The Mystery on Cobbett's Island

monkey’s cousin!” yelled Peter as he dashed in the direction of the beach, with the others in close pursuit. They hurriedly put on their suits, which they had left in the bathhouse, and raced down to the water’s edge. Peter was about to dive into the water when Trixie, who had managed to come abreast of him, grabbed him and pointed to a single sail out in the bay.
    “Well, look who’s out for a sail. That’s Cap trying out his new Lightning. He’s a top-notch sailor and a great guy,” said Peter warmly.
    “Gee, what a beautiful boat!” exclaimed Jim. “And he’s sailing it all alone, isn’t he?”
    “That’s one of the good things about a Lightning. One person can easily manage it, but in a race you have to have three people—the skipper, the spinnaker man, and a crewman who handles the mains’l.”
    “They must be awfully roomy boats to carry three people,” commented Diana.
    “Oh, they’ll hold even more than that,” Peter replied. “They’re nineteen feet long and quite beamy, and—I’ll tell you what,” he said suddenly. “If we get the gazebo fairly well cleared out this afternoon, I’ll ask Cap to take his boat, and I’ll take mine, and we’ll go for a sail tomorrow. How about going out to the abandoned lighthouse?”
    “How perfect!” cried Honey. “Let’s take a quick dip and then get back to work so we’ll finish up for sure this afternoon. I’ve never been in a sailboat in my whole life, and I’m dying to go.”
    “Whoops! There goes Honey ‘dying.’ She’s getting to be as bad as Trixie,” Brian teased.
    Honey chased him into the water, splashing him as she went.
    “Let’s race down to the dock at The Moorings and back,” suggested Peter.
    “Okay. Any special stroke, or just freestyle?” asked Honey, who was the best swimmer of the Bob-Whites.
    “Anything goes except a dog paddle,” Peter told her. “On your mark, get set, go!”
    Despite all her best efforts, Honey, who had been ahead at the turning point, was outdistanced by Peter on the return lap. “You’re phenomenal, Peter!” she gasped as she climbed the ladder to the dock. “How do you do it?”
    “It’s a tricky little kick I learned last summer,” Peter answered. “Come in again and I’ll show you.” They dived in, and after Honey had mastered the secret, she and Peter swam together in beautiful form. Trixie and the others clapped their hands in admiration as the two returned to the dock, shaking the water from their faces and hair. Then they all hurriedly dressed and ran back to the garden to have lunch beside the lily pool.

The Gazebo ● 7

    BY FOUR O’CLOCK the lovely little octagonal gazebo had been freed of the encroaching vines. The original paint had begun to peel in places, but it was not in bad condition. The vines had probably served as protection from the weather, but the steps were quite rotten, and one of the delicate supporting columns was broken off completely. It was a great surprise when they uncovered a weather vane on top of the pointed roof—a copper boat under full sail.
    “Isn’t that darling?” sang out Diana, stepping back to admire it. “Do you suppose it works?”
    “There isn’t enough wind now to tell,” answered Peter. “A little oil will probably get it going again if it’s stuck.”
    While the others were talking about the vane, Trixie and Jim had been looking around the inside of the gazebo to see how much work would really be necessary to get it in shape for the party. Jim was examining the broken column, when he heard the sound of breaking wood and a cry from Trixie, and, turning quickly around, he saw that a floorboard had given way, and one of Trixie’s legs had gone through and was caught in the hole.
    As the others came running to see what had happened, Jim, who had caught hold of Trixie so she wouldn’t lose her balance, yelled, “Peter, pull up the board next to this broken one so she can get her leg out. Does it hurt, Trixie?” he asked solicitously.
    “Not much,” she answered. “It just stings a little around the ankle, that’s all.”
    The board came up more easily than they had expected, and Trixie, stepping gingerly out of the hole, said, “That’s funny. It doesn’t look as though either of those boards had been nailed down.”
    “Oh, don’t worry about the floor now,” said Honey, putting an arm around Trixie’s waist and helping her to one of the wide wooden benches built around the inside of the