The Mystery of the Vanishing Victim

answered her own question.
    “I guess we owe that man an apology,” Honey said softly.
    “I guess we owe you an apology,” Brian said loudly, then turned from the hitchhiker to the girls, who had burst into laughter at his words.
    “Oh, Brian,” Trixie gasped, “you’re always teasing Honey and me about being on the same wavelength, but I guess it’s really all of us. We were just saying the same thing!”
    “That’s right,” Honey said. “I’m sorry I screamed when I saw you standing by the car.”
    “Me, too,” Trixie added.
    “It’s perfectly understandable,” the stranger said. “It’s dark, and this isn’t the safest part of town, I guess.” He rubbed his hand across the stubble on his chin. “I guess I’m not the best-looking man in these parts, either. It was my own fault, too, for not saying anything as I walked up. I don’t always think about other people’s feelings. In this case, I was more interested in the car than the people in it.”
    “You mean you were wishing we’d given you a ride when we passed you back there,” Trixie guessed. “We probably should have, but our parents have told us never to pick up hitchhikers.”
    The man waved his arm in a gesture of dismissal. “That wasn’t what I meant at all. Your parents are absolutely right. You shouldn’t give rides to strangers. In fact, if you’ll take my advice, you won’t get involved with anybody anytime in any way, if you can help it.” The man’s tone had turned suddenly bitter as he spoke.
    “You don’t take your own advice, then,” Trixie blurted. “I mean, you just got involved with us when you saw we needed help.”
    The man snorted indignantly. “You’re not a very good listener, are you, young lady? I just said it wasn’t the people in the car I was interested in. It was the car itself.”
    Trixie felt herself blushing at his rude rebuke.
    “Are cars a hobby of yours?” Brian asked courteously, willing to give the stranger a second chance to be more polite.
    “Cars are my hobby, my passion, and, from time to time, my livelihood, young man,” the man said.
    “Then it must seem strange to be hitchhiking instead of driving,” Trixie said.
    “I wasn’t hitchhiking!” the stranger exclaimed, almost shouting. “You apparently feel so guilty about not giving me a ride that you assume I was asking for one. Well, I wasn’t!”
    “But you turned to look back at us as we approached, and you stared after us as we went by,” Brian pointed out logically.
    The stranger snorted again. “If you’re going to be driving around town in a Model A for the next few days, as you say you are, then you’d better get used to being stared at. There aren’t too many cars on the street today that look like it—or sound like it, for that matter. When I heard that car coming up behind me, I thought I must be dreaming.”
    “You mean you could tell it was a Model A just from the sound of it?” Trixie asked in amazement.
    “Model A or Model T. I couldn’t be quite sure. Model A was my first guess, though. There’s a slight difference between the two,” the stranger said.
    “Well, I’m just glad someone came along who knew about the car,” Brian said. “We were getting pretty worried.”
    “I really feel that we should do something to pay back your kindness,” Honey said.
    “I don’t need money,” the stranger snapped.
    It was Honey’s turn to blush, but it took more than a snappish stranger to destroy her tact. “Actually, we don’t have much money with us, anyway. I mean that we should do something—give you a ride, or—”
    “Aha! Didn’t you just say your parents had told you not to go around picking up strangers? Well, listen to them. They know best. And listen to me when I say you shouldn’t get involved with anybody if you can help it. That’s better advice than what I told you about that old carburetor,” the stranger said with a nod to Brian.
    Even in the dark, Trixie could see Brian tense. Her oldest brother had a calm, logical mind and a slow temper. But he also had a deep sense of independence and a dislike for being told what to do— especially by strangers. “We’ll take our parents’ advice about giving rides, but I’m afraid we’ll have to reject yours. We happen to believe that getting involved with other people is what life is all about,” Brian said firmly.
    The stranger stared at the boy for a moment. Then, surprisingly, he started to laugh. “You’re