The Mystery off Glen Road

Trixie said, deciding that she did like Ben Riker, after all. He had improved a lot during the last few days. Instead of being silly, he had actually been helpful in many ways. “Where is Bobby?” she asked suddenly. “I haven’t seen him for simply hours. It’s time he went up to bed.”
    “I haven’t seen him since he ate a whole bowl of potato chips, single-handed, around seven o’clock,” Ben said with a grin. “Weighted down as he was, he couldn’t have gone far. I’ll collect him and put him to bed for you. That would be fun.”
    “Gee, thanks,” Trixie said, collapsing on the low stone wall of the terrace. “If I don’t get my own weight off my feet soon, my ankles will snap in two.”
    “Consider your baby-sitting problems solved,” he said and went inside through the kitchen door.
    Trixie lay flat on her back and stared up at the moon. The temperature had dropped only a few degrees after sundown. Not a breeze was stirring, and it was ominously warm. If that cold front that was moving eastward hit this area, anything could happen, from thunder and lightning to a blizzard. No wonder Brian was so irritable. He and Jim had been working like slaves on the clubhouse, which they could have finished today if it hadn’t been for the party. Jim had kept on working until it was too dark to see, but Brian had had to quit early in order to help Mart direct traffic. It must have been frustrating to stand around all afternoon and evening telling people where to park their cars so they could get out whenever they wanted to leave and at the same time not ruin any of Mrs. Belden’s flowers.
    “Oh, well,” Trixie reflected, “I didn’t have any fun today, either. What with worrying about that darn old ring!” She closed her eyes wearily and fell asleep almost instantly. A second later, or so it seemed, Ben was shaking her.
    “I tell you he’s gone,” he was whispering hoarsely. “I’ve searched the house and the grounds. There isn’t a sign of him.”
    “Who—what?” Trixie sat up, rubbing her eyes.
    “Bobby,” he hissed. “I don’t think we ought to frighten your mother, but we’ve got to do something.
    I remember now he said something to me about the brook. But he couldn’t have gone down there in the pitch-dark, could he, Trixie?”
    “Oh, no,” Trixie gasped. “He has a flashlight of his own. He could do anything . ” Just then Honey and Di came out on the terrace. Brian and Jim followed them. “Bobby’s disappeared,” Trixie wailed. “Don’t let Moms know. Get all the flashlights you can find—and—” She burst into tears.
    “Whoa,” Brian said steadily. “He’s probably sound asleep under his bed.” He raced indoors.
    “That’s right,” Honey said soothingly. “You’ve forgotten, Trixie. On warm nights, Bobby always sleeps under his bed.”
    Trixie immediately stopped crying. “Did you look under his bed, Ben?”
    He shook his head. “I never thought of that.” Mart appeared then with Reddy at his heels. “I had to search the whole four acres,” he complained, frowning at Trixie, “and finally found him down at the brook, licking his chops.”
    “Oh, never mind about Reddy,” Trixie cried. “Bobby’s disappeared. At least, I think he has.”
    At that moment, Brian came back with several flashlights. “He’s nowhere indoors. We’ll have to search every inch of our property. I’ll start with the brook.”
    “Wait a minute,” Mart said, and the freckles stood out in the whiteness of his face. “Are you sure Bobby isn’t in the house?”
    “Positive,” Ben and Brian said in unison.
    “Well, he isn’t anywhere on our property,” Mart said. “Including the brook. I just combed it all, inch by inch, trying to find Reddy.”
    “The Wheelers’ lake,” Trixie gasped. “He couldn’t have gone up there. He couldn’t have!”
    “Take it easy,” Jim said, taking a flashlight from Brian. “Come on with me, Trixie. It’s all very simple. Bobby has run away again for some reason. If he isn’t down here, he’s up at our house or in Regan’s apartment over the garage.”
    “But nobody’s home at your place,” Trixie objected. “He wouldn’t stay there alone.”
    Jim grabbed her hand and started off toward the path. “Sure he would. Patch is there. They’re probably curled up together on a sofa, sound asleep.” He added over one shoulder to the others, “The rest of you may as well come along, too, just in case we have to search the