The Secret of the Unseen Treasure

and chance alarming Mrs. Elliot.”
    “Brian’s right,” Jim said. “We don’t have to use Mrs. Elliot’s drive. We’ll go up the lane on the other side of the cornfield, where the gray car was.”
    “If someone does come,” Honey warned, “he might use that same road.”
    “We’ll spot him that much sooner if he does,” Jim said. “I’ll have the wagon hidden off to the side.”
    Trixie leaned forward. “Brian, you and Di take the far side of the clearing, opposite the cornfield. There are some bushes there to hide in. Mart,” she continued, turning to him, “you take the front of the clearing. Honey and I will cut through the com to the near side.”
    “If you get hungry,” Mart said, “you can munch on an ear of com.”
    Di spoke up, trying to sound braver than she felt. “Just be sure it isn’t popcorn. Too noisy.” Jim turned the B.W.G. station wagon off Glen Road and onto the rough lane that led around behind Mrs. Elliot’s property.
    “Drive slowly,” Brian cautioned. “We don’t want to make too much noise.”
    “Can you see without the headlights on?” Trixie asked.
    Jim switched the headlights off. “I can see well enough,” he said. “We’re almost there.” A moment later, he pulled off the lane. “Here we are,” he said in a hushed tone. He turned the engine off.
    The young people sat for a moment in the stillness surrounding the station wagon. Trixie still had her hands thrust deep into the pockets of her jacket. She was glad she’d worn it— though it didn’t seem to be keeping her very warm at the moment. She pulled a hand free and reached for the door handle. “I guess we’d better... get into position,” she whispered.
    “Keep it quiet,” Jim advised. “Don’t slam the doors. I’ll turn the wagon around so that we can pull out fast if we have to.”
    In the pale moonlight, their faces looked ghostly white. “See you later,” Trixie said. She kept herself from adding, “I hope.”
    “Good luck,” said Jim. “You’d better not use the flashlights if you can avoid it.”
    “Sure,” Mart said, “just use your scotopic vision.”
    Trixie and Honey crossed the lane. The tall com reared up in the darkness like a solid wall. Trixie reached out and spread two stalks so she could step between them.
    “Hope we don’t get lost in here,” Honey murmured behind her.
    “We’ll have to sort of feel the furrows with our feet,” Trixie said softly. “We’ll keep going across them. Don’t follow me too closely—maybe you can keep me going in a straight line.”
    Trixie parted another pair of stalks. They rustled dryly, sounding awfully loud in the darkness. A rough com leaf rasped across her cheek.
    A sudden shrill squeak and a flutter of motion made Trixie cringe back. A small bird scolded indignantly and flew off.
    Both girls stood for a moment, breathing hard.
    “At least,” Honey gasped, “it wasn’t a snake.”
    Trixie tensed. There would be snakes in here
    —com snakes, garter snakes, maybe even poisonous copperheads or rattlers. She gritted her teeth and gingerly put a foot forward in the darkness. Now she wished she’d worn boots instead of sneakers.
    The girls moved on slowly across the dark cornfield. After a few minutes, Honey called out softly, “Trixie!”
    Trixie turned but couldn’t see Honey. “Where are you? What is it?”
    “Come straight back. I’m stuck.”
    Trixie backtracked a few paces until Honey’s ghostly face appeared.
    “My hair’s caught,” Honey said. “I can’t get it free.” She spoke apologetically. “I should have put it up.”
    “We should have done a lot of things differently, Trixie agreed. Honey’s hair was caught on a tall weed of some kind. Trixie couldn’t unsnag it without breaking the plant, which made more noise than she would have liked.
    We must be about in the center of the cornfield now,” Trixie whispered. “I hope we’ve been going straight.”
    Trixie parted two stalks but paused before stepping between them. In moving around to untangle Honey’s hair, she had lost her sense of direction. Now she didn’t know which way to go.
    “Do you know which way we should go?” she asked Honey.
    “That way.” Honey pointed. “I think. I got turned around trying to free my hair....”
    Trixie sighed. “We’ll have to use the flashlight to get our bearings. Shield it with your hand.”
    The light shining through Honey’s palm made the hand look reddish and bony.
    “Point it at