Trixie perched on a big rock while Jim, Mart and Honey sprawled out on the grass around her.  Honey sat closest to Trixie and I was able to spend most of my time watching Honey, while pretending to be listening to Trixie.

It’s not that I wasn’t interested in what Trixie was saying; finding a diamond in these parts was a pretty big thing especially coming from a family like ours.  It’s just I wasn’t quite able to concentrate on what she was saying.  However, I had no problems paying attention to Honey.

“Oh, Trixie,” Honey gasped.  “Then Nailor did try to sneak into my room last night?”

“Nailor or Dick,” Trixie said.  “I frankly suspect Dick.  Bobby told him which windows were yours.”

“Are you sure you heard someone last night?” Jim asked.  “Sure you weren’t dreaming?”

Now if Mart or I had asked her that question we would have had our heads bitten off, but Trixie just nodded and smiled at Jim.

“I’m positive,” Trixie said.  “When a door handle is turned it makes a special sort of grating sound.  And when I dashed into the hall I saw enough to be sure that someone had just disappeared around the corner where the back stairs are.”

“What did you see?” Mart asked.  “What do you mean by enough?”

“I don’t know exactly how to explain it,” Trixie admitted.  “But there was something there, and half a second later, it wasn’t.  It might have been part of a man’s jacket or bathrobe.  But it was something, all right.”

“Too bad you and Jim didn’t check to see if the back door was unlatched when you were in the kitchen last night,” I said.  “Now it’s too late, I guess.  Too many people have already gone in and out of the house by now.”

“That’s right,” Jim said.  “It would be hard to find out who opened the back door this morning, and even if we did, they probably wouldn’t remember whether the latch was locked or not.” He turned to Trixie.  “I’ll go along with you, although I don’t suspect either Dick or Nailor.  Let’s try to catch the prowler ourselves.”

“Oh, wonderful,” Trixie cried.  “He should walk into our trap tonight.  If only I’d stayed awake last night we’d know now who he is.”

“The first step,” Jim said, “is for Honey to switch rooms with me.  You can be sure I won’t yell if anyone sneaks in.  I’ll keep a flashlight handy and catch him redhanded.”

“But suppose he has a gun?” Honey protested.  “Oh, Jim!”

I hid a smile.  After spending most of my time around Trixie, it was strange to be around a girl who thought like one.

“I’m not worried about that,” Jim said.  “If he had a gun, he would have used it last night.  What excuse can we give Miss Trask for wanting to swap rooms?”

“I know,” Trixie cried.  “One of Honey’s windows faced east and the sun wakes her up at the crack of dawn.  That’s why she wants to swap.”

“Pretty flimsy, pretty flimsy,” I said, “but if Miss Trask is the good sport you all say she is, you’ll probably get by with it.”

Honey nodded with a shy smile.  “She’s like Regan.  Neither of them asks a lot of bothersome questions.”

“They’re both too busy minding their own business,” Jim added.

But Trixie was not to be side-tracked by small talk, she only had one thing on her mind.

“Dick,” she put in thoughtfully, “is supposed to be busy, too, but he spends a lot of time making friends with Bobby and the dogs.  That’s suspicious if you ask me.”

Jim was almost inclined to agree, but frowned.  “I’d agree with you if I hadn’t seen the letter of recommendation from Mr Whitney, who is one of Dad’s best friends.”

“And he’s so very good looking,” Honey said and I looked up at her, with a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach.  “Dick, I mean.  People who steal diamonds and lurk around in thickets eavesdropping don’t look like that.”

I raised my eyebrows in response and Honey blushed and looked away.

“How do you know they don’t?” Trixie sniffed.  “Besides Dick isn’t nice-looking.  He’s mean.  His lips are too thin and his eyes are too close together.”

“You girls are wacky,” Mart laughed.  “Didn’t you ever hear the old saying about not judging a book by its cover?  Whether he’s handsome or looks like Dracula has nothing to do with the case.”

