The Red Trailer Mystery

plane you were telling Jeff about as soon as you can. I happen to know the state troopers are on their way over here right now."
    Al chuckled and took another step up the ladder. "I always said you were smart," he told her. "Jeff kept saying you were nothing but a dumb little girl, but I knew better. You found our first hideaway, didn’t you? But you’re not smart enough to trick me into passing up a nice chunk of ransom money. If the state troopers knew about this hideaway, they would have been here long ago."
    Trixie swung her legs nonchalantly. "Don’t be too sure of that. That redheaded boy who let the air out of your tire is one of our best friends, and he’s not dumb, either. State troopers are like you and Jeff in one respect. They think kids are always playing cops and robbers." She leaned forward slightly. "Unless they have absolute proof that it’s not a game. I should think," she finished airily, "that Jim has had just about enough time to lead them to your van and the stolen trailer. They must be on their way here now."
    Fear flickered in Al’s close-set eyes, but he moved up another rung. "Jim," he muttered sarcastically. "You made up that name. You never heard of that redheaded boy until an hour ago."
    "Is that so?" Trixie fluffed up her short, sandy hair. "In case you happened to glance at his christening mug, I can tell you the exact words inscribed upon it." She placed her hands upon her hips and swayed back and forth chanting, "James Winthrop Frayne the second. Right?"
    She was so right that Al almost fell off the ladder, and Trixie chose that exact moment to help him on his way down. Raising both feet, she kicked Al in the chest with all her might. Caught off guard, he lurched backward, clutched madly at the top rung of the rickety ladder, and still clutching the broken rung, toppled down to the floor below.
    He lay there, stunned, for a second while Trixie wondered what she should do next to keep him from kidnapping Honey. Then he scrambled to his feet and shook the piece of splintered wood up at her.
    "You’re all part of a teen-age gang," he howled hysterically. "You and your friend and that redheaded kid and your so-called governess. Bet you stole that silver trailer and the red one, too. Cutting in on my racket!"
    Trixie felt too hysterical herself at this accusation to reply, and at that moment Honey came to the rescue. Trixie stared at her in amazement as Honey yelled down, "That’s right. We stole the Swan and the Robin, too. This is our territory, see? Scram out of it, big boy, or you’ll get hurt."
    Laughter at the sight of gentle, slender-faced Honey playing a hard-boiled part bubbled up in Trixie’s throat, but she managed to hold it back. And now Al was slowly coming to his senses, realizing how ridiculous his accusation had been.
    "Come on down, you two," he commanded gruffly. "I don’t want to get rough, but I’ll count to ten. If you’re not out of that loft by then, I’ll come and drag you down."
    Trixie dug her fingernails into the palms of her hands. If only Jim could somehow have notified the troopers without risk to himself! She knew he had done the best he could, and, as Honey had said, there was only a small chance that they might have found the stolen trailer and the van by now.
    "—six, seven, eight—"
    Trixie stood up hopelessly and helped Honey to her feet. "We’ve got to give in." She sighed. "He’ll only hurt us if we don’t."
    "You bet I will," Al growled.
    And then another man’s voice cut in: "Put your hands up over your head and keep ’em that way!" Trixie had just started climbing backward down the ladder, and the sudden command startled her so that she almost lost her balance. She twisted around in amazement, and there in the entrance of the old barn stood two state troopers, guns leveled in their right hands.
    "Reach for the ceiling, brother," one of them repeated as Al, still facing the ladder, stood frozen to the spot. Slowly Al’s hands went up. "See if he’s got a gun, Dave," the trooper said, "while I find out if the other one’s still breathing."
    He strode over to Jeff and took the gag out of his mouth while Dave patted Al’s pockets. Jeff groaned as Trixie and Honey clambered swiftly down the ladder. The troopers paid no attention to them, and Trixie couldn’t think of a word to say. She felt as though she had been watching a moving picture and had suddenly become a very real part of it.
    Dave produced a pair of handcuffs and