The secret of the Mansion

thanks," Trixie said hastily. "We’re not ready to go home yet."
    "Just as you say." He picked up the reins, and Belle obediently stumbled forward. "But this trail is like a maze. It goes round and round, crossing and recrossing itself. You could be lost for hours if you’re not familiar with the landmarks." He waved to them with his crop. "We may meet up again."
    "I hope we don’t," Trixie said under her breath as he disappeared through the trees. She whistled, and Jim came riding back across the brook.
    "It was Mr. Lytell," Trixie said. "We’ve got to be careful. He knows everybody for miles around, and he doesn’t miss a thing that goes on. He’s a regular old gossip."
    "What direction did he take?" Jim asked.
    "The same way we came."
    "Then we’d better take this fork," Jim said. "I’m taking no chances. Sooner or later, Jonesy’ll come snooping around here, and it would be too bad if Mr. Lytell was able to describe me." He nudged Jupiter into a canter. "That’s the trouble with having red hair. Nobody ever misses it."
    They rode along single file for about twenty minutes and stopped when they came to another fork in the bridle trail. "I don’t know which way to go now," Jim said. "Any ideas, Trixie?"
    Trixie shook her head. "As far as I’m concerned, we’ve been lost for hours. I’ve never been this far into these woods."
    "If we could see the river," Jim said thoughtfully, "I’d know what to do. But we’re so far down in the valley I doubt if I could see it even if I climbed a tree." He squinted up at the sky. "Well, the sun’s beginning to set, so that way’s west. We want to go north, so let’s take this fork and see what happens." An hour passed, and Trixie began to realize that she was not as experienced a rider as the others. Her back ached, and her legs felt numb and stiff. "Golly," she groaned, "I’m so tired I could fall out of the saddle and go right to sleep on the ground. How near are we to home, Jim? Do you have any idea?"
    Jim frowned. "This is a regular labyrinth! The trail goes round and round in circles. We haven’t been getting anywhere since we took that right-hand fork."
    "Well, here’s the brook," cried Honey, who was in the lead. "Maybe if we follow it, we’ll get back to where we had lunch." She turned around in the saddle. "This looks sort of famil—"
    At that moment, Strawberry placed his foot in a hole and stumbled. Before Honey could turn back and gather up the reins, the horse went down on his knees, so violently that Honey pitched over his head. Strawberry quickly scrambled to his feet and, finding himself riderless, set off at a run with Jim, on Jupiter, after him. Trixie slid off Lady’s back and hurried to help Honey to her feet.
    "I’m all right," Honey said. "It was dumb of me to let the reins get so slack. If I hadn’t been careless, I could have pulled Strawberry up before he stumbled so badly."
    "I’m glad to know that even good riders fall off, sometimes," Trixie said, grinning.
    Honey rubbed her ankle. "Trixie, I hope Jim catches Strawberry. We’re probably just miles from home."
    It seemed like hours that they waited, and the sun got so low in the sky that it was twilight under the heavy branches of the huge evergreens. "I’m too tired to move," Trixie said at last, "but I think we’d better start back. Jim’s probably lost us by now." They started off, leading Lady between them, and then Trixie noticed that Honey was limping. "Honey," she cried. "You’ve hurt yourself. Let me see your leg."
    Honey rolled up her blue jeans, and Trixie saw that her ankle was swelling above her shoe. "It’s nothing serious," Honey said. "Just a wrench. I can manage."
    "It must hurt like the dickens," Trixie said. "You get up on Lady. You shouldn’t walk on it until it’s strapped. Dad can do it for you when we get home."
    "If we ever get home." Honey giggled. "I feel like an awful dope sitting up here with you walking. It was my horse that ran away, not yours."
    "They’re both your horses," Trixie reminded her, with a laugh. "Anyway, I feel so stiff and sore I don’t think I could climb into a saddle."
    "Well, here comes somebody," Honey said, listening to hoofbeats just ahead of them. "I wouldn’t even mind if it were Mr. Lytell at this point. I’d hate to spend the night in these woods."
    And then they saw that it was Jim on Jupiter, leading Strawberry. "I had to circle around to head him off," he explained. "That’s what took so long. As it was, I