“Trixie’s right about one thing,” Jim mused.  “I guess I should say Bobby is right.  Dick is afraid of horses.  When I came back from a ride on Jupe yesterday afternoon, Miss Trask called me in to answer the phone.  I asked Dick to hold Jupe while I answered it and he flatly refused.  He said, ‘You couldn’t pay me to go near that rearing, prancing brute.’”

“He might have said that just because he doesn’t do favours for anyone except Bobby,” Trixie said.  “Honestly, I was furious when he stood there grinning yesterday while I picked up the broken glass.”

“That was horrid of him,” Honey cried, impulsively.  “When Daddy hears about it, Dick will be fired.”

“Don’t be a tattletale on account of me,” Trixie shrugged.  “Anyway, I don’t think he’ll be there when your father comes back.”

“Why not?” I demanded.

“Because,” Trixie said with a smug smile,  “I’m sure he’s our prowler.  Jim will catch him tonight.”

I shook my head with a smile.

“A woman convinced against her will is of the same opinion still,” I recited.  “Just because Bobby said he showed Dick Honey’s windows, it doesn’t mean a thing.  Bobby’s reports are generally garbled to death.”

“That’s not the only thing that makes me suspicious,” Trixie said.  “Come on, let’s take a swim in the lake.”

She started up the path and we followed her quickly, all seeking relief from the morning sun and the recent debate.           

Mart, Jim and I pulled off our shirts and dived into the cool water.  Honey and Trixie were both wearing shorts and halter tops and didn’t bother to change before joining us, although Honey did stop to pull on a swimming cap before diving in.

Jim and I swam to the raft and pulled ourselves up onto it, enjoying the sun on our bodies.  We shared a companionable silence as I watched Honey approach us, skilfully gliding through the water.

“Is there room for me?” She asked and I offered her a hand, pulling her up onto the raft between Jim and myself.

My heart beat a little faster as I looked at her tanned body, glistening in the sun.  Her chest rose and fell steadily from the effort of her swim and I tried to tear my eyes away from it.

“So how are you both enjoying Sleepyside?” I asked in an effort to divert my attention from Honey.

“I love it here,” Honey cried.  “Everything’s been perfectly perfect since I met Trixie.  Without her I never would have found Jim and I wouldn’t have him for a brother.”

“Trixie has a way of getting herself involved in everything,” I acknowledged with a smile.

“I’m glad she did,” Jim admitted.  “If she hadn’t, who knows where I might be now.  I could even be dead.”

“Oh, Jim don’t say that,” Honey shuddered.  “You’re my brother now and Daddy would never let anything bad happen to you.”

Jim smiled reassuringly at her and I felt a twinge of jealousy as he patted her hand.

“You’re pretty lucky living here in Sleepyside,” Jim told me.  “I think we’re going to be in the same year at school.  Dad talked to the Principal last week and it’s all been worked out.”

“That’s great,” I cried.  “It’s hard living so far out of the village as most of my school mates live in town.  It’s great having both of you living so close.”

“It’s a lot nicer out here,” Jim reflected, looking around at the lake and the nearby woods.  “I inherited Ten Acres from my great uncle James and one day I hope to build an all year-round school for homeless kids and orphans so they can study lessons and learn a trade at the same time.  I want to teach them how to shoot, box, swim, ride and skate.  They’ll be able to do everything they’ve dreamed of.”

“This is the place for it,” I replied, impressed by his ambition.  “Mart, Trixie and I grew up around here and learned to do all of those things.”

I looked over at Mart and Trixie lying on the deck, talking amicably.  Although, they squabbled a lot, they had a lot in common and Mart had certainly missed her while we were away.

“Trixie told me she and Mart looked alike,” Honey commented.  “But I had no idea.”

“If Mart let his hair grow they’d be almost identical,” I grinned.

“Except Trixie’s a lot better looking,” Jim responded and I raised my eyebrows in surprise as Honey giggled.

