The Secret of the Unseen Treasure

made up our minds for us.”
    Jim sighed. “Mart’s right. But we should take a vote to make it official. Remember: This could be dangerous. And if our folks find out about it, we could be in big trouble. All in favor of Trixie’s plan raise your hand.”
    Trixie’s hand went up, then Mart’s and Brians. Honey looked at Jim, and when he raised his hand, she raised hers. Di swallowed and raised her hand, too.
    “It’s unanimous,” Jim said. “Now, let’s agree on something else. We’ll need the B.W.G. station wagon to get to Mrs. Elliot’s. Once we’re there, we’ll stick close to the wagon. If we see something happening, we won’t try to stop it ourselves—we’ll head for the police, fast. Okay?”
    The others nodded.
    “Any questions?” Jim asked.
    Mart raised his hand. “I have a question. Why couldn’t my sister be interested in something safe and sensible... like hockey or professional wrestling?”

Night Watch ● 8

    THE MOON PEEKED between tree branches, covering the damp ground with a patchwork of cold light. Trixie hunched her shoulders and pushed her hands deep into the pockets of her jacket. Di, standing beside her, shivered.
    “Cold?” Trixie asked.
    “Scared,” Di admitted. “I’ve been rearranging all of my goose bumps.”
    “If you need any more,” said Honey, “I’ve got plenty to spare.”
    Jim jingled the keys to the station wagon. “There’s no need for all of us to go over there,” he said. “Brian, Mart, and I could go.”
    “Oh, sure,” Trixie protested. “This was my idea, and now you want to leave me out of it.”
    “You wouldn’t be out of it,” Brian said. “We’d leave one of these with you.” He patted a leather case attached to his belt. It contained a walkie-talkie, one of a set given to Mart the previous Christmas. “One of us will keep you informed of what’s going on, if anything.” Trixie shook her head. “You’re not leaving me behind. We need both walkie-talkies at Mrs. Elliot’s. One of us has to stay in the car in case we need to get away fast. Whoever that is will need a walkie-talkie to be alerted. The other walkie-talkie has to be where we’re keeping watch.”
    “And another thing,” Honey pointed out. “Leaving us behind would be a form of sex discrimination.”
    “Gee,” said Mart, “I should have thought of that before I held the door open for you at Manton’s Flower Shop.”
    “Maybe we ought to equalize the situation,” Jim said. “We’ll stay here and let them go.” He tossed the keys to Trixie.
    “But I can’t drive,” Trixie said.
    “That puts it on us,” Brian said to Jim. “I’d call that age discrimination, wouldn’t you?”
    “There’s only one way to settle this,” Honey said with a nervous giggle. “We’ll all go.”
    “I knew it all along,” Jim admitted. He retrieved the keys from Trixie. “Let’s get started, or it’ll be daylight by the time we get to Mrs. Elliot’s.”
    It was decided that Jim would stay in the station wagon when they arrived. The others would spread out in different directions, keeping as close to the wagon as possible.
    “There is one essential facet of this operation that has been overlooked,” Mart commented. “Such as?” Trixie prompted.
    “Just where is the bed of carnations whose slumber we’re supposed to sentinel?”
    “That’s right,” Jim said. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
    “Uh-oh!” Trixie pursed her lips. “I know where the sweet peas are, and the delphiniums, and clematis, and roses—”
    “The carnations?” Mart urged.
    Brian looked at Trixie. “Are we going to have to go searching around in the dark?”
    “Tiptoeing through the tulips?” Mart added. “Tulips are not in season,” Trixie snapped.
    “I know where the carnations are,” Honey said. “I remember seeing them on the afternoon the new pump was put in.”
    “Tell us as exactly as you can,” Jim said. “You don’t want to make noise blundering around, and it would be better if no one has to use a flashlight.”
    Honey described having seen the carnations beyond the shed, to one side of the cornfield. “They’re in a big open area where the com won’t shade them,” she said.
    Trixie nodded. “Now I remember. I saw them there on the day of the arson attempt. The carnations just didn’t register with me. I had other things on my mind.”
    “As usual,” Mart said.
    Brian spoke up. “That location solves a problem. We won’t have to go past the house