The Mystery of the Midnight Marauder

“Reddy?” she said, her voice quavering. “Did you say something?”
    Reddy hiccuped again.
    Honey gasped. “Why, Trixie, I heard that! Does it mean—can it mean—”
    Trixie scrambled to her feet, hardly daring to hope that what she suspected was true. She stood over Reddy and gently nudged him with the toe of her shoe.
    “Up, Reddy!” she ordered firmly. Then, remembering that he obeyed only reverse commands ever since Mart had undertaken to train him, she corrected herself. “Down, Reddy!” she said. “Down, boy!”
    A quiver ran through the mischievous Irish setter’s body. Then he opened one lazy brown eye and looked at the anxious faces bending over him.
    In another second, his tail was thumping the floor with joy because two of his favorite people had come to see him, and soon he had scrambled to his feet and was trying to kiss both girls at once.
    Patch, hearing the commotion, lifted his head and gazed with bleary eyes at the joyful reunion. Not to be outdone, he promptly joined in.
    Honey and Trixie tried to hug both dogs at once. They laughed and cried and hugged the dogs again.
    It was several minutes before Trixie remembered the rest of the Bob-Whites, who would, by now, be discouraged by their unsuccessful search.
    “Will you call them, or shall I?” she asked, laughing as Reddy launched himself into her eager arms once more.
    Honey’s face was flushed with happiness. “I’ll call them,” she answered, and with Patch at her heels, she stood outside the shack and whistled to the wind: Bob , bob-white. Bob , bob-white.
    At first, there was no answer. Then the wind seemed to send the message back: Bob , bob-white. Bob , bob-white.
    After that, Trixie and Honey took turns sounding their secret signal to guide the others in the right direction through the woods.
    As soon as they appeared, Trixie could tell from the expressions on their faces that they were fearful about what news they would find waiting for them.
    Reddy and Patch, however, didn’t keep them in suspense. Recognizing the sound of the horses’ thudding hooves, both dogs ran to meet their grinning owners.
    “Hey, down, Reddy!” Mart yelled as his horse plunged under him. “I mean, up, Reddy! Up, boy!”
    “For crying out loud!” Brian said, as Reddy turned his ecstatic attention toward him instead. “Why didn’t you teach this dog to obey properly, Mart?”
    But Trixie could see that her brothers were as relieved as she was herself that their dog had been found unharmed.
    In all the excitement of the fond reunion, it was difficult for Trixie and Honey to tell their story. Finally, Brian asked, “But what were the dogs doing here in the first place? Did I hear you say, Trix, that you thought they were dead? What’s going on, anyway?”
    Trixie was silent for so long that the Bob-Whites wondered if she had even heard. Then she frowned and said, “I know what brought the dogs here. I’m fairly sure that they came last night. You’ll never guess what I’ve just found inside that shack.”
    “I’ll buy that,” Mart replied. “What did you find?”
    Trixie led her friends into the old building’s dim interior. “Look at this!” she said, pointing.
    It took a moment for the Bob-Whites’ eyes to become accustomed to the gloom. Then they saw what Trixie had discovered.
    Against the far wall, a large cardboard carton had been tipped on its side. Around its edges were the marks of teeth—dogs’ teeth. Inside the carton, a large, clear plastic bag had been eagerly ripped open, revealing several stacks of something round and red.
    “Meat?” Jim said, puzzled. “Is it meat?”
    “But not just any meat,” Trixie answered. “They’re hamburger patties, Jim.” She picked one up in her hand and showed it to her friends. “There’s enough meat here to feed lots of people— and a couple of dogs, too.” She stared down at two unrepentant and tail-wagging culprits. “I’ll bet this is what attracted their attention last night. They smelled it, you see. Then they got in here and stuffed themselves.”
    Di frowned. “But how did the meat get here?” she asked.
    Trixie turned the carton around and pointed to the large letters printed on its side.
    It read: WIMPY’S.
    “I’ll tell you how I think the meat got here,” she said quietly. “I think it was dumped in this shack by the Midnight Marauder.”
    Five minutes later, the Bob-Whites were still discussing Trixie’s puzzling find.
    “I still don’t