The Mystery off Glen Road

the Beldens went straight up to the Manor House, where a festive luncheon awaited them.
    As they trudged up the driveway, Ben passed them in his flashy lemon-colored convertible. Because it was such a bright, sunshiny day, the top was down, and Trixie could see that the backseat was piled high with cartons of groceries.
    “I guess he can be useful, after all,” she said to Jim. “He’s obviously done the shopping for Miss Trask. I can’t believe she trusted him with a list.
    Just to be funny, he probably bought ten pounds of salt instead of sugar.”
    “I doubt that,” Jim said easily. “Ben likes to eat, and he knows the stores will be closed until Friday morning. Anyway, I don’t think Miss Trask did trust him with a list. She probably phoned the order in, so all he had to do was pick up the cartons.”
    Honey, Di, and the Belden boys were several yards ahead of them. Jim, as host, was carrying Di’s suitcase, and Trixie had trailed behind the others with him.
    Jim grinned at her. “I gather that you have recovered from your yen for Ben. I’m sure glad of it, Trix.”
    Trixie sighed heavily. It would be so comforting if she could just tell Jim about the ring and why she had had to pretend to have a “yen for Ben” and, even more important, tell him about the dead deer.
    Although she and Honey, while patrolling that morning and the day before, had searched for signs that there was a poacher in the preserve, they had seen nothing. But that, Trixie felt, was because they had kept to the trails. If there were any clues, she was sure that they could only be found on the paths.
    Aloud she asked Jim, “How’s the roof on the clubhouse coming along? The radio said this morning that we were going to have a ‘white’ Thanksgiving.” Jim nodded. “A cold front is on the way from the Middle West. Unless it swerves farther north or farther south, we’re sure to have precipitation— rain, sleet, or snow.”
    “A blizzard, probably,” Trixie said dismally. “Is the roof anywhere near fixed?”
    “No,” he told her in an equally dismal voice. “It’s been quite a job, what with having to repair the wall first. If we get precipitation along with subfreezing temperatures, we can’t do any more work until we get a thaw.”
    “Everything will be ruined,” Trixie wailed. “What can we do, Jim?”
    “Plenty,” he replied cheerfully. “We boys are going to eat and run at lunch today. We can get a lot done before dark. Even so, there’ll still be a rather large gaping hole in the roof, but we can cover it with tarpaulin.”
    “If there’s a high wind,” Trixie pointed out, “that won’t do any good. The tarpaulin will end up at Mr. Lytell’s store.”
    “Don’t be such a pessimist,” Jim said. “We may not get anything but a light rain. The only thing that really bothers me, Trix, is Brian’s car. Since it was such a super bargain, I imagine the second-hand dealer has already sold it. I feel bad about that. Brian may never get another chance to buy a jalopy like that for fifty bucks. I wish one of us could have done something.”
    Trixie suddenly began to feel smug. Although she couldn’t tell Jim about it, she had done something. Maybe everything would work out all right in the end, after all.
    Although the luncheon was a gay affair, it was hurried because the Bob-Whites had so much to do. Trixie gobbled her ice cream and raced home to change clothes so she and Honey could do a thorough job of patrolling the preserve on the north side of the road. This time, because darkness was such a long way off, she was going to explore the bypaths for clues.
    She had just donned her blue jeans and old sweater when her mother came into the room. “I hope you remember, dear,” Mrs. Belden said, “that you promised to keep an eye on Bobby this afternoon while I do the shopping for our party tomorrow.”
    “Oh, woe,” Trixie moaned. “I completely forgot. Honey and I planned to patrol earlier than we usually do.”
    “Well, I won’t be gone long,” her mother said. “I just want to pick up a few last-minute things, to make sure they’re fresh. As you know, I did the big shopping on Monday.” She frowned. “I hate to interfere with your job. I’d take Bobby with me, but you know how restless he gets when I take the time to examine a head of cabbage or a bunch of carrots.”
    “It’s all right, Moms,” Trixie said quickly. “Di and Ben have promised to take care of Bobby for me whenever I