The Mystery of the Headless Horseman

stablemates, but Jim held him on a tight rein.
    Trixie’s beautiful little black mare, Susie, followed close behind, and Honey, mounted on dapple-gray Lady, rode beside her. Di on Sunny, Mart on Strawberry, and Brian on Starlight brought up the rear.
    As they rode, a playful breeze blew gently against their faces. All around them, the Bob-
    Whites could smell the refreshing scent of pine.
    When they reached Glen Road, Trixie brought Susie to a gentle halt. She called to the others, “Don’t you think we ought to try and figure out some sort of plan? It might be better if we split up.”
    “Good idea,” Di said, “though I still think it’s funny about that yellow bike. As far as I know, Harrison doesn’t own a bicycle, yellow or otherwise.”
    “Maybe he borrowed it from one of the other servants,” Brian said.
    “Maybe so,” Di agreed, but she didn’t sound at all sure about it.
    “I think Trixie’s right,” Jim said. “I mean about us splitting up. But let’s try to keep in touch with each other. We all know how easy it is to get lost in the woods. If you find anything, be sure to give our signal.”
    He pursed his lips, and in another instant, the bob, bob-white call sounded shrill and clear.
    The others nodded agreement. Mart and Di turned off on a trail to the right. Brian and Jim took the one to the left.
    “Be careful,” Trixie shouted after them. “We don’t want you guys, too, disappearing into thin air!”
    A cheery wave of Jim’s hand answered her.
    Slowly, carefully, Trixie and Honey held their horses to a walk until they reached a trail that lay straight ahead of them through the trees.
    Suddenly Trixie clutched Honey’s arm. “Look!” she exclaimed. She pointed downward.
    There, in the dark, sweet earth of the forest floor, they saw clearly the marks of bicycle tires.
    Honey gasped. “Shall I call the others?”
    Trixie thought for a moment. “No,” she said at last. “These could have been made by anyone at any time. Let’s follow them first and see where they lead. After all, this could be a false alarm.”
    But as she stared at the ground, she saw that the tracks looked fresh and clear.
    “Oh, Honey,” she said, “I have a feeling that this isn’t a false alarm at all. Come on! Let’s hurry!”
    She urged her little horse forward.

Trixie’s Monster ● 3

    IT WAS THE EASIEST TRAIL Trixie and Honey had ever followed. It climbed steadily upward through the dappled shadows of tall trees. Then, at the top of the hill, the shadows stopped, and the girls rode into the glare of bright sunlight. They were on the other side of the woods.
    Trixie shaded her eyes with her hand and gasped at the scene before her. She found herself gazing down into a green and peaceful clearing, in the middle of which stood a neat little white frame house.
    It looked as old as Crabapple Farm itself. Bright blossoms glowed like jewels in its garden.
    It all looked oddly familiar.
    Trixie leaned forward in her saddle. “Why, Honey, it’s Sleepyside Hollow!” she exclaimed.
    “What a pretty place,” Honey answered. “I didn’t even know this was here.”
    “Sure you did. Don’t you remember? We were here once before, quite a while ago. We were tracking down a hot lead on one of our mysteries, but Brian took a wrong turn in his old jalopy. We found ourselves on that little road down there.”
    Honey could see the road clearly. It appeared unexpectedly through the trees at the lower end of the clearing and wound its way out of sight once more as it passed the little house.
    Honey said, “I must have been tracking down a hot lead somewhere else when you came here that day. I wish I’d been with you instead. Did you have a picnic?”
    Trixie grinned, remembering. “Nope. We almost had a long walk. You see, Brian’s old car broke down just at the wrong moment. If it hadn’t been for the kind lady who lives in that house down there, we’d have been in trouble. As it was, she let us use her phone to call for help. Today we must have come here by a back way-—a sort of shortcut, I would think.”
    “There’s something more to tell about Sleepyside Hollow, isn’t there?” Honey said. “I can tell by the look in your eye.”
    Trixie laughed. “You’re right! You see, this is the place where I saw the alphabet trees.”
    “The what?”
    “It’s a name I made up for some fruit trees I saw in the lady’s backyard. Look, you can see a couple of them from here.”
    Honey squinted.