The Mystery of the Queen's Necklace

except for the young English porter.
    “There they come!” Trixie told the porter.
    “Trixie, you are not to take any chances,” Miss Trask said crisply. She was the first to step forward as McDuff and the pickpocket approached the only public exit from Warwick Castle.
    McDuff’s black eyes wavered for a fraction of a second as they met her furious blue ones. Then he broke into a grin. “Marge,” he said heartily. “Sure, and I thought I had seen the last of ye—that is, ah”—he floundered at the expression on her face—“till we meet again—in America.”
    Miss Trask’s short gray hair fairly bristled as she held out her hand, palm up. “Now, if you’ll give me Honey’s necklace,” she said tersely.
    McDuff hung his head like a schoolboy caught throwing erasers. He reached into his pocket, but the sparkle of silver that flashed as his hand came out was no necklace.
    “Watch it!” Trixie screamed. “It’s a knife!”
    Gray Cap produced another, and the two men motioned the Bob-Whites and Miss Trask over to the porter’s station.
    “I dinna want to hurt anybody,” McDuff assured them. “But just to make certain that ye give us a good start, we’ll take one of ye along with us. How about the bonny lass, eh, Ferdie?” he asked Gray Cap.
    Trixie was trembling, but she stepped forward obediently as the pickpocket singled her out with his switchblade.

All’s Well That Ends Well ● 18

    MISS TRASK SPOKE UP firmly. “You are certainly not taking anyone hostage. If you are thinking of adding to the charges against you, kindly remember that kidnapping is a very serious crime.”
    McDuff and Ferdie conferred for a moment and then slowly backed away, their knives still pointed at the Bob-Whites, Miss Trask, and the porter. “Don’t move, any of you,” McDuff snarled without a trace of an accent. “I’m already faced with armed robbery, and I don’t need any other charges. But I won’t hesitate to use this.”
    Honey clutched Trixie’s hand as the two men backed across the deserted street to the black car and got inside. McDuff slid behind the wheel, and Ferdie sat in the seat next to him, glaring evilly at the little group by the gate.
    Trixie gritted her teeth. “We can’t just stand here,” she cried. “They’re getting away with the necklace!” She couldn’t decide whether to scream bloody murder or throw herself in front of the car.
    “That necklace isn’t worth one second of your precious lives,” Miss Trask said quietly.
    Miss Trask was right, and Trixie knew it. “Gleeps,” she groaned, “I must be growing up. I’m getting sensible.”
    “I doubt they’ll get far,” the young porter said hopefully. “I’ve alerted the castle guards. There’s a small button under the counter, you see.”
    “And here comes the local constabulary,” Mart whooped as the familiar a — hoo — a—hoo of the English police horns rang out through Warwick.
    “There’s Jim!” Trixie shrieked as the tall, red-haired boy came running toward them.
    “Am I glad you’re all safe!” He threw his arms around Trixie and whirled her until she was dizzy.
    For a moment, Trixie’s eagle eye was off the robbers. When she looked back, the black car was still at the curb, and McDuff and Ferdie were outside, looking under the hood. Two honking police cars roared around the corner.
    “How about that?” Trixie gasped. “They can’t even get started!”
    Miss Trask looked pleased as the constables penned in the black car and took the thieves into custody. The two men gave up without a fight.
    “I do believe that someone has removed the rotor from under the distributor cap,” their chaperon chuckled.
    “Miss Trask!” the Bob-Whites chorused.
    “Jeepers, is she a good sport!” Trixie whispered to Honey.
    Honey was looking past Trixie at Gregory and Anne, who had come up behind Jim. “Is your father okay?” she asked anxiously.
    “He seems to be,” said Anne, smiling.
    “McDuff gave him a hard time, though,” Jim said. “He pulled the gun as soon as Mr. Hart got the safe open, and then he forced him out to the stables.”
    “I thought it took McDuff a long time to come down to the vestibule with his luggage,” Miss Trask said.
    Gregory nodded. “He let Black Prince out to make it look like my father had gone riding. Then he knocked out my father and dragged him behind a pile of hay. When Black Prince came back without a rider, I thought my father had been thrown, and so Jim and