The Mystery off Glen Road

George Washington, I cannot tell a lie. There is no—”
    “Hatchets,” Trixie interrupted in a loud voice. “Let’s all dash down to the clubhouse and chop down all the trees.” She started to get up, but Jim gently pushed her back. She looked up, puzzled.
    “Pull your addled brains together, Trix,” he cautioned her. “The trees, as well as the clubhouse, belong to Dad. Remember? Since he’s not here to give us permission, we can’t behave like vandals. It’s just possible that he more highly values those beautiful old evergreens than he does a ramshackle cottage that he never saw until you and Honey discovered it.”
    It all seemed so hopeless that Trixie could hardly keep from crying. She could tell from the stubborn look on Jim’s face that there was no point in arguing. He was just one of those people who were so honorable that they leaned over backward to respect other people’s rights, even when it made no sense.
    The wind was truly roaring now, rattling the windows and howling down the chimneys of the old house. Trixie was positive that in the morning not one of Mr. Wheeler’s prized old evergreens would be left standing. And beneath the debris would be the remnants of their clubhouse.
    Trixie stood up, being very careful not to trip again. “Toothpicks,” she said succinctly.
    Mart closed his hand around her brown wrist.
    “One of the nicest non sequiturs I’ve ever heard. .Elucidate, my dear sister. Pray do.”
    Trixie jerked away from him. “Praying,” she said, “is just what you boys should do. Otherwise, when you go down to the clubhouse tomorrow.morning before school, you’re going to find nothing to show for all our work except a ten-cent box of toothpicks!”

Break of a Lifetime ● 3

    ALL AFTERNOON the wind blew with wild fury. Because the Belden property was down in a hollow, only very old trees were uprooted. But in the woods on the high land behind the Manor House, many valuable trees, unprotected from the fierce wind, were damaged and killed.
    At five-thirty, the sixty-mile-an-hour-plus gale dropped to forty and finally slowed to ten miles an hour. Not until then were the Bob-Whites permitted to leave the house and survey the damage. The bridle path that led up from the stable to the red trailer was blocked by the trunks and branches of trees. Regan and the gamekeeper, Fleagle, were
    clearing away the debris, and they were arguing as usual.
    When the boys offered to help, Fleagle glared at them. “Scram, you kids,” he growled. “You’11 just be in the way. This path must be cleared before tomorrow morning so I can ride into the game preserve and find out what damage has been done there. That's the most important thing.”
    Regan, his big freckled hands on his hips, lost his redheaded temper. “Sez you! This is only a lull in the storm. Things are going to get a lot worse tonight. Chances are good that the electric and phone wires will be down. The important thing is to do whatever we can to keep that from happening.”
    “Is there anything we can do?” Jim asked. “It seems pretty hopeless to me.”
    “It is pretty hopeless,” Regan agreed. “When electric wires are torn down by falling trees, there’s always the danger of fire, too. It makes me sick to think about the honeymooners’ trailer. Everything those kids own—their nice wedding presents and all—could be nothing but a heap of ashes if a crackling live wire gets to lashing around in the woods.”
    Trixie shuddered at the mental picture. “We can’t let that happen to Celia and Tom,” she moaned.
    “That we can’t,” Regan said emphatically. “So Fleagle, here, and I are going to clear a path to the trailer and tote back to the big house everything we can. Aren’t we, Fleagle?” he finished in a menacing tone of voice.
    For answer, the surly gamekeeper shouldered his ax and stalked back toward the garage. Over one shoulder he said, “Play Santa Claus if you like. I’m quitting.”
    “Oh, no,” Honey moaned. “Do you think he means it, Regan?”
    The groom shrugged his broad shoulders. “Whether he quits or not won’t make much difference for the next few days. Unless this lull lasts, which it won’t, nobody will be able to get into the game preserve on either side of the road to do any patrolling until the paths have been cleared.”
    Jim nodded soberly. “The power and phone companies will send out crews to repair damage to their cables, and the state will send crews to clear