The Mystery off Glen Road

cheerfully. “But next time you want to borrow money on that ring, I hope you will consult me. Poor Mr. Lytell! He must have been flabbergasted when you made him take it as security.”
    “I’ve always said he was a very nice man,” Mrs. Belden said, “and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he and Miss Trask got married someday. Also,” she finished rather smugly, “I never objected to Ben Riker. He really is a sweet boy. You can’t expect an only child to be as well-adjusted as one with—”
    “Siblings,” Trixie finished, giving her mother a hug. “I’m so glad there are so many siblings in this family and that nobody’s mad at me.”
    Feeling very close to tears of sheer joy, Trixie had rushed up to her room. It was then that she noticed that big, fluffy flakes of snow were falling. The wind came up as rapidly as the temperature dropped, and the snowflakes were turned to swirling, dancing masses of powdered sugar.
    When she awoke in the morning, the sun was shining with dazzling brightness on the thick white carpet that covered the ground and almost every inch of the pine and spruce trees. Trixie dressed hurriedly and dashed out to join her brothers.
    “Perfect sledding weather,” Brian said. “When I get my car, Trix, I’ll drive up and down the Wheelers’ driveway until the snow is hard-packed.” He gave her a hug. “Thanks to you, I can get my jalopy right after breakfast.”
    “How come?” Trixie asked. “Our week isn’t up until this evening. If I remember right, we started last Sunday morning.”
    “True,” Mart put in, “but we can’t patrol today. Not on horseback in this deep snow.”
    “Miss Trask and Mr. Maypenny arranged it all last night after you went home, Trix,” Brian told her. “He assured her that we were in for a blizzard, so she gave me a check then and there. All it amounts to is this: We owe Mr. Maypenny a day’s work. He says he’d rather have it strung out in hours, here and there. And, best of all, Jim has a permanent job with him as part-time assistant gamekeeper.”
    “Swell,” Trixie cried enthusiastically. “How does Regan like Mr. Maypenny? That’s important.”
    “They’re crazy about each other,” Mart replied.
    “Not that it really matters. They won’t see much of each other, because Mr. Maypenny is going to keep his horse in a stall on his own place, which we promised to help him build. We owe him something for the work he did on the clubhouse yesterday. What a man! As nimble as a monkey, and a wizard with carpentry tools.”
    Trixie nodded. “Is it really all settled then? I mean, what if Mr. Wheeler disapproves of it when he comes back?”
    “He called up Honey last night while we were all there,” Mart said. “Just to say hello and that he and Mrs. Wheeler would arrive this afternoon unless there was a blizzard. Honey and Miss Trask and Mr. Maypenny all talked to him, so it was settled before he hung up. I gather Mr. Wheeler was so pleased all he could say, to the tune of about forty dollars, was ‘Yes, yes, by all means.’ Mr. Wheeler is no fool. He knows he’s lucky to get a man like Mr. Maypenny.”
    “He sure is,” Trixie agreed. “I can’t wait to talk to Honey about it.” They hurried in for breakfast then, and afterward Trixie did her chores as fast as she could. Then she pulled on rubber boots and plowed her way up the hill to the Manor House.
    Jim and Ben were shoveling paths from the house to the driveway, and the girls were inspecting the snowshoes they had brought up from the clubhouse.
    The moment Honey caught sight of Trixie she called out, “Guess what!”
    “I don’t have to guess,” Trixie panted. “The boys just told me all. It’s too, too good to be true.”
    “But the boys don’t know,” Honey replied, sliding along one of the slippery paths to meet Trixie halfway. “Not about Celia and Tom, anyway.”
    “Oh,” Trixie asked, “are they back?”
    Honey nodded. “They arrived around midnight, but, even with chains, Tom couldn’t get up the driveway, so their car is parked down by the mailbox.”
    “Oh, dear,” Trixie moaned. “If the roads are that bad, then Brian won’t be able to drive his car home from Mr. Lytell’s, after all.”
    “Yes, he can,” Jim assured her. “The snowplow just went through. It’s only our driveway that’s hopeless. We’ve got to fix it so cars can get in and out.”
    “Let’s don’t and say we did,” Ben said with a grin. “If I can’t get out,