The Mystery of the Midnight Marauder

open the stable doors. As they watched, he slipped inside. And Reddy, his tail wagging jubilantly, padded after him.
    “Ooh, that dog!” Trixie gasped breathlessly. “Doesn’t he know he’s supposed to keep intruders out? Wait till I get my hands on him!”
    Jim stopped their headlong rush by holding up his hand. “Listen,” he whispered, “we know now that we’ve got the Midnight Marauder trapped. He’s inside, and there’s no way he can escape. If we’re careful, we can surprise him easily.“
    “How?” Trixie asked.
    “There’s a coil of rope hanging just inside the door,” Jim said. “As soon as we get inside, Trix, you hit the light switch. I’ll grab the rope and jump on the Marauder and tie him up.”
    “I was hoping,” Honey remarked, sounding scared, “that you’d forgotten that bit.”
    “It just might work,” Trixie said, frowning. “And me?” Honey asked in a small voice.
    “What do you want me to do?”
    “You can yell your head off if you like,” Trixie answered, only half joking. “It might startle the Midnight Marauder so much that he’ll give up without a fight.”
    “On the other hand,” Jim said, “maybe the noise will arouse someone—perhaps even Brian and Mart. It seems to me we’ll need all the help we can get.”
    “For now, though,” Trixie whispered, “let’s be quiet.”
    She could feel her heart pounding with excitement as they crept silently closer and closer to the half-opened door.
    Inside, she could hear the horses moving restlessly in their stalls. She could also hear the soft, stealthy sounds of the intruder as he moved toward them.
    “Are you ready?” Jim whispered, getting ready to spring forward.
    “Ready!” Trixie answered.
    It was the wrong thing to say.
    The word was no sooner out of her mouth when something launched itself through the open doorway and hurled itself against her.
    It was Reddy, who thought she had called him!
    Uttering loud yelps of welcome, he tried to fling himself into Trixie’s astonished arms.
    Trixie, caught off balance, tried desperately to save herself from falling. She grabbed wildly for the front of Jim’s jacket.
    Jim, feeling his legs shoot out from under him, reached for Honey.
    Honey, with no one to reach for, had no choice in the matter. She fell, and her friends fell with her, while Reddy, ignoring the sea of mud and thrashing legs, bent his head and bestowed wet, slobbery kisses on three outraged faces.
    Suddenly, from inside the stable, someone pressed a switch. A golden path of light streamed across the yard. A second later, a dark figure stood in the doorway. His long shadow was motionless as he stared down at the three struggling Bob-Whites on the ground.
    Reddy, satisfied at last with a job well done, promptly sat back on his haunches and nonchalantly scratched his ear with his hind foot.
    “For pete’s sake,” a familiar voice said, “what’s going on? I know that some people say mud is good for the complexion, but this is ridiculous!”
    Trixie looked up at the dark figure, which had moved now to grin down at her.
    “M-Mart?” she gasped. “Is that you? What are you doing here? And where’s the Midnight Marauder? Did you catch him? Is he tied up?”
    Mart reached out a hand and helped his friends to their feet. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about, Trix,” he said, leading the way back inside. “When the storm stopped, Brian and I were concerned for the horses. We came to check on them, that’s all. Brian’s gone around back to see that everything’s okay there. What’s all this about the Midnight Marauder?”
    He listened while his sister explained all that had happened, while Jim ran for rags to help clean off the worst of the mud from the three of them.
    When Trixie had finished her story, Mart shook his head. “The Marauder hasn’t been here,” he said. “Take my word for it. And the horses are fine, Jim.”
    “Did Dad and Moms make it home, after all?” Trixie asked.
    Mart shook his head again. “I don’t think anyone could’ve got through tonight, Trix. We couldn’t phone Sergeant Molinson, either. The phones are out.”
    Honey sighed with relief. “Then we were worrying for nothing. I’d suggest our best plan is to turn in, and right now. I’m tired.”
    “I’m sorry, Honey,” Brian’s voice said suddenly from the doorway, “but there’s something you’ve got to come and see first.”
    Trixie turned sharply and she caught sight of the