*all ages

This is dedicated to Leslie, whom I blame for pulling me back into Trixieland. Thanks Aurie and Anna.

"You’re right," said Dan Mangan, the last member of the group. "I’ll be joining Brian and Jim at college this fall, leaving just the four of you to look after each other." Dan had dark hair and eyes, and was rough around the edges. He had been in a New York City street gang before moving to Sleepyside-On-The-Hudson, New York and meeting the Bob-Whites.

Dan walked over to a station wagon with the lettering "Bob-Whites of the Glen" on the door. Behind the station wagon was a large trailer, ‘The Silver Swan.’ The others followed him into the car and they took off towards Grand Island, Nebraska.

Trixie’s brother Mart was too close in age to her for them to really get along, but they secretly admired each other. They looked alike, too, except that Mart was taller and kept his curls at bay with a crew cut. Brian was the oldest and resembled their handsome father. He had black, wavy hair and brown eyes.

Tom and Celia Delanoy worked for the Wheelers, as chauffeur and maid, and lived in ‘The Robin’ year-round. The Delanoys were the chaperons of this trailer trip, but went ahead to camp and fish at Lake McConaughey while the Bob-Whites spent some time with their friend.

The Bob-Whites had met Ned Schulz when they were staying at Trixie’s favorite uncle’s sheep farm, Happy Valley, near Des Moines, Iowa. Ned later visited them in N.Y.C. He was spending this summer with his aunt and uncle.

"There’s the turnoff for Hall County Park," Jim said to Dan. Redheaded Jim was in the front seat with his well-muscled arm around Trixie. They soon had the trailer parked in a space with the water and electricity attached. The boys set to work erecting two tents, while the girls straightened up the trailer and changed into fresh clothes.

As they were all vying for the mirror, the girls talked excitedly. "I can’t wait to see Ned! It’s been, what? Almost two years since we saw him in New York? We’ve all changed so much since then!" said Trixie.

"You’ve changed a lot, Trixie," Honey said with admiration. You’re taller and thinner. You’ve lost the baby fat from your cheeks and your freckles aren’t nearly as prominent."

Trixie was a bit embarrassed. "I imagine that Ned has changed, too."

"He was always very good looking," said Di, "Remember how all the girls at his high school were always fawning over him?"

"That’s not how I remember it, Di. They were all hanging on Jim," said Trixie.

"I was just thinking that they were all over Brian!" Honey laughed.

"And all the local boys had surrounded you two," Trixie added, giggling.

"Except for Ned," Di put in, "He made sure he had Trixie to himself!"

There was a knock at the door, followed by Brian’s voice calling, "Alright, I hear giggling in there. That means it’s time for you to get out and let us get cleaned up." It wasn’t long before they were on their way again in the now unencumbered Bob-White station wagon.

Right next to the Hall County Park was the museum, but they had to drive all the way around to reach the entrance. They stopped at the gatehouse to pick up membership passes and get directions. They drove around a large, white building, surrounded by a moat.

Brian turned the car onto a gravel road near a large sign that said, "1890s Railroadtown." The road curved around a cluster of old log buildings and the station wagon slowed to a crawl as they passed.

"Look at the cute little garden!" Honey pointed out. A fence made up of different sized sticks surrounded it. They drove past an alfalfa field and then the little town itself. Several tents were around a yellow farmhouse. Past the barn was a parking lot full of cars. After finding an open spot, the Bob-Whites left the car and approached a white house marked "Private Residence."

Suddenly, the door flew open and three children ran down the steps toward them, followed by a tall, handsome eighteen-year-old with dark, curly hair. He received hugs from the girls and warm "Hellos" and "How ya beens" from the male members of the group.

Ned introduced his cousins to his friends. "This is Tory, she is seven, this is Mickey, she is nine, and that is Aaron. He is eleven. These are the Bob-Whites: Dan, Mart, Trixie, Diana, Brian, Honey and Jim."

"Why are you called the Bob-Whites?" asked Tory.

"Well…" said Trixie, "Three years ago, we wanted to form a club. We call ourselves Bob-Whites of the Glen because we live on Glen Road and we had already been using the Bob-White call as a signal between Jim and Honey and me. So we decided to be Bob-Whites. They’re a kind of bird, like quail," she added.

"You have heard them," Aaron told his sister. "We have had some out here before." Then he asked them, "What do you do in your club?"

"We have fun together," said Trixie.

