The Mystery of the Uninvited Ghost

moneybag?”
    Bobby mumbled through toast crumbs. “You can’t put frogs in a moneybag. They can’t breathe, and they dry out. But there was something in that bag.” Bobby suddenly became deaf when his father tried to pursue the subject, so Trixie asked, “What does your frog hunter look like?”
    “He has dirty feet,” Bobby said. “Big ones. I couldn’t see his eyes. He had black glasses on.”
    “Oh!” Trixie gasped. “I may know him. His aunt lives at Glen Road Inn. He probably got bored and left the inn for a while.”
    Bobby needed to think about that. When his tall brothers left the room, he said wistfully, “Nobody plays with me, or talks to me. Not even—”
    “Not even who, Bobby?” Mrs. Belden asked.
    “Not even Trixie,” he finished mournfully. “I thought I was in a club, but I’m not. Nobody talks to me. Sometimes I need to talk.” He turned to Hallie. “Okay if I borry Cap’s nocklers? I’m going to climb a tree and see what that frog hunter is doing today.”
    “Help yourself, Bobby,” Hallie answered.
    When they were told about the news release, Regan, Tom, and Mr. Maypenny left their regular work and joined the search for Dan. Using horses, bicycles, the station wagon, and Brian’s jalopy, they combed the district. No one had seen Dan, but many had heard the news report. Regan revealed to the Bob-Whites that he hadn’t had time to mention the ring before Dan ran.
    Trixie fretted over that information. “It may mean that Dan ran to somebody else instead of away from Regan.”
    “Yes,” Honey agreed, “but that scares me.”
    During the search, the girls found scraps of time to work with Mrs. Belden and Mrs. Lynch on preparations for Juliana’s shower. Invitation acceptances were arriving in the mail. Mrs. Belden didn’t think it wise to cancel the party because Dan was missing. She pointed out that the police were now on the job.
    Hallie wondered if they should invite Mrs. Boyer to the party, but Mrs. Belden was all aflutter at the very idea of having her in the house. “Mrs. Boyer? Oh, my, no! I’d be afraid to have all those diamonds here with that gang loose in the game preserve.”
    Each day brought wedding gifts to Manor House, where Ella and Miss Trask were able to carry on the sewing project without much help from the girls. Regan and Tom built a bower that they would carry to the garden to be covered with flowers and greenery. Individually and as a group, the Bob-Whites made frequent trips to see Mr. Maypenny. The old gamekeeper was worried and lonely.
    In this already overcrowded time, Bobby needed attention. His scooter disappeared, and so did Cap’s “nocklers.”
    “I know where I left ’em by the tree, an’ they’re not there,” he mourned.
    But neither were some other things “there.” The bicycle Matthew Wheeler liked to use hadn’t been found, and on the night before the shower, the rest of the Manor House bicycles disappeared. Only Jim’s ten-speed remained. Up at the stone house, the Lynches lost bicycles, tricycles, scooters, and wagons. Other Glen Road children lost their “wheels,” too. These disappearances added to Honey and Trixie’s list of mysteries to be investigated.
    Tuesday was a bright, cloudless day. Juliana’s shower was held in the backyard. Mart and Brian had set up picnic tables and benches. All the neighbors shared their garden flowers, and solid masses of golden-hearted white daisies covered the worn spots in the grass where Bobby had played his games and Reddy had dug to find a cool bed.
    Exactly at two o’clock, Juliana arrived at the front door, unaware that the backyard was already filled with friends. She told Trixie, "I do hope Miss Ryks knew my parents. Ever since she called Hans, I’ve been anxious to meet her.”
    “So have I,” Trixie confessed. “I’ve tried twice to see her. Sometimes I wonder if there is such a person!” Trixie looked down the lane. “But there must be. Here comes a taxi.”
    Trixie tried not to stare at the very old, stately woman, who waited in the front seat until the driver removed her collapsible wheelchair from the backseat. Although the day was hot, Miss Ryks’s outfit had long sleeves, a high tight collar with a fluff of lace, and a full skirt that covered her feet. Blue white hair was piled high on her head in an elaborate arrangement. Her eyes were concealed by large sunglasses sitting firmly on a rather large nose.
    Miss Ryks leaned heavily on the driver’s arm