The Mystery of the Midnight Marauder

you want to take a break?”
    “What I really want,” Trixie replied slowly, “is the answers to three questions.” She ticked them off on her fingers. “One: What did Reddy and Patch see last night? Two: Which teacher is Miss Lonelyheart?”
    “And three?” Di asked, as Trixie hesitated.
    “And three:” Trixie said thoughtfully, “Who is the Midnight Marauder?”
    “Number three’s easy,” a voice said in her ear. Trixie turned sharply and found herself staring into the grinning face of Lester Mundy.
    “Well?” Honey demanded. “Who is the Midnight Marauder?”
    Lester sniggered. “The police arrested him not half an hour ago,” he said. “The Midnight Marauder is none other than Mart Belden!”

More Worries • 5

    FOR A MOMENT, Trixie was so shocked that she couldn’t even move.
    “I’ll bet that surprised you,” Lester said, “but it’s all true, every word.”
    Trixie found her voice at last. “But it isn’t true!” she exclaimed hotly. “It can’t be! I don’t believe it! You’ve made a mistake!”
    “Or else he’s trying to pull one of his practical jokes on us,” Brian said, clenching his fists.
    “Yeah,” Jim agreed, “a very bad practical joke.”
    “Hey, back off!” Lester cried in alarm as he stared at the circle of angry Bob-White faces. “It’s not my fault. I only came to give you the news, that’s all. Don’t get mad at me! Get mad at Sergeant Molinson. He’s the one who did the arresting. He’s taken Mart downtown for questioning. I just thought you ought to know.”
    There was a stunned silence as the Bob-Whites stared at each other.
    To Trixie, it was as if she was in the middle of a bad dream. “Is this true?” she asked Lester, her voice low. But she sensed what his answer was going to be even before he nodded his head.
    “Oh, Brian!” Di cried, clutching his arm. “What are we going to do?”
    Trixie swallowed hard. “There’s no need for anyone else to worry about this,” she said. “Brian’s car is here, and he and I will just go and see what this is all about. The rest of you can go on home....”
    But already the Bob-Whites were shaking their heads.
    “No, we’ll come with you, Trix,” Honey said, moving quickly to her friend’s side.
    “That’s right,” Dan put in. “There’s been some mistake made, that’s all.”
    “We’ll all go,” Di announced.
    “I agree,” Jim said quietly.
    “Well, now, and isn’t that just great!” Lester exclaimed, staring at them. “All for one and one for all”— he sniggered—“even if one is a crook!”
    He took to his heels and raced away before anyone could answer him.
    “O-o-h! That boy!” Trixie stormed, her blue eyes flashing.
    “Ignore him, Trix!” Brian answered sharply. “We’ve got more important things to think about for now.”
    “Lucky for Lester!” Trixie retorted.
    Even as she spoke, she realized that it was easier to feel angry at Lester than worried about Mart’s arrest.
    She didn’t even have to wonder if Mart was guilty of having vandalized the school. She knew without any question that he hadn’t done it. Sergeant Molinson should have known it, too. Obviously he didn’t, because otherwise he wouldn’t have taken Mart away as if he were some sort of common criminal.
    All the same, her thoughts were in a turmoil as she, Honey, and Di made their way back to the parking lot, while the boys hurried to put away all the cleaning equipment.
    “And Brian’s also going to check with Mr. Stratton,” Trixie told the two girls, “just in case Lester was merely playing a joke.”
    But when Brian joined her five minutes later, she could tell from his face that most of the news Lester had brought them was all too true.
    “Mart has been taken downtown for questioning,” Brian was quick to tell them, “but then so have several other students. Mart hasn’t been arrested, though, so you can relax a little, Trix.”
    “But why do they want to question him?” Trixie cried. “He doesn’t know anything about this.” Brian didn’t quite look at her, and he seemed to be trying to think how to frame his answer. “It seems that someone saw him on the school grounds last night,” he said finally and rather hesitantly.
    “But that can’t be right,” Trixie exclaimed. “Mart was over at Di’s.”
    Di stared. “At my house?”
    “Well, wasn’t he?” Trixie asked, bewildered. “No,” Di answered. “I was home all evening.“
    “Then he was with Jim—”