"And help each other," said Diana.

"And we help other people," added Mart.

"We fixed up a clubhouse," said Honey.

"We work to get money for the club to use," was Jim’s contribution.

"And we organize fund raisers," Brian added.

"And we help Trixie and Honey solve mysteries," Dan said with a grin.

"Really?" asked a wide-eyed Mickey, only impressed with the last activity.

"That’s right!" answered Ned. "And I got to help her find sheep thieves back home and a diamond smuggler in New York."

This convinced the nine-year-old that they were teasing and she said, "Whatever! You’d better come meet my mom and dad."

They walked over to a couple near a crowd of people by an octagon-shaped bandstand and were warmly greeted by Dale and Sonya Beye.

Trixie had noticed how nice Ned looked in a white dress shirt and black pants, with a black vest and cravat. She also noticed that about half of the crowd were dressed up as well. "What is going on?" she asked, looking towards a cluster of musicians on the bandstand. They were tuning their instruments.

"This weekend is our G.A.R. event," said Sonya. "We are staying open tonight for a dance and you can look around the camp."

"What is the G.A.R.?" Trixie asked.

"The letters G.A.R.," answered Mart, "stand for Grand Army of the Republic, which is the veterans organization for Union soldiers of the Civil War."

"The members of the G.A.R. would get together at encampments and kind of relive glory days. Our event is taken from a pamphlet of the 1896 State Encampment," said Ned.

"So all these soldiers are pretending to be Civil War veterans?" Di asked.

"That’s right," Ned replied. "Except for those too young to have been in the war. You would need to be about 45. The younger guys are Sons of Union Veterans."

"It looks like they are almost ready to start," said Brian. "It should be fun to watch."

"Oh, no, you have to dance!" said Sonya.

"It’s really not difficult," Dale said. "See that well dressed man over there? He is calling the dances; you just follow his directions. Everyone can do it, not just those in period dress."

"Half the people dancing will be inexperienced. I’ve never done this before!" said Ned.

"I guess we had better dance," said Jim.

Just then, the dance master shouted, "Take your places for the Grand March!"

Dan shrugged, "I’m the odd-man-out. I can watch from over here."

"You’re not getting out of it that easily!" Ned laughed, turning Dan by the shoulders until he could see a group of about eight young ladies. "Let’s hurry before our choices narrow drastically." He pushed Dan towards the girls dressed in a variety of summer apparel popular 100 years ago. Dan quickened his pace when he noticed a group of young men in uniform headed the same way.

"Ladies," Ned greeted the group, "this is my friend, Dan Mangan from New York. I assure you all that it is safe to dance with him, though I have not danced with him myself and have no personal knowledge of his dancing skills. This is Miss Laura Sweely." Ned gestured to a petite blonde in a light blue, sailor-style dress. Dan held an arm out to her. "May I be your partner for the Grand March, Miss Tonya?" Ned asked a thin lady with ribbons in her light brown hair. They took their places in a long line of couples, along with Trixie and Jim, Honey and Brian, Di and Mart, and Dale and Sonya Beye.

 

CHAPTER 2
THE DANCE

"The Grand March is a chance for the men to show off their wives," Sonya told the others in line. "You are supposed to dance with a different person every dance but the Grand March and the last waltz are reserved for that special someone."

At that, Jim gave Trixie’s arm a squeeze. She smiled up at him, and the line started forward. It was pretty much like follow the leader. When they got to the front of the line, they bowed to the leader and turned in the direction indicated. The line was split in two, with every odd couple going left and every even couple going right, and winding around to meet back up at the original line, ‘the aisle.’ Couple numbers one and two would then join up to be four abreast. The next time around they became eight. Sixteen was difficult and a bit clumsy, but then they were back down to eight, then four and back to two. They split once more, to be single file, and then they all joined hands. They wound around and around, twisting from side to side, grinning, and trying not to trip or step on someone’s hem. They were coiling into a jumbled mass until the leader changed directions, and they started to unwind.

Time slowed down for Trixie, as she dizzily watched the laughing faces of her friends rushing by. It reminded her of them ice skating together, and all the fun they often had. Those days were getting more precious as the boys left high school. Jim’s hand was slipping. Oh, how she had missed Jim this past year at college. Ned had the firmer grip on her hand, and she couldn’t keep up. She just knew that someday Jim would leave her behind. She couldn’t hold tight anymore and found her hand free.

