The Red Trailer Mystery

face was turned away from me, but he had that same shaggy hair. I could hardly see the other man he was talking to, but he did look like Jeff."
    "Well, a lot of people have bushy hair," Honey said, "and a lot of people look like Jeff. You know, neither tall nor short, not fat or thin, and sort of colorless eyes and hair." She giggled. "All waiters look exactly alike to me, anyway."
    "Say," Trixie interrupted in amazement. "This isn’t a road that van came out of. It’s just a cleared space between the trees and bushes."
    "I guess the driver thought it was a road," Honey said, "and turned in by mistake."
    "But then," Trixie argued, "he would have backed out. There’s no room to turn here. And he was headed toward the highway."
    "That’s true," Honey said thoughtfully.
    "And look!" Trixie shouted in excitement as she slipped out of the saddle. "Just look at this pile of branches. They must have been used to camouflage the van so nobody passing by would notice it." Honey jumped down beside her. On one side of the clearing, bushy evergreens were heaped high. On closer inspection they discovered, folded neatly nearby, an old tennis-court net Honey was completely mystified, but Trixie yelled, "I get it. Don’t you see? They back the van in here and cover it with branches. Then they stretch this net between the trees facing the road on either side of the clearing. After that all they have to do to hide that van completely is wind more branches through the holes in the net. It makes a perfect screen, so nobody would ever guess there was a van parked in this patch of woods."
    "Then," Honey said slowly, "those two men must be the trailer thieves. They carry away in the van the stuff they steal. Oh, I hate to think of Joeanne’s father being arrested, but we really ought to tell the state troopers just as soon as possible."
    "We can’t do that yet," Trixie argued. "We’re not sure the driver of the van was Joeanne’s father, and how do we know this really is a hideaway? Let’s come back some other time when the van is hidden here. If we see trailer equipment inside it, then we’ll have proof."
    Honey shuddered. "But suppose they catch us spying on them, Trixie? That Jeff is awfully mean-tempered, and he has it in for you, anyway."
    Trixie shrugged. "I’m not afraid of him, but I am starving. Let’s eat."
    "Not here," Honey protested, looking over her. shoulder. "Those men might come back."
    "All right," Trixie agreed. "It would be better to ride down to the path where we found the bicycle tracks and have a picnic lunch near there. We might find some more clues to where Jim is."

An Eavesdropper • 6

    As THE GIRLS RODE a little way up the Pine Hollow trail again, the dogs came dashing out of the woods. They were both dripping wet and sprayed the girls with water.
    "They’ve been swimming, the lucky dogs." Trixie laughed. "There must be a brook near here. Let’s try to find it so we can wash up before lunch."
    "But we can’t take the horses through that thick underbrush," Honey objected. "They might get badly scratched or stumble and go lame. I wouldn’t worry so much if Prince and Peanuts belonged to us, but we’d better not take any chances with horses that belong to someone else."
    "You’re right." Trixie sighed. "But I’m just dying to explore in there. Suppose those blue jeans we saw belonged to Jim."
    "I’m sure they didn’t." Honey handed Trixie a sandwich and unscrewed the top of the Thermos. "Even if he didn’t hear us call, he would have recognized Reddy and known we were near. He wouldn’t run away from us, Trixie."
    "I’m not so sure of that," Trixie said. "Maybe something’s happened so he feels he has to hide from everyone. We haven’t seen a newspaper since we left home. Suppose a reporter discovered Jim didn’t die in the fire, after all? There would be another front-page story about the missing heir, and Jonesy would start looking for Jim again."
    "Oh, golly," Honey groaned. "I can’t bear to think of anything so awful happening. If Jonesy should find Jim before we do, he’ll beat him and tie him up, the way he did the time Jim ran away before."
    "Jim will never let that happen," Trixie said. "And that’s what worries me. We shouldn’t waste any more time. Let’s ride to Wilson Ranch this afternoon and see if he got a job there."
    Honey glanced up at the sky. "We would never be able to make it before it rains. It’s going to pour any minute. We ought to start for home right