The Mystery of the Velvet Gown

back into the locker, and quickly slammed the door before the assemblage of junk had a chance to counterattack. “I’ll leave lunch early and clean it up,” she said firmly as she headed for the cafeteria to meet her friends.
    Honey, Di, and Mart were already there when Trixie arrived.
    “Well, Trixie,” Mart teased, “I see you haven’t been decapitated, after all. You probably conned Mr. Sanborn with some quick answers, courtesy of our benevolent older brother.”
    “Why don’t you spend lunch hour in the library, Mart—eating dictionaries?” Trixie retorted, not yet ready to forgive him for having called her by her hated full name. Besides, Mart’s constant use of big words irritated her.
    “Where is that famous older brother of yours? And where’s my brother?” Honey asked quickly, well aware that arguments between Mart and Trixie could sometimes get out of hand. “I’m sure Di is anxious to tell them about the play.”
    “I believe,” Mart answered, “that they were recently in the pursuit of physical adeptness and skill in aquatic sports, and they are undoubtedly waiting to cleanse themselves of chlorinated H two O.”
    “You mean they just had swimming class and probably got held up in the line for showers,” Honey interpreted.
    “Exactly,” Mart said, smiling.
    Just then, the duo joined them at the table. Brian Belden, Trixie and Mart’s older brother, was tall and good-looking, with dark, wavy hair. He was often told that he was an exact duplicate of his father, while fair-haired, blueeyed Mart, Trixie, and six-year-old Bobby, the youngest Belden, resembled their mother.
    Jim Frayne was Honey’s adopted brother. He’d had a hard life with a cruel stepfather who mistreated him. He had finally run away, and primarily through Trixie and Honey’s efforts, he had been adopted by Honey’s parents. He had a quick temper, which Trixie attributed to his red hair, but he also had a quick smile and a generous nature. He hoped to open a school for boys one day, with the money he had inherited from his great-uncle, a wealthy old miser who had lived near the Belden home. Jim had come to Sleepyside to find his great-uncle after running away from his stepfather, but the old man had died before Jim ever reached him.
    The two boys sat down at the table, and Trixie began excitedly, “Brian, Jim, you’ll never guess what happened to—”
    “Trixie,” Honey interrupted, “maybe Di would like to tell her own news.”
    “Gleeps!” Trixie cried, putting her hand over her mouth. “You’re right. Sometimes I think I only open my mouth to change feet. I’m sorry, Di. You tell them.”
    “Well,” Di began, blushing slightly, “I got the part of Juliet in the freshman class play....”
    Her voice trailed off uncertainly.
    “Congratulations!” Brian and Jim said in unison.
    “But what’s wrong, Di?” Brian asked. “You’re not exactly acting like you’re on cloud nine—or even cloud eight-and-a-half.”
    “Oh, no,” Di answered quickly. “I’m really very excited and honored. It’s just that now that I have the part, I’m not sure I’ll be able to do it.”
    “Opening night jitters before rehearsals have started!” Jim exclaimed. “Don’t worry, Di. We’ll all help you learn your lines, if that’s what you’re worried about. You’ll be great.”
    “I hope so,” Di sighed. “It’s just that I feel like a hundred butterflies have been let loose in my stomach.”
    “Lepidoptera could not possibly survive the intestinal secretions of the digestive cavity,” Mart spouted.
    “And one Trixieda,” said Trixie, “cannot possibly survive the pain in the digestive tract one brother gives her. ”
    “Ah, little sister,” Mart began, with emphasis on the word “little.” People often mistook them for twins because they looked so much alike. Mart was always careful to explain that he was a full eleven months older than Trixie. If she hated being called Beatrix, the thing he hated the most was for people to think that they were twins.
    “Peace, siblings, peace,” Brian laughed. “No one will be able to keep anything in his or her digestive tract with you two causing such an uproar. Besides, I want to hear more about the play.”
    “Well, okay,” Trixie began. “I’m going to be a stagehand and Honey’s on the costume crew.”
    “It’s lucky that it’s not the other way around,” Brian teased, “knowing your dexterity with a needle.”
    “Are you kidding?”