"There’s a break in the line," someone said. But Jim had already released Honey’s hand and gone back for Trixie.

"I’ve got you!" he said, with his large hand around her sweaty one. She could always count on Jim, couldn’t she? They finally caught up with Honey and ended up in a large circle. Everyone applauded.

"Take your places for the Virginia Reel," said the dance leader. They all changed partners and followed the instructions for the next dance. Several people dropped out after a third dance was called, but the young danced on.

When the band took a break, Trixie sat down on a bench to catch her breath. She noticed Jim flanked by two pretty girls. Honey and Di were laughing with a group of young soldiers.

This looks familiar, thought Trixie. Ned sat down next to her. All too familiar, she thought. Then she looked at Ned. "You look as miserable as I feel," she said.

"Aren’t you having fun?" asked Ned.

"I am, for the most part. I just have this feeling…that something bad is going to happen."

"I think your feelings are usually right. I always have."

"So what’s wrong with you?" asked Trixie, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"I guess I’m a little homesick. This was my last summer before college."

Trixie followed Ned’s gaze to the group of girls talking with the male Bob-Whites. "Two girls for every boy," she said with a wry smile.

"You have nothing to worry about there," Ned told her. "Missy is the one with brown, curly hair, and Alexis is the blonde. They both have boyfriends. In fact, that big guy over there, Adam, is Alexis’ boyfriend. Didn’t you dance with him? He doesn’t look very happy, does he?"

Trixie opened her mouth to answer him, but forgot what she was about to say as she saw Jim reach over and tug gently at one of Missy’s curls. She stood up suddenly, altering the balance of the bench like a teeter-totter and sending Ned to the ground.

"I am so sorry," she cried, as she helped him to his feet. Everyone was watching them. Luckily, the man in the fine suit announced the next dance and Ned grabbed Trixie’s hand, pulling her around to the back of a building. Once they were out of sight, they burst into convulsive laughter.

The laughing stopped when Trixie said, "No, really, Ned. I want to know what is bothering you. I get the feeling it has to do with one of those girls out there."

"You and your feelings."

"You just said you believed in my feelings."

"I…I…I’m sorry Trix, I guess I can’t keep a secret from the master detective. I have been seeing a girl who works out here at the museum. I don’t get into Grand Island often enough to see any other kind of girl. But I can’t tell you which one it is. The relationship isn’t exactly out in the open yet."

"Why not?"

"I don’t know why, but she is adamant that I not tell anyone. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to be with anyone who is ashamed to be with me."

"I’m sure that’s not it, Ned. No one could possibly be ashamed of you. Maybe she is seeing someone else," Trixie suggested.

"No. Railroadtown is about as small a small town you can get. Gossip gets around. It’s even printed in the newspaper!"

"Maybe I can help. I could talk to her, or ask around about her family—"

"No, please! I know you want to help but she would find out I told you…I would never see her again…and I don’t think I could bear that."

"Ned, you barely know her. Are you sure that she’s worth it?"

"I know how I feel. What if Jim told you that you would never see him again?"

Trixie thought back to the time when Jim had run away to upstate New York, before the Wheelers adopted him. She remembered the way she felt, reading his letter to her and knowing that she would never see him again. But Trixie and Honey talked their parents into letting them go look for him. That was the first time Trixie had lived in the ‘Silver Swan.’ They stayed in it with Miss Trask, Honey’s former governess. They eventually found him and, because they didn’t want to ever lose him again, convinced Honey’s parents to adopt Jim.

"I would do anything, if it meant never losing Jim again. But I hate seeing you like this, Ned. There must be something I can do!"

"I don’t know of anything you can do, but thanks. Having someone to talk to means a lot. I am really glad you are here!" Ned put his arms around Trixie and they hugged for several seconds.

"A-hem!" came the sound of a clearing throat. Ned and Trixie turned to see Jim before them. His face was red and his green eyes were full of anger.

"Hi, Jim," Trixie said in a quiet voice.

"That wasn’t what you think," said Ned.

"The last waltz is starting now," Jim said. "But maybe you’ll want to dance with someone else." He turned and walked toward the parking lot.

Trixie started to follow him, but turned around and said, "Are you going to be all right, Ned?"

"Sure, go ahead,"

She didn’t follow Jim right away, though. She was distracted by a woman singing slightly off key.

"After the ball is over, after the break of morn
After the dancers’ leaving; after the stars are gone;
Many a heart is aching, if you could read them all;
Many the hopes that have vanished after the ball."

