The Mystery of the Emeralds

something fresh, and be right back, Trixie.”
    By the time Trixie had set the table, showered, and changed her clothes, Mr. Belden was home from the bank, and Bobby, who’d had to amuse himself all day, was teasing for someone to read him a story.
    “You pick out the story you want, and I’ll read it to you,” Honey, who had just come in, told him. “That is, if we have time before dinner,” she added, looking toward Mrs. Belden.
    “You’ll have about ten minutes while the rice cooks,” she answered.
    “I wanna read about Jack ’n’ the beanstalk,” Bobby announced, climbing into Honey’s lap with his book.
    At dinner Trixie tried to hide her impatience. She could scarcely wait to get at the diaries, but she exerted all her self-control and chatted amiably through the meal about the trip to the dam and their picnic lunch. Honey started to help with the dishes after dinner, but Mrs. Belden said, “Thank you, dear, for offering, but I’ll give you and Trixie a vacation tonight. I have a feeling you two have something important to discuss, so run along.”
    Trixie gave her mother a warm hug, and then she and Honey went upstairs to Trixie’s bedroom.
    “Hurry, Trixie; untie the tape, and pray we’ll find something that will give us some leads,” Honey cried as the two curled up on the window seat.
    There were twelve of the little books, all bound alike in soft brown leather. The pages were edged in gold, and each was divided into spaces for three days’ entries.
    “Here, Honey, you take the first one. Let’s see—it’s for the year 1859,” Trixie said as she glanced inside.
    The girls read in silence for a long time, then suddenly Honey burst out, “Trix, listen! I’m up to June, and here he begins to talk about his wedding and how he’s packing up to move to The Homestead. ‘Only five more days before Helen becomes Mrs. John Sunderland. Worked all day getting things in order for the move. The farm will need a lot of work on it after lying idle for two years.’ ”
    “Oh, Honey, the pieces are beginning to fall into place. Now, if only we can find out something about Ruth. I haven’t read anything important in 1860 yet. It’s all about what crops he put in and how many chickens were hatched—all about the farm. I’m not going to skip any, though, because maybe something will turn up. We’ll just have to keep on reading and hoping.” Trixie again buried her nose in the book.
    It was she who next broke the silence. “Gleeps, Honey! Here it is! ‘Leaving tomorrow for Cliveden to visit Ruth and her husband at Rosewood. Hay all cut, and a slack time ahead for a few weeks,’ and it’s dated July fifteenth. We re getting someplace!”
    “Cliveden! Do you suppose that’s in Virginia?” Honey asked. “Miss Julie said Ruth had married and gone to Virginia. Where’s your old geography book? We’ll look it up.”
    Trixie rummaged around in her closet until she found the book. Then, with Honey looking over her shoulder, she searched until she found Cliveden on the map.
    “There it is—that little bitty dot right there, where the James River begins to get wider. Whoopee!” Trixie cried. “We’ve found it!”
    “Wait a minute, Trix,” Honey said soberly. “I don’t want to pour cold water on your discovery. It’s great, but have you happened to think of where we go from here? Virginia is a long, long way from Sleepyside, you know.”
    “Oh, I hadn’t thought of that,” Trixie answered, her spirits quickly deflating. “Virginia! Rosewood Hall might just as well be in Outer Mongolia. Oh, Honey, what are we going to do?”

Di’s Great Idea • 5

    NEITHER OF THE GIRLS had much to say as they undressed for bed. They were such close friends that they sensed each other’s moods, and Honey knew that Trixie felt terribly frustrated right now. She also knew that, given a little time, she would probably come up with some solution. She always had in the past. Things had a way of working out for her. Honey slipped into her dainty blue nightgown and matching robe and went off to brush her teeth. When she returned, Trixie, still with one shoe on, was sitting on the edge of the bed, her chin cupped in her hands.
    “Honey,” she said slowly, “I’ll simply die if I can’t explore this thing further. I just know that necklace is still hidden somewhere around Rosewood, and I’ve got to find it. Now, listen. Do you think the Bob-Whites would let us use the money in the treasury to go