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Trixie. My uncle is a liar."
    "Not necessarily." Honey gently touched Di’s bare arm. "I know a little something about Arizona, too, Trixie. Summer before last Daddy and Mother and I toured the whole state in our trailer. A lot of the cities that used to be ghost towns are boomtowns now on account of the tourists and guest ranches. Tucson is famous for its climate. Almost too many people spend the winters out there. Di’s uncle could have played an important part in the real estate boom, which started not so awfully long ago. I mean, as a young man he could have bought a lot of land when it was cheap, thinking there were mines on it or something, and then, when prices skyrocketed during the years when people got the idea of building dude ranches, he could have sold it at an enormous profit."
    "I guess that’s what he was talking about," Diana said in a mollified tone of voice. "I didn’t listen very carefully after the first hour. You know, it gets kind of stupefying when one person does all the talking."
    Trixie laughed. "I can see why you’re worried about your. party now, Di. You’re afraid your uncle will mon—mon—"
    "—monopolize," Jim supplied.
    "Monopolize the conversation," Trixie finished. "But he probably has a lot of interesting stories to tell," Honey objected. "We met an old prospector in Tombstone, which used to be a ghost town, after it was first a boomtown, and the stories he told for hours on end were simply fascinating. I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Di."
    "I’d like to meet him myself," Jim added cheerfully. "He can probably give me some pointers. A ranch in Arizona near some mountains, but with plenty of desert land for long horseback rides, might be just the place for my boys’ school."
    "You’re going to meet him any minute," Di said forlornly. "He telephoned me here yesterday afternoon. I begged him not to, but he said he was going to drive out this morning and inspect the horses." Again she covered her face with her hands. "Oh, I wish he’d go back to Arizona and stay there. If Uncle Monty says you paid too much for Starlight and Susie, Regan will get mad, and —it’s all going to be so embarrassing."
    "I don’t get it," Jim said wonderingly. "Why should your uncle criticize our horses?"
    "That’s the kind of person he is," Di moaned. "He knows everything there is to know about everything. To hear him talk you’d think he was the only broncobuster that ever lived. He pretends to be very nice, but underneath he’s really mean. When I talked to him on the phone yesterday, I told him he mustn’t speak to Regan. I told him how important Regan is. But Uncle Monty will make him mad, all right. Just wait and see."
    No one said anything for several minutes. The idea of anyone criticizing Regan was almost too awful to think about. He might quit and then, because there never could be another Regan, Mr. Wheeler would certainly sell all the horses.
    "He is mean," Di continued. "My uncle, not Regan. He keeps doing things in that sly way of his to make me miserable. Take those silly evening dresses Mother packed in my suitcase. Uncle Monty made her buy them for me just because he knew what I really wanted was some jeans. He’ll think, of some way to ruin my Halloween party, too. I just know he will."
    "He sounds like an awfully mean person." Trixie agreed. "And your mother is so sweet. It must be hard for you to believe that he is her brother." Diana jumped up, her violet eyes blazing. "I see what you’re driving at now, Trixie Belden! You’re insinuating that my uncle is an impostor." Trixie flushed guiltily, because, of course, she had been thinking just that. "I’m sorry, Di," she mumbled. "I was just wondering, that’s all. You did say that your uncle left home when your mother was just a baby. And then he suddenly turned up on Monday night. I couldn’t help sort of suspecting that maybe he isn’t your real uncle. But, of course, he must have had baby pictures of her