When Trixie reached the station wagon, it was already filled with laughing Bob-Whites. Jim was siting stiffly behind the wheel. Trixie climbed into the way back of the car and silently rode back to camp.

*Author’s note: "After the Ball is Over" was written by Chas. K. Harris in 1895.

 

 

CHAPTER 3
FUN AND BALLGAMES

Trixie woke from a hot, fitful sleep to find the camp still. The sun was up and the birds were chirping but everyone was tired from traveling and dancing last night. Trixie slipped into the shower and tried again to make sense of the previous evening’s events. After coming home from the dance, she had talked to Jim. He had calmed down and become his reasonable self. Trixie was hugging Ned, this he understood. But from his view, Ned was holding Trixie. He couldn’t understand why she was defending Ned. She couldn’t understand why he thought their friend would take advantage of her.

Unsuccessful in understanding, yet clean, she left the shower and readied herself for church. The girls had all brought summer dresses, but nothing fancy. Trixie made breakfast and called to her friends. She did a good job acting cheerful.

They went back to the museum for the church service. Ned was waiting for them by the parking lot. When Trixie saw him standing alone, her concern for her friend returned. He seemed so forlorn, like she felt. She walked up to him and put her arm through his.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

"Better! It’s just that the dance was hard," Ned answered.

"What was the matter?" Honey asked.

"I was feeling homesick, that’s all."

"Oh, well we can’t have that," Honey said, looping her arm around Ned’s other one.

"Wow," Ned said. "I can’t believe my good fortune, escorting such beautiful ladies to church."

They reached the same green they had danced upon the night before. The well-dressed gentleman was now the pastor, standing on the bandstand. Small groups of people were sitting around on wooden folding chairs, with a few soldiers sitting on the ground. Three gentlemen jumped up to offer their seats to the girls.

Hymnals were passed around and a few hymns were sung. Trixie was pretty sure she heard the same voice from after the dance. Prayer requests were taken. Trixie prayed silently, "Lord, please help me to sort out my feelings for Jim. Help relieve me of my confusion and show me what to do! And, Lord, be with Ned. Bless his relationship; if it is Your will, and show him comfort if it is not to be. Bless his mystery girl, and help her to confide in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen."

After the service, and shaking hands with the pastor, the group of young people went to the Beye’s for a picnic. That afternoon, they watched the Vintage Base Ball game at the museum ball field. The boys thoroughly enjoyed noticing the differences between the 1880s game and modern baseball. The girls were entertained by Sonya’s rendition of a female umpire trying to keep everyone in line. ‘Sassy’ Beye would argue with anyone and issue fines for inappropriate behavior. ‘Steady’ Schulz was the star player.

Everyone was hot and sunburned after the game. Sonya suggested that they go enjoy an air-conditioned movie. Trixie was surprised at how much she truly enjoyed the day, and it appeared that Ned enjoyed it as well. Trixie hadn't noticed any of the girls from the dance at the ball game. When they dropped him back at home, he actually looked happy. Maybe it was just the dance, she thought.

Trixie was certain that she would have a better night’s sleep this time. But she had a confusing dream. She was in the Grand March with Jim. He was pulling her along, but she kept trying to turn in the wrong direction, she was slipping on the dewy grass, stepping on feet. His hand was pulling from hers. It was so hard to hold on. Suddenly, he was ahead, far ahead of her. She was half a mile away from the bandstand, with no hope of returning for the end of the dance. She ran towards it for what seemed like an hour. When she finally got close, Trixie found Jim surrounded by girls with curly hair. He looked up and said something she couldn’t hear. But she could read his lips; like see could read his face. He said…

"Wake up, Trixie. I made breakfast this morning." Honey was smiling at her.

"What did Jim say?" Trixie sleepily asked.

"What did Jim say about what?" Di asked her.

"In my dream."

"Think hard, maybe it will come back to you," Honey suggested. "But don’t think in the shower. Mart won’t be happy if the hot water is gone again."

"We’re touring the museum today?" Trixie asked.

"That’s right. So far all we’ve seen is the bandstand and ball diamond. Ned said the museum has over 200 acres! Go, get ready!" ordered Honey.

This time, when the Bob-Whites drove onto the museum grounds, they stopped at the parking around the moat. They walked up the causeway to the building and climbed the steps. As they entered, a cold blast of air hit them.