Jim reddened.  “I might go for another swim.”

Finally, I thought.  I get to be alone with Honey.

“Brian!  Come back and meet Miss Trask.  We’re invited for breakfast,” Trixie called.

I groaned inwardly and smiled at Honey.

“We’ve actually already eaten, but I bet Mart’s ready for seconds.”

“I’ll race you back,” Honey challenged me and we both scampered off the raft into the water.

She was a surprisingly good swimmer and I had to work really hard to push myself ahead of her and beat her to the shore.  I quickly jumped out of the water and grabbed her a towel.

“You’re good,” she smiled and accepted the towel gratefully.  “Thanks.”

“You almost had me,” I admitted.  “How did you learn to swim like that?”

“Years of boarding school and summer camps,” Honey confessed.  “Thankfully, that’s all behind me now.”

Two maids were setting up breakfast on the table outside the boathouse and Mart hovered next to him, waiting to dive in.  In a few moments, we were all gathered around the rustic table on the sunny porch.

“This is the life,” Mart said, buttering his fifth pancake.  “At camp we were so busy seeing that our small fry didn’t drown in the maple syrup, we didn’t have time to eat ourselves.”

“You look starved,” Trixie said with a sniff.  “You’ve both grown inches and gained tons.”

“You haven’t done so badly yourself,” I said with a laugh and turned to Jim.  “Say, I think the boys’ outdoor school you were telling me about is a great idea.  Can I sign up now for the job of a resident doctor?”

Jim nodded, grinning.  “How about you, Mart?  You like small fry.  Will you be the kindergarten teacher at my school for underprivileged boys?”

“Thank you, no,” Mart said with an elaborate bow.  “One summer with that age group was enough for me.  Next year I’m going to work on a farm.  I plan to go to agricultural college when I get out of high school, you know.”

“Swell,” Jim said.  “Part of the curriculum at my school will be farming.  You can be in charge of that department.”

“That, I accept,” Mart said.  “What about the girls?  Trixie loves housework,” he said sarcastically.  “She’ll be a big help.  What she misses with a dust cloth would clog a vacuum hose.”

“Is that so?” Trixie demanded, rising to Mart’s bait.  “I’ll have you know that Honey and I did all the cooking on our trailer trip, and kept the Swan tidy, too.”

“Well, sort of tidy,” Honey said with a giggle.  “Anyway, we’re going to be detectives, Trixie and I.”

Mart and I howled with laughter.

“That does it,” I managed to cry.  “No matter what we do next summer, Mart, we’ll have to take Trixie with us.  Without us around, she goes completely off her rocker.”

Trixie tossed her head, her short blond curls bouncing. 

“You and Jim,” she told us, “ are just too, too funny.  Wait and see.  We’ll find out who dropped the diamond in the cottage before you do.”

“How do you know it was dropped?” I asked.

“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” Trixie gasped.  “You don’t think somebody deliberately buried it in the floor, do you?” I got over the silly idea of looking for buried treasure in the cottage ages ago.”

Honey quickly came to Trixie’s defense and told us about the heelprints and tire-tread marks they had found.  “Trixie is really very smart about clues,” she finished seriously.

Honey almost had me convinced  “Let’s all go and have a look at those clues,” I suggested.  “But we’d better first change into shirts and dungarees on account of poison ivy.”

“Once I go home, I’m stuck for hours,” Trixie said mournfully.  “There are about a thousand chores waiting for me.  But Honey will show you what we found.”  She gathered up some of the dishes and led the way up the path.

After we returned the trays to the kitchen, Mart, Trixie and I cut across the driveway on the way back to Crabapple Farm.  Jim and Honey stayed in the house to arrange with Miss Trask about swapping rooms for a while.

As we passed the garage, Trixie stopped and stared at a man lounging in the entrance.  One of his eyes was black and blue and rapidly closing.  His lips were puffy and sore-looking.

