The Mystery of the Velvet Gown

costume, and—”
    “What?” Trixie cried, wide-eyed with disbelief. “Why—Who—” she stammered as her cheeks flushed crimson. Di began biting her nails nervously.
    “Please, Trixie, let me finish!” Miss Darcy said sharply. She drew a deep breath and went on more calmly. “Now, you were here on Friday after school. When I returned to my office after walking you to the front entrance, the costume I had been... working on was gone.“
    “But why do you suspect us?” Trixie cried. “If I was with you and Di was out waiting in the car—”
    “That is true,” Miss Darcy answered. “However, someone reported that you and—”
    “Why would we want the costume?” Di interrupted. “Really, Miss Darcy, I—we had nothing to do with it!”
    “Yes,” Trixie demanded angrily. “Why would we take it? And who said that we did? What proof do they have?”
    “I—I’m sorry. I am not permitted to say,” Miss Darcy answered. Then suddenly she buried her face in her hands, and her body shook with sobs.
    “Miss Darcy?” Trixie ventured quietly. “I know those costumes are very important to you—”
    “You—you couldn’t possibly know how important.” The drama teacher squared her shoulders and again drew a deep breath, trying to regain her composure.
    Trixie looked directly at Miss Darcy. “If you’ll give me until tomorrow morning, I promise I’ll find that costume for you.”
    Eileen Darcy looked away from Trixie’s steady gaze. “I don’t know what to do anymore,” she said despairingly. “If you could help, I wouldn’t know how to thank you. That costume is very important to my—my friend in England.”
    “Please, Miss Darcy,” Trixie pleaded, “let me try.”
    “Very well,” she answered more hopefully. “I didn’t really believe you two had taken the gown.” She smiled weakly. “Run along, now. I’ll see you both in class. And Trixie, the moment you—”
    “I know,” Trixie said as they left the office. “Don’t worry.”
    Trixie could hardly contain her excitement. “How can I possibly go back and sit through two more classes before I—” She stopped, seeing the bewildered look on Di’s face. “Oh, Di!” she cried. “There’s so much I have to explain!” Trixie quickly gave her friend a summary of what had happened so far. Di listened quietly, her eyes growing bigger as Trixie related each episode.
    “Sometimes I think I must be as blind as a bat,” Di sighed. “All of this was going on right under my nose, and I didn’t suspect a thing! Who do you think told Miss Darcy that we took the costume?”
    “Why, Peter Ashbury, of course.”
    “But, Trixie,” Di said, thinking hard, “how could he have told Miss Darcy, unless he was here this morning between the first announcement and the one asking for us? I suppose he could have called her, but don’t you think it was probably someone in school?”
    “Di! You’re absolutely right!” Trixie cried, giving her friend a quick hug. “What an idiot I am! Mart was right when he said that I have a one-track mind sometimes.”
    Di looked confused again. “Don’t you see?” Trixie explained. “It must have been Jane Morgan who told Miss Darcy that we took the costume—” She was interrupted by the sound of the second-hour bell. Students began pouring out of classrooms, filling the hallway. “I’ll tell you the rest later,” Trixie promised as she and Di parted and hurried to their classes.
    The next two hours were torture for Trixie, but finally they were over, and she hurried to the auditorium. She stationed herself at the entrance to the wardrobe room and waited for Jane Morgan.
    “Jane.” Trixie stopped her in the hallway. “Could I talk to you for a minute?”
    “About what?” Jane snapped.
    “About the velvet gown,” Trixie answered evenly, reminding herself to keep calm.
    Jane shrugged. “What about it?”
    “You know what I mean. You have it!”
    “How dare you accuse me—”
    “The same way you accused me,” Trixie interrupted coldly.
    Jane looked away and didn’t answer. Trixie went on, “Listen, I don’t care about you, and you obviously don’t like me, either, but that costume is more important than you think. It could really be a matter of life or death for Miss Darcy!”
    Jane eyed her suspiciously. “I always knew you were nosy and got involved where you didn’t belong, Trixie Belden, but I didn’t know you were so melodramatic.”
    Trixie was furious. “You’re the