The secret of the Mansion

yesterday. I’m surprised you didn’t have a nightmare yourself, Trixie."
    "The whole thing was a nightmare to me," Trixie said, "and I was so upset I couldn’t sleep long enough to have a bad dream."
    "You didn’t seem upset at all," Honey cried admiringly. "You were perfectly wonderful. I don’t know how you did all the right things without losing your head."
    They cut across the lawn to the path that led to the Wheeler estate, and Honey said, "Oh, I meant to tell you the first thing. Jim isn’t mad at you anymore. He said he was sorry he lost his temper yesterday, and when I told him about my dream, he said you were right. He shouldn’t have frightened me with stories about mad animals, because the chances of my being attacked by one are about one in a million." She flushed. "I told him I was scared of everything, anyway, so he hadn’t really made things any worse."
    "Well, I shouldn’t have accused him of lying," Trixie said quickly. "And I’m glad he’s not mad. I like Jim and I feel awfully sorry for him. If you ask me, I think he’s jumped out of the frying pan into the fire by running away. I can’t believe his stepfather could be any meaner to him than old man Frayne would be."
    "I don’t know about that," Honey said as she walked along the narrow path behind Trixie. "Jim’s terribly afraid of Jonesy. What worries me is that his stepfather may be looking for him right now, and why wouldn’t the Mansion be the most obvious place?"
    "That’s right," Trixie agreed. "It’d be horrible if Jonesy should sneak up there at night and catch Jim in his sleep. But what worries me is that even if his uncle does get well, he may not be any nicer to Jim than Jonesy was. Oh, ginger," she interrupted herself, "that reminds me. I forgot to ask Dad last night how Mr. Frayne was getting along at the hospital."
    "I figured you’d forget in all the excitement," Honey said, "so I called the hospital the first chance I got this morning, saying I was a neighbor. The nurse who answered the phone wouldn’t say anything except that the patient’s condition was unchanged. I guess that means he’s still unconscious, doesn’t it?"
    "I guess so," Trixie said. "I hope he doesn’t die without telling somebody where he hid his money."
    "I wish I was as sure as you are," Honey said doubtfully, "that there is some money. It must be terrible to be poor and not have a father or mother or anybody to care about you."
    Regan was exercising Jupiter when they arrived at the stable and had Lady and Strawberry saddled and bridled, waiting for them. "Up you go," he told Trixie cheerfully. "Unless I don’t know a natural-born rider when I see one, you’ll learn how to post a trot this very morning."
    Regan’s prediction turned out to be true. Although Trixie was jostled about a lot the first few minutes and almost lost her stirrups again, she found to her delight at the end of the lesson that she could grip with her knees and rise up to meet Lady’s gait almost as rhythmically as Honey. She was trotting around the field with Regan beside her on Jupiter when he was called into the house to answer the phone. Regan dismounted and handed Honey Jupiter’s reins. "You two just walk the horses till I get back," he said.
    "Boy," Trixie cried when Regan had gone, "I’m dying to ride Jupiter, Honey. Couldn’t I just walk him around the field once while you lead Lady, instead?"
    "I wouldn’t," Honey said cautiously. "He’s got an awfully strong mouth, Trixie, and Regan’s only got a snaffle bit on him today. If he started to run, you’d never be able to stop him. Even Dad won’t ride him outside of the corral without a curb bit."
    "Pooh." Trixie slipped out of her saddle. "He’s as gentle as a lamb, and I won’t let him out of a walk. I just want to know how it feels to be on the back of such a beautiful creature as Jupiter."
    "Well, I guess you’ll be all right." Honey reluctantly transferred the reins. "But I’d feel safer if they’d finished fencing in this field."
    While Trixie was mounting, Jupiter stood perfectly still, but the minute she was in the saddle he tossed his head, and, as she was bending forward slightly, he hit her hard in the face. Blinded with tears of pain, Trixie gathered up the reins too quickly, and Jupiter stepped right out into a fast trot. Trixie jerked at the leather, trying to pull him down to a walk, and Jupiter broke into a canter. Too late, Trixie realized that she had about as much hope of