The Mystery of the Vanishing Victim

then turned her back on him to speak to Mr. Burnside. “I don’t see how this idea could possibly cause anyone any trouble. If you think it will, we’ll just drop it right now.
    “My idea is this: Since your Model A will be the biggest donation to our rummage sale, and since everyone in town will see it over the next five days while we’re driving it around town to get other donations, why don’t we make antique cars a big part of the sale?”
    “How can antique cars be a big part of the sale when we only have one to sell?” Honey asked.
    “We have about fifteen dollars in our club treasury,” Dan Mangan said teasingly. “Maybe we could buy a few more antique cars with that.”
    Trixie gritted her teeth. “Why can’t I ever get anyone to understand me?” she asked nobody in particular. “I don’t mean selling antique cars will be a big part of the sale. Displaying them could be a big part of it, though. While the sale is on in the school gym, the people in Mr. Burnside’s car club display their cars in the parking lot. Having the display at the same time will attract lots more customers to the sale, so we’ll make more money for the hospital— and the car collectors will have a chance to show off their cars!”
    “Oh, Trixie, that’s a perfectly perfect idea!” Honey exclaimed.
    Brian and Jim pulled up to the group in the Stanley Steamer just in time to hear Honey’s happy exclamation.
    “What’s such a perfectly perfect idea?” Jim asked.
    Trixie repeated her idea for the two older boys and waited breathlessly while they mulled it over. Their approval, she knew, would he enough to convince the rest of the group that her idea was a sound one.
    Finally Jim frowned and shook his head. “There’s something about the idea that I don’t like,” he said.
    “Oh, Jim, what is it?” Honey wailed.
    “I don’t like the fact that I didn’t think of it first.” Jim’s frown turned slowly into a sly grin.
    “Mr. Burnside, do you think the members of your club will be interested?” Brian asked. “The sale is only seven days away. That’s pretty short notice.”
    “A few phone calls is all it will take,” Mr. Burnside said. “Why, 1 could have a dozen antique cars assembled right here within half an hour, if I could promise the owners a crowd to appreciate them.”
    “Yippee!” Trixie shouted. “Then it’s settled. We’ll make signs for the sides of the Model A, advertising the show and the rummage sale. And we’ll call the Sleepyside Sun and ask them to put an announcement in the paper about it. I bet we’ll be able to raise more than twice as much money as we’d been planning on!”
    “I’d say the figure may be four times as much, if Mr. Burnside’s Model A sells for anywhere near what it’s worth,” Brian informed her solemnly. “I must admit, though, I’m a little bit nervous about being responsible for such a valuable item for the next seven days.”
    “The car is well insured, and you’re a very responsible young man,” Mr. Burnside told him. “If I were worried about the car, I wouldn’t be giving it to you.”
    “One rule I think we should make is that we have the car home safely before dark,” Jim observed. “And that means we ought to be heading home right now.”
    Honey, Di, Dan, and Mart, who hadn’t had a ride in the Stanley Steamer, looked crestfallen, but Mr. Burnside quickly reassured them that they were welcome to come back anytime. Reluctantly, the Bob-Whites agreed that it was time to go home.
    “I bow to the wisdom of making only diurnal sorties in the Model A,” Mart said. “However, I must point out that another controversial decision remains to be made.”
    “Who’s going to ride home in the Model A, and who’s going to go in the station wagon?” Dan Mangan asked, finishing Mart’s thought for him.
    “Well, Brian is driving the Model A, so I’m obviously elected to drive the station wagon,” Jim said. “That much is settled, anyway. That leaves five passengers and four seats left in the Model A.”
    “I’ll go with you, Jim,” Honey volunteered. “I’m sure that I’ll get plenty of chances to ride in Mr. Burnside’s car over the next few days.”
    “I think I’d better choose the station wagon, too,”
    Dan Mangan said. “I still have plenty of chores to do for Mr. Maypenny tonight, so the surest means of transportation is the one for me.”
    “You don’t think the Model A will break down, do you?” Di Lynch asked,