“What on earth happened to you?” Trixie demanded impulsively.  “Did you fall out of bed or something, Dick?”

“No, I didn’t,” he answered sourly.  “I was just trying to be helpful.  Had a little extra time this morning so I thought I’d give Regan a hand with the horses.”

“How could you give him a hand?” Trixie demanded.  “He left last night for his day off and won’t be back until this evening.”

“That’s just what I mean,” Dick snapped at her.  “He’s not here to groom the horses, so I thought I’d do them for him.  The big black gelding kicked me.  He ought to be shot.”

Trixie couldn’t suppress a laugh.  “You should have better sense than to fool around with horses when you don’t like them.  Besides, Jupe didn’t need grooming.  Jim rode him yesterday and he never puts a horse away without brushing it and cleaning its hoofs and everything.”

I caught the look on Dick’s face and knew it was time to put a stop to this.  I nudged Trixie.

“You might introduce us, Sis.”

“Oh,” Trixie cried, embarrassed.  “Dick, these are my brothers, Brian and Mart.”

“Hi,” the new chauffeur replied coolly.  “Hope you have better manners than your fresh sister.”

I gritted my teeth and steered Trixie and Mart forward.  Once we were out of earshot, Mart exploded.

“Say, that guy has a nerve, calling you fresh, Trix.  I’ve a good mind to take a poke at him.”

“Trixie was fresh,” I replied easily.  “But I’d just as soon blacken the guys other eye for him.”

“That’s it,” Trixie cried excitedly.  “Dick was in a fight.  Jupe never kicked him.  If he had, Dick would have had a broken nose and no front teeth.”

Mart nodded.  “You’ve got something there, Trix.  But who did the job on his face, do you suppose?”

“I can’t imagine,” Trixie said.  “Regan has a red-hot temper, and I don’t think he likes Dick much, but he left for his day off right after supper last night.  Maybe the new gardener and Dick got into a fight.”

“The one who looks like a little monkey?” I asked incredulous.  “If he blackened Dick’s eye he must look more like a gorilla.”

Trixie giggled.  “You’re right; Nailor couldn’t possibly have beaten Dick up.  He’s so shrivelled Honey thinks of him as a giant peanut.  Nailor’s even older than Gallagher and he was positively ancient.”

I smiled.  At least Honey wasn’t about to develop a crush on the gardener.  I wondered just how good-looking she would find Dick now that he had a black eye and swollen lip.

We reached the chicken coop down in the hollow and Trixie darted inside to see if there were any eggs.  “Not a one,” she said.  “The hens are molting.  And thank goodness, as of now, the chickens are your chore, Mart.”

“Okay,” Mart replied cheerfully.  “I like our feathered friends a lot better than I do the pre-schoolers.  Gleeps, Trix!  I must have made five million bread and butter and peanut butter sandwiches this summer.”

“I just thought of something,” I interrupted thoughtfully.  “It’s an old joke that when a boy comes home with a black eye he always tells his father, ‘You ought to see the other fellow.’  Maybe we ought to look around for the gardener’s body.”

“Nailor,” Trixie said, “is very much alive.  I saw him mowing the lawn down by the cottage a little while ago.”

“There’s another old joke,” Mart added.  “When a guy appears with a shiner he’s supposed to say he got it bumping into a door in the dark.  How do you like that one, Trix?”

“I see what you mean,” she said, narrowing her eyes.  “Maybe Dick left the house in such a hurry last night that the swinging door to the kitchen gave him that black eye.”  She shuddered.  “It was pitch dark in there.  Even if he didn’t bang into the door he might have stumbled over a chair and bruised his face against the sink.”

“Wouldn’t you have heard such a commotion?” I asked, sceptical.  “You or Jim or Miss Trask?”

