The Red Trailer Mystery

movies. And just beyond that area is the riding academy, where you girls can rent horses."
    "This is going to be fun," Trixie began excitedly and then stopped as a state trooper on a motorcycle appeared at the entrance to Autoville. "Honey," she finished in a gasp, "you were right! He’s looking for Joeanne."
    After talking to the proprietor, the trooper walked slowly along the road that encircled the park and swimming pool, stopping at each trailer to ask questions. When he arrived at the Swan, he said to Miss Trask, "We’re searching for a stolen trailer, ma’am. If you happened to notice a large red one on the road anywhere, it would be a big help. Here are the license numbers."
    Miss Trask frowned as he handed her a slip of paper. "I’m not at all good at remembering numbers," she said.
    Trixie, appalled at the thought that Joeanne’s family was riding around in a stolen trailer, suddenly felt sorry for the shaggy-haired man. There must be some mistake, she decided. If he had stolen the Robin, he wouldn’t have parked in public camps, where he could easily be traced. And people who steal trailers don’t go riding around in the open, taking their children with them.
    "But," Miss Trask continued to the trooper, "we did see a big red trailer at the picnic grounds about twenty miles north of Poughkeepsie."
    "There are lots of red trailers in the world," Trixie said quickly.
    "And the one we saw couldn’t have been stolen," Honey added. "The man who was driving the tow car had all his family with him."
    The trooper shrugged. "Well, I guess that wasn’t the one, then. This is the fourth trailer theft reported in the last couple of weeks. And in each case we’ve found the trailer abandoned on a side road a short time after it was stolen."
    "How peculiar," Miss Trask said. "Why should anybody steal something and then abandon it?"
    The trooper frowned. "Not so peculiar as you might think. Whoever steals these trailers—and we suspect a gang—strips the interiors of everything valuable before abandoning them. People are awfully careless with trailers," he went on. "They’re so big and so easily recognized, the owners feel confident nobody would try to steal them any more than a thief would try to steal a house. You’d be surprised how many people leave their keys in the tow car and go off for hours. All the thief has to do is drive into some isolated spot, transfer the trailer equipment to his truck, and drive away again." He shrugged in disgust "The guy who owned the red trailer we re looking for left it hitched up, all ready to go, in his garage and then left town for a week. He came back sooner than he planned, and now he’s yelling, Help, help!’ to us."
    "He certainly invited trouble," Miss Trask agreed. "And I’ll be very careful driving back with the Swan. Why, the fixtures in it must have cost several thousand dollars!"
    "That’s right," the trooper said. "The last one we found abandoned was minus a radio, an electric dishwasher, stove, and refrigerator, all brand-new. There’s a smart gang back of these robberies. They haven’t attempted to sell any of the loot yet. We figure they’ll wait until the excitement dies down; then they’ll load up a truck and try to dispose of the stuff in some other state." He tipped his cap and moved on to the next trailer. "Got to keep on with the routine questioning," he said over his shoulder, "but I haven’t much hope of finding the Robin until after the nest has been robbed."
    Miss Trask apparently had not heard him, ( but Honey and Trixie stared at each other. The Robin! Could there be two red trailers with that name?
    "Well, girls," Miss Trask said, glancing at her wrist-watch, "it’s getting late. Let’s have dinner in the restaurant. You can start housekeeping in earnest tomorrow."
    They strolled around the park to the big cafeteria, which was really more of a clubhouse, with a recreation room, library, and dance hall. Music was blaring from an electric record player, and couples were dancing indoors and out on the wide-screened porch. But Trixie hardly saw or heard anything. All she could think of was that the shaggy-haired man had stolen the Robin, after all. And that meant he wouldn’t dare notify the police that Joeanne had run away. Where was the thin little girl now?
    Trixie shuddered. It was growing dark, and she must be all alone in the woods, hungry and frightened. Hardly realizing what she was doing, Trixie stacked dishes on her tray and