The Secret of the Unseen Treasure

to his own stepmother?” she asked.
    Dan shrugged. “It doesn’t make any sense, does it?” He stood up and brushed off his knees. Trixie stood, too.
    “There’s something I’d better tell you,” Dan said slowly. “It’s been bothering me for a long time now.”
    Trixie nodded. “I knew something was wrong, Dan.”
    Dan grinned slightly. “Was it that obvious? I’m sorry. It’s just that I didn’t want you and Honey getting involved in something that could be really dangerous.”
    Trixie raised her eyebrows, curious.
    “I was in town on the day of the arson attempt,” Dan went on. “And I ran into somebody I knew. Somebody from the city.”
    “You mean, someone from the—the gang?” Trixie asked.
    Dan nodded. “Sort of. An older guy named A1 Finlay. Lots of the gang members used to hang around with him. He’s a real rat.” Dan’s hand clenched as he spoke. “It’s a good thing Regan got me out of that gang before I was in too deep.”
    “We’re all glad for that, Dan,” Trixie said. “You must have thought this man Finlay had something to do with the arson attempt. That’s why you kept asking us if anyone got a close look at the man in the garden.”
    Dan nodded. “Among other things, A1 Finlay is a firebug. He said he was just passing through when I bumped into him in town. But when you told me about the arson attempt, I couldn’t help thinking he was involved. Arson is just one of his ways of forcing people to do something they don’t want to do.” Dan nodded toward the pump. “Sabotage is another way.”
    “But why Mrs. Elliot?” Trixie asked. “What has she got that he would be interested in?”
    “The only thing Al Finlay’s interested in is money,” Dan said.
    Trixie was confused. “If that’s so, and he stole the Social Security checks, then why did he throw them away?”
    Dan shrugged.
    “What about hidden money?” Trixie asked. “Maybe Mr. Elliot did hide some money here, and Finlay is trying to find it.”
    “Why bum down a building where the money might be hidden?” Dan countered.
    Trixie had no answer for that.
    , Gravel crunched in the drive as the Elliots’ pickup pulled in. Max Elliot got out of the cab and walked around to the back to open the tailgate.
    “Do you think Max has something to do with it?” Trixie asked Dan quietly.
    Dan squinted. “Bad things didn’t start happening around here until Max came back from the city,” he said. “I’ll help him unload the new pump. Don’t say anything about this.”
    Trixie pointed to the suction pipe. "What about the hole? If the new pump is hooked up, it’ll be ruined, too.”
    “Not for several hours,” said Dan. “Max will want to make sure that it’s drawing water. Let’s let him discover the sabotage. Maybe we’ll learn something.”
    Mart and Honey were approaching from the garden. Mrs. Elliot and Bobby came out onto the porch, carrying trays of lemonade and cookies.
    Max frowned and asked, “What is this, a party? What are we celebrating?”
    “We came to take some pictures,” Trixie explained. “Pictures of your flowers to enter in a contest in the White Plains newspaper.”
    “I’m just their driver,” Dan said good-naturedly. “I figured as long as I was here, I could help you install the new pump.”
    Max eyed the four Bob-Whites for a moment and then shrugged. “Okay. So help, already.”
    While Max and Dan unloaded the pump, the others helped set out refreshments on the picnic table behind the cottage.
    Bobby snatched a cookie and said, “I’ll help ’stall the new pump, too.”
    “You keep out of the way,” Trixie advised, but Bobby was already running toward the well.
    Max and Dan were carrying the pump between them on a length of board. Bobby dashed between them, ducking under it.
    “Hey! Watch it!” Dan shouted.
    Bobby tripped on the horizontal suction pipe and sprawled on the soft ground beyond the well. Max and Dan set the pump down and hurried to see if Bobby was hurt. Trixie and Honey rushed up behind.
    “Im not hurt,” Bobby assured them, wiping dirt from his face. “But my cookie is broken!”
    “Your cookie is dirty, too,” Trixie said, brushing him off and giving him a hug. “And so are you. We’ll get you another cookie and get you cleaned up a bit. You did manage to stay clean for quite a while.”
    “I hope he didn’t damage that pipe,” Dan said, noting that the suction pipe had been moved slightly by the impact of Bobby’s foot.
    “No,