“I doubt it,” Trixie replied.  “We were all talking at once right after I dashed into the hall.  And then the grandfather clock began to strike.  It dongs and whirs and wheezes like anything, especially when it has the chore of telling the world it’s midnight.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” I warned her cautiously.  “I don’t like that Dick guy any more than you do, Trixie, even though his lips aren’t too thin at the moment, and I can’t tell with that shiner what his eyes normally are like.  But who knows?  He might have driven into town last night and got into a brawl at the dogwagon.  That would explain why he lied and said that Jupiter kicked him”

“That’s right,” Mart agreed.  “When the head of the house is away, even the most highly recommended chauffeur might take a little liberty here and there.  Is there any law up at the Manor House, Trixie, that says the chauffeur has to stay in when Regan is off?”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Trixie replied.  “Miss Trask might get around to that eventually, but they never had a chauffeur until yesterday when they hired Dick.”

“And you found the diamond on Wednesday?” I shook my head.  “It does seem like pretty much a coincidence that both men applied for jobs so soon after that.”

“I’ll tell you what,” Trixie interrupted.  “While I’m helping Moms, why don’t you try to find out what kind of shoes Nailor and Dick wear?  If their heals match the prints Honey and I found inside the cottage and by the road, we’ll know that it wasn’t a coincidence.”

“Okay,” Mart agreed, giving her a fond pat on the arm as he held the kitchen door open for her.  “Get to your dusting, slave-girl.  We vacationing men will take over the sleuthing!”

Mart and I quickly changed and headed back up the hill to the Manor House.

“Soooo…” Mart began.  “What do you think?”

“About what?” I asked casually.

“About the gorgeous Honey Wheeler!” Mart cried.  “She’s everything in one package.  She’s got the looks, the money, the personality and can she swim.”

“I noticed,” I replied wryly.

“Does any girl push your buttons?” Mart demanded.  “I thought she’d be your type.”

“And what type is that?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“Oh, you know,” Mart cried.  “Pretty, but serious.  Charming, but sincere.”

“She’s all of those things I guess,” I admitted with a smile.  “But she’s only thirteen.”

“So I guess that means she’s all mine!” Mart cried with glee.

“Don’t get carried away,” I told him quickly.  “I don’t think you’re her type.”

“And why not?” Mart demanded.

“You’re too much of a clown,” I laughed.  “Honey would prefer the more serious, quiet type.”

“Like you, I suppose,” Mart laughed.  “Just admit it Brian, you like her.”

“Hush,” I muttered as Honey approached us, flashlights in hand.

“Hi,” she called.  “Jim’s still upstairs, moving stuff from room to room.  He told me to take you two down to the cottage and tell us what we find.”

“Brian, why don’t you go up and give Jim a hand,” Mart suggested slyly.

“I’m sure Jim will manage just fine,” I told him with a glare.  “I want to see this for myself.”

“Brian’s right,” Honey smiled.  “You both should take a look.  Besides, Jim’s got Bobby helping him.”

“Hindering him you mean,” Mart retorted.  “I bet he’s into everything.”

“He manages to be everywhere at once,” Honey admitted with a giggle.  “But he’s awfully cute.”

Mart grinned.  “Bobby can also be an awful pain in the…”

“Ahem,” I coughed.  “We’re almost there.  Are these footprints only inside the cottage Honey, or are they on the path outside as well?”

“They were inside and outside,” Honey answered.  “The footprints lead down the path to the road.”

“Well, it looks like someone’s been here since then,” Mart announced.  “There are no distinct footprints left.”

“That can’t be,” Honey cried.  She switched on her flashlight and followed the path into the cottage.  “They’re all messed up.  Who could have done this?”

“Trixie said your gardener was down here mowing the lawn this morning,” I told her.  “Maybe he got curious and went inside.”

“Well, someone’s definitely been here,” Mart sighed.  “And it’s ruined all our clues.  Let’s follow the path down to the road and see if we can find the others.”

We headed down the path towards the road, but the footprints did not get clearer.  They were all crisscrossed with other footprints and totally unrecognisable, and tire treads were also a mess.

