The Mystery of the Ghostly Galeon

knife and cutlass, gun and mace.
Faint heart ne’er did a rich man make,
But gold is there for you to take.
If you can find the pirate’s lair,
Then you have won a treasure rare.”

    Honey had been reading over Trixie’s shoulder. “A treasure?” she gasped, her eyes wide. “You found clues to a treasure?”
    “And you were going looking for it without telling us?” Trixie glared at her brothers.
    Mart shuffled his feet. “We thought you were asleep,” he mumbled. “Besides, it might not be anything at all.”
    “But it’s as good as a treasure map,” Trixie cried.
    “All right,” Brian said, sighing, “you can come with us if you want to.”
    Honey hesitated. “Shouldn’t we wake up Di and Dan and Jim?”
    “We were wondering when someone would remember us,” Jim’s voice said. In another moment, Jim, Di, and Dan appeared, and the seven Bob-Whites were crowded in the little lobby, grinning at each other.
    Dan said, “All we could hear were whispers and footsteps—”
    “And doors opening and closing,” Di added. “So we got up to find out where everyone was. What’s going on, anyway?”
    For the second time that evening, Honey told them about the galleon; then Mart related the story of his discovery. When he showed everyone the paper, each Bob-White had several questions to ask.
    At last, Jim repeated thoughtfully, “ ‘Thirteen paces down the stair....’ Does it mean these stairs?”
    “I think so,” Brian answered. “I counted them automatically when we first went upstairs this afternoon. There are exactly thirteen of them.“
    “And ‘Then through the door—soon you’ll be there .. ” Mart quoted, moving forward. “That must mean this door. Onward, me hearties! This way to the treasure!”
    Honey sighed as she found herself once more on what she considered to be the wrong side of the door—the outside.
    “Do you really think that we’ll find treasure, Trix?” she asked, pushing her feet through the damp leaves that lay on the driveway.
    “Where there were pirates, there was often treasure,” Trixie pointed out. “I know that lots of it was never found. They’ve never discovered where Captain Kidd hid his gold, remember. Maybe Captain Trask had a secret hiding place, too.”
    “Did anyone bring a flashlight?” Jim asked, trying to peer through the fog.
    A bright beam of light from Mart’s hand answered his question.
    “Over here,” Mart called, leading the way across the grass. “Watch your step, everyone.”
    “What’s the next part of the verse?” Dan asked as the rest of them caught up to Mart.
    Mart shone the light onto the paper. “ ‘Inside a cave, upon the floor.’ I sure hope there’s an easy way of getting down to the beach—”
    He broke off as his wavering beam unexpectedly spotlighted two figures who had appeared through the mist in front of him.
    Trixie peered at them and then couldn’t believe her eyes. Two men appeared to be locked in mortal combat!
    She recognized the slight build of one of them at once. It was Mr. Appleton! She could hear him panting as he struggled furiously with his darkhaired opponent. She gasped as she realized that they were dangerously close to the cliff’s edge.
    “Hold on!” Brian shouted.
    “We’re coming!” Jim cried, racing forward.
    Mr. Appleton turned a startled face toward them as the four boys rushed to the rescue.
    But, as Trixie watched, horrified, Mr. Appleton’s opponent appeared to stagger.
    Before anyone could reach him, he toppled slowly forward, then plummeted straight to the beach far below.

The Cave ● 14

    FOR A MOMENT, the Bob-Whites were too shocked even to move.
    Then Mr. Appleton said mildly, “It wasn’t your fault, you know. I shouldn’t have let go of him. Poor old Clarence! I hope he’s not damaged.” He moved to the edge and peered into the mist below.
    “Clarence?” Mart sounded incredulous. “You— you mean that was just your dummy?”
    ’‘But we saw you struggling with him,” Brian said, “and we thought—”
    Mr. Appleton looked embarrassed as the girls hurried to join them.
    “I—er—that is, Clarence and I were taking a stroll,” he said.
    “It didn’t look like a stroll to us,” Trixie pointed out. “We thought you were fighting with someone.”
    There was silence as the Bob-Whites realized they had only Mr. Appleton’s word for it that it was Clarence who had fallen over the cliff.
    Mr. Appleton sighed. “I suppose I’d better tell you the