The Mystery of the Phantom Grashopper

Belden—Bobby, I’m happy to meet you,” she said.
    Mrs. Belden smiled warmly. “Trixie and the boys have talked a lot about you,” she said. “They all enjoy this class.”
    Bobby fidgeted. “Want to see somethin’?” he asked. He thrust his hand out, showing the coin. “I found it today.”
    “My goodness, Bobby,” Miss Lawler said, taking the coin from him and looking at it carefully. “This is a Seated Liberty silver dollar. I can’t quite read the date, but I can tell you that it’s at least one hundred years old.”
    “Wow!” Brian exclaimed. “That’s quite a find!”
    “It certainly is,” Miss Lawler said, handing the coin back to Bobby. “Take good care of it,” she told him.
    Bobby pushed the coin down deep into his pocket.’ “I’m going to put it in my collection,” he said.
    Miss Lawler smiled. “Do you have a coin collection, like Mr. Quinn?” she asked, pointing to the display case beside her desk.
    Bobby shook his head. “Nope,” he answered. “I collect everything. Moms says it’s junk, but Trixie thinks it’s good stuff, don’t you, Trixie?”
    Trixie poked her little brother in the ribs, making him giggle. “Sure I do,” she said. “Uh-oh, there goes the bell.”
    Brian and Mart waved and left at once. Mrs. Belden took Bobby’s hand. “That means it’s time for us to go to Wimpy’s,” she told him. “Miss Lawler, do drive out and see us soon,” she urged. “It’s only two miles to Crabapple Farm.”
    “I—I’d really like to, but I don’t drive,” Miss Lawler said softly.
    “Then we’ll drive in and get you,” Mrs. Belden offered. “Your brother Sammy is welcome to come, too.”
    Miss Lawler’s face paled, and she turned away quickly. “I—I don’t have a brother,” she murmured softly.
    The others were amazed. “We all thought Sammy was your brother,” Trixie explained. “He calls you Sis-”
    “That’s short for Cecilia, my first name,” the teacher’s aide said, tidying her desk. “Sammy is just— a friend.”
    “Gleeps. I’m sorry,” Trixie apologized.
    “That’s all right,” Miss Lawler said. “You’d better hurry to your class. It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Belden, Bobby.”

    When Trixie entered the social studies classroom for the last period of the day, she placed her report neatly on her desk and winked at Honey.
    Honey smiled and winked back. Miss Craven was a popular teacher, but she wouldn’t tolerate late papers without a good excuse. “I forgot” was not a good excuse.
    The class was almost over before Miss Craven mentioned that the reports were due. “Please leave your reports with Miss Lawler on your way out of the room,” she said, standing up behind her desk. She walked toward the door, adding, “Good afternoon, class.” Her timing was perfect—the bell rang just as she reached the door.
    The students talked and laughed as they walked up the aisles and handed their papers to the teacher’s aide. Honey and Trixie were the last ones in line.
    “Thank you,” Miss Lawler said automatically, adding their papers to the pile. She looked worn out and pale.
    “Are you feeling all right, Miss Lawler?” Honey asked in her kind way.
    The teacher’s aide managed a faint smile. Tm worried... about Sammy,” she murmured. “I haven’t heard from him since he told Mr. Johnson that he was sick. I just hope he’s okay.”
    “Oh, he’s fine,” Trixie assured her. “We saw him last night. He’d been working late.”
    “Really?” Miss Lawler looked relieved. “That’s good to hear. I think I’ll wait here for him. Sometimes he drops by when he’s finished at Town Hall.” She took one of the reports from the pile. “I have plenty to keep me busy,” she added.
    “We’ll see you tomorrow,” Trixie said.

    Outside, Trixie and Honey buttoned their jackets and went down the walk headed for town. They walked briskly, enjoying the feel of the sharp October air on their faces.
    “I’m kind of glad Di couldn’t come,” Trixie admitted. “This gives us time to do some serious thinking about Hoppy.”
    “We always do think best when the two of us are together,” Honey agreed.
    “That’s why the Belden-Wheeler Detective Agency will be successful,” Trixie said seriously. “We’re a good team, Honey. But we goofed with Hoppy,” she went on. “When we didn’t see him on the ground that morning after the storm, we should have known right away that someone had taken him.”
    “But what could