The Mystery of the Ghostly Galeon

flushed. “Yes, she does. And just for that, I won’t say another word. Go ahead and figure it out for yourself, little sister. I tell you I know how Captain Trask must have vanished. You would, too, if you stopped to think about it.” He flung himself into the nearest chair, crossed his arms, and closed his mouth tightly.
    “For crying out loud, you two,” Brian said, sighing deeply, “why can’t you get along?”
    “Mart was just about to show us how it was done,” Dan told Trixie.
    “Oh, who needs him,” Trixie said, turning away impatiently. “If he can figure it out, we can, too. All we have to do is find the secret trapdoor—”
    “Wrong,” Mart sang out.
    “Or a hidden passage,” Trixie went on, ignoring him.
    “Wrong again,” Mart said, forgetting his vow of silence. “You’re not even close. For your information, Lucy Snodgrass, I’ve been asking around, and guess what I found out? This ancient domicile has been plagued periodically by the soft-bodied insect of the order Isoptera.” Trixie stared. “The what?”
    “They’ve had termites,” Brian explained.
    “But what has that got to do with anything?” Trixie cried. “Are you trying to tell us that Captain Trask was carried away by termites?”
    Jim laughed. “I think Mart’s trying to tell us that because the floorboards were riddled with termites, they must have been replaced many times since the inn was first built. Maybe parts of the paneling were, too. Am I right?”
    Trixie let out her breath in one long sigh. Of course he was right! Why hadn’t she thought of that? The Weasel had practically told her the same thing only yesterday, except that she hadn’t been paying attention.
    “If the floorboards have been replaced,” Honey said, “and if the paneling has, too, then how come they’ve never found a secret passage?“
    “Because there never was one to find,” Mart answered at once. “The captain didn’t disappear that way at all.”
    “Then how did he do it?” Trixie asked.
    At this point, Mart, suddenly remembering that he wasn’t talking to her, infuriatingly refused to say another word.
    “It’s really quite simple,” a quiet voice said behind them. Trixie turned and saw sandy-haired Mr. Appleton smiling at them. “I came to find you to thank you all for rescuing Clarence last night,” he said. “Also, I thought I might find you here. The legend of the vanishing pirate really is a brainteaser, don’t you think?”
    “But you know the answer?” Trixie asked.
    Mr. Appleton chuckled. “Let’s say I think I know the answer. I suppose no one will ever really be sure about it.”
    “I am,” Mart muttered. “It’s the oldest magic, trick in the book. I should have recognized it as soon as I heard the story.”
    “The way the legend goes,” Mr. Appleton said, “is that the soldiers arrived and surrounded the table. But suppose Captain Trask already knew of his impending arrest. And suppose he made arrangements of his own.”
    “Like what?” Dan asked.
    “Like bribing the soldiers ahead of time,” Mr. Appleton answered promptly. “If it had been me, I’d have already arranged to have a soldier’s uniform handy. Or maybe had one of the soldiers bring one with him. Then, when I was about to be arrested, I’d have merely slipped it on over what I was wearing—”
    “And the captain was in his shirt sleeves at the time,” Honey gasped.
    “I get it,” Trixie breathed. “Then the captain merely joined the soldiers as they backed away from the table, and he just walked out of the inn with them. And that must be what Mr. Trask meant when he said he discovered the answer when he was looking at his own costume.”
    She was still thinking about it when Mr. Appleton had gone.
    “Is that the way you figured it out, Mart?” Di asked.
    “It sure was,” Mart said. “It was the only way it could have happened.”
    “But I was hoping it would help us figure out how Mr. Trask disappeared,” Trixie cried.
    “It’s too bad it doesn’t,” Jim said later, as they stood outside the dining room. “But one thing’s certain, Trix. Mr. Appleton’s so clever at solving puzzles, you should have gotten him to help you with the other one.”
    Trixie frowned. “What other one?”
    Jim grinned. “What color was the bear?”
    Trixie grinned back at him. “What three words are most used by morons?” she asked.
    Jim stared. “I don’t know.”
    “You’re right, Jim,” Trixie answered, giggling.