"Ahh, I want to live here," said Di.

"Think they’ll let us?" Brian asked, grinning.

The group approached a long, white counter that was labeled "Visitor Services." After picking up maps, the Bob-Whites decided to follow the advice of the woman behind the counter and headed back out the front door.

"We’ll come back and enjoy the air conditioning when it gets too hot this afternoon," said Jim. He drove over to the parking lot at Railroadtown.

Railroadtown is the living history part of the museum. It is a recreation of a typical town built by railroad companies as tracks were spread across the country. Old buildings were brought in from around the area and restored to the 1890 period. Several of the buildings, called sites, are staffed with interpreters wearing reproduced 1890-style clothing.

After getting out of the station wagon, the girls made a beeline for the red barn. A tan-colored goat was calling them over, wanting attention.

"What a friendly goat!" Honey said, leaning over the fence to pet it. The goat nuzzled her hand, looking for food.

Diana picked some grass and offered it to the goat. "Look at the little ones!" she cried, as two babies ran over to join their mama. "I have some for you, too!"

"I see you’ve met my grandkids," an approaching woman said. She appeared to be in her low 60s, wearing a loose fitting, light green dress and blue checkered apron. She had a wide brimmed straw hat over her short, gray-blonde hair. "The lighter one is Johnny-jump-up, the one with the dark brown spots is Jack-in-the-pulpit. Their mother’s name is Pansy."

"Bye, Pansy," they called as they started on. They visited ‘Central’ at the telephone exchange and learned about the old switchboard. Brian, who was Pre-Med. in college, enjoyed Dr. Deffenbaugh’s office.

After a few other stops, they entered the aromatic General Mercantile. Miss Susan, the proprietress, tried to sell the boys some Florida water, to help them smell better. They bought red polka dotted ‘welder’s caps’ instead.

Diana bought some white sugar rock candy. "Don’t eat the string," Mart cautioned.

Honey tried a banana straw and stated, "This is my new favorite candy!"

Trixie tried to keep cool by buying a folding fan that looked like the American flag.

They were laughing and talking as they turned the corner by the bank. Jim stopped short and Trixie ran into the back of him. "Sorry," she said, and moved around him to see what everyone was looking at.

 

CHAPTER 4
THEY SAW THE ELEPHANT

Three women surrounded a large object made of chicken wire. One of the ladies was Miss Laura from the dance. She was wearing a lavender dress today, with an embroidered pinafore. Trixie looked to see Ned’s reaction in seeing her, but then remembered that he wasn’t with them today.

One of the women looked up and smiled. "We are working on a float for the Fourth of July parade. It’s going to be a papier-mache elephant."

The third lady was wearing a faded pink dress the same color as her face, and a faded green apron. She said, "It will represent the Glade Mill in the parade. We, the parade committee, would like every business and organization in town to be in our Mammoth Parade." Nodding toward the other lady, she said, "Miss Debbie thought the new business in town, the mill, needed a special entry."

"And Miss Dani came up with the idea of a white elephant," Debbie said.

"The mill sells White Elephant brand flour," said Dani. "I thought this would be big and bright and not too difficult to carry through the gravel. This way, people would be able to say they had ‘seen the elephant.’" After noticing their blank looks, she continued her explanation. "That comes from a story about the circus coming to town, and a poor family. They all wanted to go to the circus because they had never seen an elephant, but it cost a dime to go to the circus. Well, they managed to find ten cents and elected one of the family to go."

"The circus was parading through town to drum up business and a crowd gathered along both sides of the street. This poor man with the dime arrives in time to see the elephant march by. The parade moved past them, headed for it’s big tent. He turned to the man next to him and said, ‘I saw the elephant. Who do I give the dime to?’ That man said he would take it and that was that."

"So when we say that someone ‘saw the elephant’ it means that they left before completing the task, but they had had enough. It’s often used describing the people who headed west but turned around and went home."

Dan had begun helping Laura with the papier-mache while Dani told the story. "This is Dan Mangan," Laura said. "These are friends of Ned Schulz. I don’t know all your names. This is Miss Dani and Miss Debbie." Dan introduced Laura to the others.

"Where are you from?" asked Debbie.

"New York. We are staying over in the park over there. We’ll be here until July 5^th," said Dan.

"Oh goody!" Debbie exclaimed. "Then you can be in the parade!"

