The Mystery of the Midnight Marauder

don’t want to go anywhere till we’ve found Reddy. Oh, jeepers! What am I going to do?”
    Brian had turned back to the sink and was washing his dishes again. “You could answer that,” he suggested as the telephone rang.
    Trixie leaped out of her chair and ran to take the call. When she turned away from the phone a moment later, her eyes were sparkling.
    “It’s okay,” she sang out. “That was Miss Trask, and guess what!” Her happy smile widened as she thought of Honey’s kind former governess, who helped run the Wheelers’ estate.
    “She’s found Reddy?” Brian asked, smiling at his sister’s enthusiasm.
    “Well, Miss Trask didn’t exactly find Reddy,” Trixie answered excitedly, “but she was talking to Mr. Lytell. And he thinks he saw our dog not ten minutes ago.”
    “Aha!” Mart said softly. “So the case is closed.“
    “You were right, Mart,” Trixie said. “He’s in the woods—that is, Reddy’s in the woods—at least, that’s where Mr. Lytell thinks he saw him.“
    “There’s more,” Brian said. “I can feel it in my bones.”
    “So can we go get him in your jalopy, Brian?” Trixie asked. “I know exactly where to look, honestly! It’s about a mile from Mr. Lytell’s general store, and just off Glen Road—though why Reddy went there and what he’s up to, I’ll never know. Okay, Brian?”
    Without waiting for his answer, she raced into the living room and grabbed her red Bob-White jacket from the couch, where she had thrown it only minutes before.
    Her heart was singing as she shrugged herself into it, and she smiled, thinking of clever Honey, who had made matching jackets for all seven BobWhites. Neatly cross-stitched across the backs of each one were the letters B. W.G.
    When she ran back into the kitchen, she was glad to see Brian reaching for his Bob-White jacket, too.
    He grinned at her. “I guess I’ll have to take you, Trix,” he said. “I’ll never hear the last of it if I don’t.”
    Trixie laughed happily. “Listen, Mart,” she said, as they turned to leave, “if the others arrive before we get back—”
    Mart chuckled. “Sure, I’ll explain what’s happened. I’ll tell them you’ve gone to solve the mystery of the missing dog.” He rose from the table and hurried away to finish his morning chores.
    Trixie paused and stared down at Mart’s untouched breakfast. “And when we get back, Brian,” she said, “I’ll solve that other mystery, too.”
    “What other mystery?” Brian asked, reaching into the pocket of his jeans for his car keys.
    “The mystery of the ever-starving Belden,” Trixie said slowly, “except Mart doesn’t seem to be starving anymore. You know, Brian, I don’t think Mart’s been eating much for the last few days. D’you think he’s worrying about something?”
    Brian shook his head. “No, I don’t think Mart’s worried about a thing.”
    But as Trixie climbed into the front seat of Brian’s jalopy, she was suddenly sure he was wrong.

    A few minutes later, Trixie had pushed all thoughts of Mart to the back of her mind as Brian drove east along Glen Road. Soon, at Trixie’s insistence, the car was slowed to a snail’s pace.
    “We’re nearly there, Brian,” Trixie warned, her keen eyes trying to watch both sides of the road at once.
    Brian grunted. “We might be there, Trix, but don’t expect Reddy to come running to meet us. He could be miles away by now.”
    “He is there, Brian!” Trixie cried excitedly as she caught sight of a sudden flash of bright color through the trees. She caught at her brother’s arm. “It’s Reddy! I’m sure of it! This is exactly the place Mr. Lytell described to Miss Trask. Oh, stop, Brian, stop!”
    “Hey, watch out, Trix!” Brian exclaimed, pulling to the side of the road. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to grab someone who’s trying to drive? You could have had us both in the ditch!” Trixie wasn’t listening. Already she had jumped out of the car and was running toward the woods.
    “Reddy?” she called. “Reddy, you bad dog! Where have you been? I’ve been so worried about you—”
    The words died in her throat.
    “Did you find him?” Brian asked, as he raced to join her.
    Trixie pointed.
    Above their heads, tall branches, not yet in bud, raised long, bare arms to the sky. Ahead, the early morning sunshine splashed dappled patterns of light across the fragrant trail that led deeper into the forest.
    But Trixie had eyes only for the low bush