“This is useless,” I announced.  “We’re wasting our time here.  Our only hope now is that we catch him out tonight.”

Honey looked fearfully at me.

“Do you think this plan is going to work?”

“It has to,” Mart told her.  “Otherwise, we have to turn the diamond over to the police and admit defeat.”

“We can’t do that,” Honey protested.  “This is our case.”

“Then let’s head back to the house and help you and Jim switch your rooms around,” I told her.

Honey flashed me a quick smile and we headed back to Manor House.  Mart shot me a knowing look, which I promptly ignored as I walked along side Honey on the narrow path, leaving Mart to trail behind.

Mart and I arrived back at the house as Trixie was setting the table for lunch. My face remained expressionless, but Mart gave Trixie a sly wink before turning to Moms.

“Bobby,” he said to Moms, as he scrubbed his hands at the kitchen sink, “is getting to be quite a horseman. Jim gave him a ride on Lady a while ago, and the kid's really good.”

“Where is he now?” Mrs. Belden asked. “Didn't he come back from the Wheelers' with you?”

“Don't worry about him,” I replied easily. “When last seen he was helping, or rather, hindering, Jim and Honey who are swapping rooms.  I'll run up and see if he's still under their feet.”

Any excuse to see Honey again, but I wasn’t telling them that.  Unfortunately, I didn’t make it too far before I found Bobby.

“Where were you?” I chided him.  “You were supposed to home ages ago for lunch.”

“I was with my friend Dick,” Bobby offered in his defense.  “He likes me.”

“That’s great Bobby,” I told him tousling his hair and wondered just why Dick was paying so much attention to Bobby.  I was beginning to convince myself that Trixie’s hunch was right.

Bobby ran ahead and I followed.  He burst into the kitchen yelling excitedly.

“Dick and me has another see-crud.”

“Dick and I have,” his mother corrected him patiently. “Come here, Bobby, and let me wash your hands. You're really naughty, you know. You should have come home when Brian and Mart did.”

“Couldn't,” Bobby said loftily. “They wented home too soon. I was busy.”

“Oh, yeah?” Mart gently pulled one of Bobby's yellow curls.  “Busy as a bear in the wintertime I suppose.”

“Was so busy,” Bobby said, raising his voice.  “I was helping Dick.  We had to clean the cars.  He’s going away this afternoon.”

“Where to?” Trixie asked suspiciously.  “He isn’t due for a day off yet.  He just started to work yesterday.”

“He’s got the day off,” Bobby informed her as he climbed into his chair at the dining-room table.  “He axed Miss Trask and she said he could.  But he’s gotta come back tonight.”

“How do you like that?” Mart asked me.  “If Dick gets half a day off every other day, he’ll soon be owing Mr Wheeler money.  Chauffeurs, I gather from Jim, get paid in advance, unlike junior counselors.”

Moms laughed and handed Mart a plate heaped high with macaroni and cheese.  “From the way you talk, Mart, one would think you’d been worked to death this summer,” she said.  “I happen to know better.”

“Can’t a man get any sympathy from his own mother?” Mart chuckled.

“Not in this case,” Mrs Belden said firmly.

“If anyone deserves sympathy, it’s me,” Trixie interjected.  “I mean, I.  Work, work, work, that’s all I’ve done the whole livelong summer?”

I howled with laughter.  “How about that trailer trip, honey chile?  And when did you find time to learn to ride and improve your crawl stroke?”

We all laughed and got down to eating lunch.  As soon as we were finished, Mart and I offered to do the dishes.

“Am I hearing things right?” Trixie asked in surprise.

“We’re more efficient than you,” Mart told Trixie, “so we’ll get through sooner.”  He added to her in a whisper, “Scram, Honey is dying to tell you the latest dope.”

Mart and I grinned as Trixie smiled gratefully and tore out the door.

“I think we’ve got a real super sleuth on our hands,” I remarked to Mart.

“God help us,” he groaned.