"We really need people to march in the parade," Dani explained. "You can each be a townsperson. I already begged my family to come help. We can find clothes for you to wear. You should hear all of our ideas!"

Laura looked at Dan. "It would be wonderful if you could help us," she said with a sweet smile.

"Sure we can help," he answered. "It could be fun. We’d like to help, wouldn’t we?"

"It sounds like something right up our alley," Trixie said.

"Of course, we’ll help," said Jim.

Debbie said, "Then it’s all settled."

Brian asked Dan, "Would you like to work on the elephant or finish touring the town with us?"

"Go ahead, Dan. Henry will be here when you get back."

"Henry?"

"We named the elephant after the Henry Glade Roller Mill."

"There is a public restroom right down the road at the corner of Depot Street and the alley, Dan. You can wash your hands," Dani said, pointing. "We’ll see you later!"

A few minutes later, Dan was locked inside the jail cell, talking to a tall, stocky man with gray hair. "So, what are some of your duties as town marshal? Besides looking handsome and talking to pretty girls?"

"Somebody’s trying to butter me up. He’s not a pretty girl, so he’s either going to have to pay the fine or take it up with the mayor," the marshal said. "Some of the duties of a marshal include controlling the tramp population. That is something important for job tenure, keeping the mayor and town council happy. People are afraid of the unknown. I need to make this town as unpleasant for tramps as possible. Some would be arrested and made to work in the chain gang. That’s another duty of the marshal—to run the chain gang. Have them dig drainage ditches, cut weeds and firewood. Cut the firewood for the jail, city hall, city offices, and also for the school. Another important job is to watch for things that cause fire. That is a big fear because these are wooden towns. If a fire started, you could loose the whole town. Part of that duty is to inspect chimneys. We have the power to shut it down if one is damaged."

"I imagine that it is a very serious offense, sounding a false fire alarm," Honey said with a smile.

"You should be ashamed of yourself, Dan," said Brain, trying not to laugh.

"We don’t know him," Mart said to passers-by.

Trixie pulled her pockets inside out. "Sorry!"

"Maybe you should have stayed with Laura and Henry," said Jim. "You’ve probably ruined her reputation now. She danced with a member of the chain gang."

Di had turned her back to him, her shoulders shaking.

A woman in a striped dress approached them. "Marshal, what is going on here?"

"Mayor, this young man rang the fire bell under false pretenses. The offense calls for a $5 fine, according to the book."

"Were there any witnesses?" she asked.

Every Bob-White raised a hand.

"Is he guilty?"

"Yes."

"But it was my fault." said Diana. "I read the sign and said ‘I wonder what would happen if you ring the bell.’ I dared him to do it. I am sorry."

The Mayor let him go with a warning.

 

CHAPTER 5
THE LIST

The Bob-Whites ate lunch at the little café in Railroadtown, The Silver Dollar. While everyone was eating barbecue pork sandwiches and talking about the morning’s events, Trixie was lost in thought.

"Who is Ned’s mystery girl? There were eight girls at the dance. Ned danced with Tonya and Dan danced with Laura. Ned would probably not dance with the girl, for fear of being exposed, so I can rule out Tonya. Would he want his girl to dance with Dan? Yes. It would be better to have her dance with someone you know will be gone in a week than with someone from the area that could be competition. Laura is definitely on the list."

"I can cross off Alexis and Missy, because they have boyfriends. Ned said that if Mystery Girl had a boyfriend, he would know, and that she doesn’t have one. But only Alexis’ boyfriend was there. What if, when he said Missy had a boyfriend, he was talking about himself? But if Missy were his girlfriend, wouldn't he have been as upset as she was at seeing Jim with Missy? But he was upset. He was in a gloomy mood when he sat on the bench. I saw Jim pull Missy’s curl, but Ned was looking at me. Then I tipped him over. Missy stays on the list. It is down to six."

"Trixie, aren’t you coming?" asked Di.

"I’ll be right there." Trixie threw away her trash and slowly followed the others.

Honey hung back to talk to Trixie. She said in a low tone, "You have found a mystery, haven’t you?"

"Oh, Honey, I wish I could tell you," Trixie whispered, "but I made a promise. It’s not my secret to tell."

"It’s Ned, isn’t it? You don’t need to tell me, I know I’m right. I didn’t really buy that story about being homesick, but I didn’t want to pry. Don’t tell me the mystery, Trixie, but you have to promise that you won’t go investigating without me. We are partners, and you know how Jim and Brian get when you go off alone."

