The Mystery of the Missing Heiress

intently....
    Bob, bob-white! The whistle came from above. This was not imagination. This was a call of her victory!
    Janie was safe!
    In a short time bob, bob-white! came again, and Trixie deftly caught the rope dangling before her. From above, well-known voices shouted encouragement to her.
    Mart and Honey were back! Help had arrived!
    “Daddy is up there waiting,” Trixie thought, “and all the Bob-Whites!”
    She didn’t realize until she reached the top how many people had rushed to the aid of a stricken, nameless girl!
    She hid her head on her father’s shoulder as the crowd cheered its tribute to her courage.
    At Crabapple Farm, Trixie’s mother opened the screen door and gathered her daughter and Janie into her eager arms.
    “I couldn’t believe you were both safe until I had you right here where you are now,” she said, her trembling voice showing the tension she had endured. “Janie, you come back to your room with Dr. Gregory and me. Trixie, are you really all right? You aren’t hurt in any way—”
    “I’m not!” Trixie answered. “I just want to wash my face and hands and change my clothes. Moms, Janie is the bravest girl in the whole world.”
    “I have two brave girls, but, oh, Trixie, only my hairdresser will know, and she’ll touch up the gray spots in my hair! You should leave that kind of exploit to the boys.”
    “Try and tell her that,” Mart hooted.
    “She saved my life,” Janie said in a low voice. “I’ll never be able to thank you, Trixie.”
    “I couldn’t save you from all those scratches and bruises—and that wrist!”
    “We’ll take care of that now,” Dr. Gregory said. ‘“I'll have a report to make to Sergeant Molinson in the morning. If there was malicious intent in the removal of those signs, we’ll have to know the reason. A second attack on the life of this harmless young girl is a disgrace to Sleepyside.”
    The crowd outside slowly dispersed. Dan left, too, as soon as he heard the doctor’s report.
    “There are some pretty ugly bruises,” Dr. Gregory said, “and her left wrist is sprained. It could have been so much worse.”
    “She was just beginning to recover from that other accident,” Trixie said, “and now this.”
    “She’ll be over this in a few days,” the doctor said. “I wish I could say as much for her memory. A jolt such as she had today could have helped to restore it.”
    Honey sighed. “To think she doesn’t even have that to console her, after all she’s been through!”
    “I’ve given her a sedative. She was almost asleep before I left the room, wasn’t she, Mrs. Belden?”
    “She was. Heavens, this group hasn’t had a bite to eat since goodness knows when. I’ll just whip up some batter, and we’ll have waffles and bacon in a few minutes. Won’t you stay, Doctor? I’ll start the coffee perking.”
    “Thanks, but I’ll be pushing on. I’ve patients waiting in my office. Brian, you can rewind that bandage on her wrist tomorrow. Let her sleep as long as she will, Mrs. Belden. If she awakens and seems restless, give her another of those small white pills.”
    Brian, the future doctor, straightened in his chair. “Dr. Gregory was pretty much rocked over what happened to Janie,” he said. “Who could possibly have it in for a girl like her?”
    Who? Trixie echoed the question in her mind. Who? We haven’t a whisper of a clue. Tomorrow, though, we’ll talk to Sergeant Molinson.
    “Did anyone hear anything from Juliana today?” Jim asked, interrupting Trixies thoughts. “This business of Janie put her clear out of my head.” Mrs. Belden clapped her hand over her mouth. “Jim, I forgot! Juliana stopped in here about an hour ago. She said she had been away from Mrs. Vanderpoels house all day. I promised her that someone would call her and tell her about Janie. Jim, will you please call? Use the phone on the sun porch. It’s quieter there. Have you beaten the eggs, Trixie?”
    “Yes, Moms. Di wants to make the salad. Where is the lettuce hiding?”
    “In the hydrator, where it always is. Brian, will you mix some of that salad dressing you like? Jim— Oh, he’s telephoning....”
    “No, I’m not. Juliana wasn’t home. Boy, does she get around!”
    “Maybe she got an answer to her letter,” Honey suggested.
    “If she did, she didn’t tell Mrs. Vanderpoel. She hadn’t even told her that Janie was lost. I guess that gives us a pretty good idea how much she cares about any of us.”
    Mrs. Belden