain Trask once disappeared completely in front of a roomful of people?”
    Trixie and Honey were by her side instantly. “What happened?” Trixie asked breathlessly. “Did the pirate really disappear?”
    “He really did,” Miss Trask replied, smiling. “You see, Captain Trask knew that the soldiers were coming to arrest him. But he refused to let that worry him at all. He sat in the inn’s dining room, casually eating lunch. He was even in his shirt sleeves at the time. The soldiers rushed in and surrounded the captain’s table and—”
    “And did they arrest him?” Jim interrupted, interested in spite of himself.
    “No, they never did,” Miss Trask answered. “In the next moment, the soldiers had backed away in astonishment. The old captain had completely disappeared! He just wasn’t there anymore. To this day, no one has ever discovered how he did it.”
    “Jeepers!” Trixie breathed. “What a mystery!“
    “And did the family ever hear from Captain Trask again?” Honey asked.
    “Oh, yes,” Miss Trask answered. “That same day, the captain’s ship was sighted sailing down the Hudson River. And soon after that, the captain himself arrived in Jamaica. The old rascal had made good his escape, and he lived for many years after that.”
    “I’ll bet there’s a secret passage somewhere in that dining room,” Trixie said thoughtfully.
    “Or a trapdoor under the captain’s table,” Jim remarked. “It probably leads to the cellar.”
    “Ah, yes,” Miss Trask said, sighing. “There could indeed be either or both of those things somewhere around. When I was a girl, I looked for them, of course. But I never did figure out the answer. Naturally, I hadn’t had as much experience as any of you—”
    “And were you really hoping we could solve the mystery for you?” Honey asked eagerly.
    Miss Trask smiled. “I really was. In fact, I was so sure you’d want to see that old dining room for yourselves that I’ve already telephoned to say you’re all coming.”
    Trixie took a deep breath. “It sounds so marvelous,” she said, fighting temptation, “but we really couldn’t—”
    Miss Trask looked down at her hands. “I can guess why