"I promise, Honey. But there is no danger in this mystery. At least not for me," said Trixie, thinking about Ned with a broken heart.

At lunch, they had decided to split up and meet later at the main building. Dan went to help finish the papier-mâché, the girls started through the houses, and the others went to the farm machinery building.

The second house the girls went to had beautiful woodwork, but Trixie didn’t take the time to admire it. Jennifer from the dance was the interpreter for the site. Trixie was trying to think of a way to casually bring up Ned or the dance, when she noticed Jen’s ring.

"Is that an engagement ring? It’s beautiful!" The girls admired her ring while Jen talked about her fiancé. Trixie crossed another name off her list.

Betsy Rouse was in the last house. Trixie was able to find out that Betsy was in college, but she couldn’t think of a tactful way of finding out if she was dating. Trixie needed Honey’s help. But if she asked for it, Honey would surely guess Ned’s secret. Then Trixie remembered something Ned said. Gossip was printed in the newspaper.

"I want to see how Dan is doing with the elephant," she told Honey and Di. "You can go ahead to the main building if you want."

"That’s okay," said Honey. "I’ll go with you."

"I’m hot, but I don’t want to walk all that way by myself." Di stayed with her friends.

They walked back to the bank corner where Dan had been. He was helping Miss Dani move Henry onto the Depot loading dock. Debbie and Laura were washing flour paste off of the benches where Henry had been.

"You are finished?" Di asked.

"For today," Debbie said. "Henry needs to dry for a few days, then Dani will paint him."

The girls walked over to the depot, where they could hear Dani telling their friend about the layout of the town. "The depot is the center of the town, the focus. The railroad often built towns in this pattern. Front Street is parallel with the tracks, so when the track curves, the street curves. Depot Street shoots out from the depot, perpendicular to Front Street and forming a ‘T’ shape. Okay, from here it looks like an upside-down ‘T’. They are called ‘T’ towns. On the left-hand side of Front Street are what we call the ‘light’ businesses, like the bank, mercantile, hotel and restaurant. The right side is for the heavy industry like the tinsmith, blacksmith, livery and planing mill."

"I was curious about your newspaper office, The Platte Valley Independent," Trixie said to Dani, after noticing the name on one of the buildings. "How often does the paper come out?"

"It is published every Friday, Miss Renae is the editor. It is ten cents an issue or $2.50 per year."

"Could I get any of the back issues?"

"We might be able to find you some. I’ll go look," Dani offered. She went into the newspaper office and returned shortly with several papers.

"How much do I owe?" Trixie asked.

"Don’t worry about it. Be sure to read ‘Miss Violet.’ It’s a serial. Everyone in town is talking about her. I imagine Renae would like to mention you in the next issue. ‘Young Mr. Schulz has New York visitors.’ If you are around tomorrow, I am cooking on the wood stove in the cabin. I would love to have you come by to visit and see how the stove works."

"I have a cookstove at home. It is what I learned to cook on. Beldens have lived in my house for generations, and we still have some of the old furnishings," Trixie told her.

"Wow! I am so jealous!" Dani said.

"But we haven’t seen the cabin, yet," said Honey, afraid that Trixie had sounded rude.

"We would love to visit you," Di said.

"I would have been cutting the alfalfa instead of cooking, but I am waiting for my blisters to go away. I forgot to wear gloves when I was scything the other day, and I only made a dent in the alfalfa."

"Sighing?" asked Di.

"Right, it is spelled s-c-y-t-h-e. It is a long, curved blade with a long handle, similar to what the grim reaper carries. Judi has done most of the scything, but it is too much for her. We were thinking of asking Ned to help."

"Is it something we could help you with?" asked Dan.

"You would have to be 18."

"I am 18, and so is Jim. Brian is 19."

"We’d better ask Judi. And you had better ask your friends. Thank you for offering, and for all your help today."

They walked through the arboretum to join the other Bob-Whites waiting in the main building. Along the way, Trixie wondered out loud, "Were is Ned today?"

Dan answered, "I’m not sure. He just said something about an appointment."

"If Ned’s appointment is with the mystery girl," thought Trixie, "I can cross Laura and Betsy off the list, too. That leaves Missy, Lauren, and the other Jenny."

TO BE CONTINUED.

*Author’s Note: I don’t know what kind of stove Mrs. Belden has, I just always pictured a big iron range.

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