The Mystery of the Ghostly Galeon

beside a man dressed in a very familiar costume.
    Although the man’s back was to the door, Nicholas Morgan could tell that his clothes were those of a pirate chief. In front of him on the table lay neat stacks of money.
    Frank Trask was about to pay off his loan, after all!
    The pirate chief didn’t turn around. “Come in, Nick,” he said gruffly. “We’ve been waiting for you. It’s too bad your plan didn’t work. I managed to get here in time, as you can see.”
    Mr. Morgan took a step toward him. “ Frank ?” he said incredulously. “B-But that’s impossible! You’re supposed to be—”
    “Kidnapped?” Miss Trask asked icily. “Is that what you were about to say, Nick?”
    Nicholas Morgan tried to gather his scattered wits. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered.
    “Oh, I think you do,” Miss Trask snapped. “My brother just told me all about it. Smiley Jackson caused a great deal of trouble here at Pirate’s Inn, but he was just following your orders, wasn’t he? You are the one who wanted Frank to lose this place so that you could sell it to the hotel chain. You really did need the money, didn’t you? Well, your plan failed!”
    Mr. Morgan looked at the circle of grave faces watching him. “What is this?” he sneered. “I’ve never heard such a lot of nonsense! If Frank told you I kidnapped him, he’s simply telling you another one of his stories. Why, even the police think he disappeared as a publicity stunt!”
    “It won’t work, Nick,” the pirate chief answered. “Last night you came to the inn early to see if Smiley Jackson had been successful in his second robbery attempt. When I walked into the kitchen unexpectedly, you took advantage of a golden opportunity, kidnapping me and holding me prisoner on board the galleon.”
    “But I wasn’t anywhere near the galleon last night,” Mr. Morgan blustered. “In fact, I’ve never been anywhere near it.”
    “That’s not true,” Trixie said quietly. “You see, I saw your shoes. You had fluorescent paint all over them. When Honey and I met you near the picnic tables, your shoes glowed when Mart turned on the lights. You made footprints in the grass, too. I remembered tonight that the only place you could have picked up the paint was on the ship, where Mr. Trask spilled it.”
    There was silence. Then Nicholas Morgan snarled, “You’ll never prove this in a court of law. I’ll destroy those shoes before anyone else can see them. And when I’ve done that, I’ll sue you all for slander. I’ll—”
    He reached to the table to grab the money. But in the next instant, he stood horrified. The sleeve of his coat had brushed against the pirate chief’s shoulder—and Frank Trask’s head fell off!
    Completely unnerved, Nicholas Morgan spun around and started to run toward the door.
    “Stop him!” Trixie cried. “Don’t let him get away!”
    Immediately, Mart and Jim rose to their feet and rushed toward him, but they didn’t see Weasel Willis, who had been making his way slowly toward them. In his hands he was carrying Gaston’s latest creation—another beautiful three-tiered cake.
    Then Mart stumbled and lurched sideways. He clutched at Jim. Jim clutched at Weasel. And no one ever quite believed what happened next.
    Weasel’s feet shot out from under him. The cake soared high into the air. While everyone watched, speechless with astonishment, it landed on Nicholas Morgan’s head.
    Half-blinded by the sticky mess, he tried to grope his way toward the dining room exit—and walked straight into the arms of the police.
    Gravely, Trixie picked something up from the floor. It was this that had so fortunately tripped Mart. Sticking it back on the pirate chief’s shoulders, where it belonged, she grinned.
    “I’m glad it was only Clarence who lost his head,” she told her delighted audience.
    Then she joined in the happy laughter that followed.

    “I don’t know how you ever thought of using the dummy to trick Morgan into a confession,” Mr. Trask said, two hours later.
    He sat in his place at the captain’s table, surrounded by his friends. Marvin Appleton had also joined them. After all, it had been his dummy who had helped capture the villain!
    Apart from a slight bump on the head, the doctor had pronounced Mr. Trask none the worse for his adventure.
    “Trixie solved the whole mystery herself this time,” Mart announced. “For once our schoolgirl shamus was really clicking along on all