The Mystery of the Phantom Grashopper

said.
    “There’s Trixie,” Miss Lawler said from inside the room. “She and Honey drew the pictures I told you about.”
    Sergeant Molinson called to the officer at the door. “Let Trixie and her friends come in.”
    The policeman stepped aside.
    As soon as the Bob-Whites stepped into the room, they saw Mr. Quinn’s display case tipped over on the floor. The glass had been smashed, and the case was empty.
    “The coin collection is gone!” Trixie gasped.
    Miss Lawler, chalk-white and trembling, sat at her desk. Miss Craven, distraught-looking and dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief, nodded to Trixie.
    “It’s a terrible, terrible thing,” Miss Craven said sadly. “I never thought anything like this could happen in our school. I saw a light in this room last night as I drove past, and I’ll never forgive myself for not stopping to investigate.”
    Trixie’s eyes met Honey’s. Both knew they were sharing the same thought.
    Sergeant Molinson opened his notebook. “What time did you drive past the school and see the light, Miss Craven?”
    Trixie stiffened, dreading the answer.
    “I’m not sure, exactly,” Miss Craven said. “I didn’t look at my watch. But I believe it was around four, or perhaps a little after four.”
    Honey gasped.
    “Oh, no,” Trixie murmured.
    “What’s the matter?” Di asked softly.
    Trixie cupped a hand around her mouth and whispered, “I’ll tell you later.”
    “Did you see anyone around the building, Miss Craven?” the sergeant asked, making notes in his book.
    “No, I didn’t,” Miss Craven said. “Just the light in the classroom.”
    Sergeant Molinson nodded and turned to Miss Lawler. “Now, how about you, Miss Lawler?” he asked the teacher’s aide. “Can you tell us anything at all?”
    “No,” Miss Lawler answered without looking up. “I—I stayed for a short while after the class had finished, but—”
    “Why did you stay?” Sergeant Molinson asked quickly.
    “Well, I had some papers to gather up,” Miss Lawler said.
    Trixie frowned. She doesn’t want to get Sammy involved in this, she thought. I wonder if he showed up after Honey and I left.
    “I didn’t see anyone in the building as I left,” Miss Lawler concluded.
    “What time was that?” the sergeant asked.
    “Just at four o’clock,” Miss Lawler answered in a firm voice. “I’m certain of the time, because I—I had an appointment at four.”
    Sergeant Molinson closed his notebook and turned to Trixie and Honey. “Miss Lawler is going to lend your reports to us so we can make copies of the coins you drew. Mr. Quinn is out of town, but those papers will give us something to go on. I hope your drawings were accurate.”
    Trixie and Honey nodded.
    “That’s all, then,” the sergeant said. “I’ll be in touch,” he told Miss Craven.

    For the rest of the morning, Trixie found it impossible to concentrate on her classes. She was uptight and bewildered by the mysterious theft of the valuable coins.
    When Trixie and Honey entered the social studies classroom that afternoon, Miss Cravens eyes were still red and swollen.
    “Miss Lawler will not talk about the coins this afternoon,” Miss Craven said softly. “By now you are all aware that the coin collection was stolen last night. Instead, well begin immediately with today’s lesson.” At the end of the period, Trixie and Honey waited while the other students left the room. They carried their books up the aisle to Miss Lawler’s desk, and Trixie said, “Miss Lawler, were—”
    Before they reached her desk, Miss Lawler picked up her papers and stood. “I don’t have time to talk,” she said. She tinned abruptly and hurried from the room.
    Honey looked hurt.
    “She’s avoiding us,” Trixie said softly.

    As the Bob-Whites rode home from school, Trixie suggested a special meeting for the following afternoon, when she knew all of them would be able to come. “We’ve got two mysteries on our hands now,” she said. “And Honey and I have a few things we think you all should know about.”
    After school on Friday, all seven members gathered at the clubhouse. After Jim called the meeting to order, Trixie took over.
    “Honey and I saw something the night before last on the way home from town,” she said. She went on to tell about seeing Miss Lawler and the stranger from the belfry shaking hands in front of the school building.
    “It was around four o’clock,” Honey added. “About the time Miss Craven said