Read The secret of the Mansion for Free Online

he said soberly. "I’m almost sure I saw foam dripping from its muzzle."
    Just then a child screamed from the depths of the woods. The helpless scream came again, and Trixie heard her name called in a high-pitched, terrified voice.
    She felt her knees buckle under her. "It’s Bobby," she gasped. "Bobby, alone in the woods with a mad dog!"
     

The Brass Key • 4
     
    SOMEHOW TRIXIE’S trembling legs carried her through the thicket. She raced along the bridle path, tripping and stumbling and shouting, "Bobby, Bobby!" at the top of her lungs. And then she saw him, and as relief flooded over her, rage took its place, for Bobby was sitting calmly under a tree, grinning from ear to ear.
    Bobby Belden!" she gasped. "What do you mean by screaming like that when nothing’s wrong?"
    He tossed his silky curls. "I couldn’t find you, and I want to splore, too. So I screamed. I knew you’d come if I screamed."
    Trixie put out her arms to shake him, but then, because she really was so glad he was safe, she pulled him to her instead and hugged him tightly. "You’re a bad boy, Bobby," she scolded. "Did you run away from Miss Trask?"
    Bobby laid his cheek against hers, all innocence. "No, I got hungry, so I told her I had to go home for lunch. I did go home, too, but Mummy said it wasn’t quite ready; so I came up here, ’cause I saw the horses. But then when I got here, I couldn’t see them anymore." His blue eyes began to cloud, and Trixie realized with a tug at her heartstrings that the little boy really had been frightened. "I guess I got sort of losted," he admitted, "and I was so tired, after climbing up the hill, I just sat down and screamed." He grinned suddenly. "Hey, who was that running behind you, and why did he sneak away when he saw me?"
    Then Trixie knew that Jim must have followed her, but, seeing that Bobby was safe, he had slipped away. Bobby, she decided, must never guess Jim’s secret, because Bobby could never keep any secret at all. "It must have been Honey," she said quickly. "She went to get the horses, I guess."
    At that moment, Honey appeared, riding Strawberry and leading Lady. "You don’t have to come back to the stable with me, Trixie," she said. "Ji—’"
    Trixie held up a warning finger. Honey flushed. "I hear that if a dog is mad, it always runs across country in a straight line," she finished. "So we don’t have to worry about its coming back."
    "Well, that’s good." Trixie took Bobby by the hand. "You’ve got to go home for your lunch now," she told him firmly. "See you later, Honey."
    For once Bobby was too tired and hungry to argue. Obediently, he let Trixie take him home and trotted right upstairs to wash his face and hands.
    "I’ve been invited to a picnic lunch by Honey Wheeler," Trixie told her mother. "May I go if I come back afterward and take care of Bobby when he wakes up from his nap?"
    "All right," Mrs. Belden agreed. "I’m glad you’ve found a new friend. Bobby said you went riding through the woods. Your shirt looks as though you’d had a spill. Did you?"
    Trixie nodded, grinning. "It’s not as easy as I thought it would be, Moms, but Regan—that’s the man who takes care of the Wheelers’ horses—said he’d give me lessons. He also said he was sure I’d learn fast."
    "I’m sure you will, too." Mrs. Belden smiled. "But try not to break any bones in the process."
    Trixie raced up the hill through the wooded path that led up from the vegetable garden to the Wheeler estate. She met Honey coming around the lake from the opposite direction. She was carrying a large napkin-covered basket.
    "I’ve got a whole roasted chicken and a quart of milk," she called out, "and a dozen buttered rolls, besides a lemon meringue pie." She giggled. "I told
    Miss Trask you had an enormous appetite."
    "I have." Trixie took one handle of the basket and peeked under the snowy white napkin. "Boy, Jim’ll be glad to see all this, won’t he?"
    As the girls entered the woods, Honey moved