The Mystery of the Millionaire

say I work fifty weeks a year—that gives me two weeks off in case we go away for a vacation or something. That means I make two thousand dollars a year. That’s six thousand dollars before I finish high school. Maybe more, if I keep assembling faster and faster as I go along.”
    Trixie looked from the piece of paper covered with numbers and charts to Mart’s gleaming blue eyes. “It sounds good,” she admitted. “But I don’t understand why you’re so anxious to make all this money. What are you going to do with it?”
    “There’s college, for one thing,” Mart said. “We can’t expect Dad to pick up the whole tab for all four of us. That’s a fortune! And then afterward....”
    “Afterward, what?” Trixie asked. “You’ve already decided that you’re going to work at Jim’s school for boys. He has his whole trust fund set aside for the school. I’m sure he’ll pay you a good salary.”
    Mart grunted impatiently, stood up again, and began to pace the room. “That whole idea has been bothering me lately,” he said.
    “What idea? The boys’ school? Do you mean you don’t want to work at the boys’ school anymore?” Trixie asked in disbelief.
    “No, no, it isn’t that,” Mart reassured her. “The boys’ school is a wonderful idea, and it’s terrific of Jim to put all his money aside for it. That’s the problem. I keep thinking about how Jim lived so many years in poverty, beaten by that mean stepfather of his. When he inherited all that money from his uncle, it would have been the most natural thing in the world if he’d decided to keep it all for himself—to travel and buy expensive cars and whatever he wanted. But he didn’t. He set all the money aside so that someday, when he’s finished school, he can provide a home and an education for boys who are as unfortunate as he used to be.”
    Trixie nodded, swallowing hard as a lump formed suddenly in her throat. “It’s wonderful, all right,” she said softly. “I don’t understand why you don’t want to be a part of it.”
    “But I do!” Mart was almost shouting. “That’s the whole thing. I want to be a real part of it. I don’t want to just go to school and study agriculture on Dad’s money, then become a teacher using Jim’s. He’s contributing his whole inheritance to the project. I want to contribute something, too.”
    “Oh,” Trixie breathed as she finally saw the reason for Mart’s frustration. She stood up and threw her arms around her brother, and he, for once, didn’t worm away. “That’s just beautiful, Mart—for you to feel that way and want to do something, I mean. But Jim wouldn’t mind a bit if you came to the school without a cent. It’s your time and your dedication and your brains that he’s interested in.”
    “Maybe he wouldn’t mind,” Mart muttered, “but I would.”
    Trixie nodded, sitting back down. “Well, if you mind, then you have to do something about it.” She glanced down at the box from Carlson Crafts. “This might be a way to start—I guess.”
    “Of course it is,” Mart said, his enthusiasm returning. “Five hundred percent profit—guaranteed! What could be easier?”
    “Mmm,” Trixie said, letting Mart interpret the sound as one of agreement if he wanted to. What she was really thinking, however, was that the last time she’d heard someone say, “What could be easier?” it had been Honey, talking about the return of Anthony Ramsey’s wallet. That task had turned out to be far from easy. It had, in fact, been very upsetting—to Trixie, at least. She couldn’t help but feel that this project of Mart’s might have some hidden difficulties, too. But she understood his feelings of helplessness and frustration too well to want to put a damper on his excitement.
    “It’s guaranteed,” she said aloud, with as much spirit as she could muster.
    “Precisely,” Mart said with an emphatic nod of his head.
    “Well,” Trixie said finally, standing up and moving toward the door, “good luck.”
    “Your fond aspirations for my success are appreciated but superfluous,” Mart said jauntily. “However, I would request that you endeavor to maintain the clandestine aspect of the operation, at least until my initial remuneration has arrived.”
    “I’ll keep your secret,” Trixie promised. She left the room and pulled the door closed behind her.
    The mystery of Mart’s strange behavior was solved, but the solution hadn’t left Trixie feeling any better. For