The Mystery of the Uninvited Ghost Read Online Free Page A

somebody in a wheelchair.”
    From the doorway Bobby said, “That’s wrong. I said I saw a wheelchair, and I said I saw somebody, but I didn’t say I saw somebody in the wheelchair.”
    “Bobby!” Trixie shouted. “You know better than to enter a room without knocking!”
    As reasonable as Trixie herself, Bobby argued, “I’m not in, and I couldn’t knock on the door. It’s open.”
    “So it is, Bobby,” Honey agreed.
    Growing more and more frustrated, Trixie said, “Well, if you didn’t see anybody in the chair, maybe you didn’t see it at all!”
    “Wrong,” Bobby declared. “I saw it, but Brian drove in front, so I couldn’t see it anymore.”
    Trixie shook her short sandy curls. “He keeps saying that. 'Brian drove in front.’ ”
    “Well, he did!” Bobby marched from the room. From downstairs came moans and groans of sheer agony. Always hungry, Mart shouted, “When are we to partake of the well-earned succulence?” From porch and backyard came the answer, “Right now!” Down on the porch, Trixie found that Brian had already introduced Hallie, who now sat on the steps between Jim and Bobby. Mart sprawled nearby, taking up space enough for two. “Hey!” he exclaimed. “There’s space going to waste. Somebody’s missing. I demand a roll call.”
    Honey teased, “As if you don’t know who’s absent, Mart Belden. Di’s dad took the family out to dinner. He’s going to drop Di off at our house on the way home so that she can spend the night. She wants to help with the wedding plans.”
    Mart pretended to pull spectacles to the end of his nose. “Thank you, Miss Wheeler. One must keep the record straight. One should know where one’s compatriots are at all times. Consider—”
    “I’d consider it more important to keep track of my enemies,” Jim put in.
    “In case their records aren’t so straight?” Trixie asked.
    Trixie saw that Hallie was watching and listening. Like the new child on a playground, Hallie wanted in on the activity, but she wasn’t sure what game was being played. Well, Trixie thought, I’m not sure I want her in the game!
    At that moment Trixie heard Juliana tell Mrs. Belden, “Just think. Soon I’ll be Mrs. Hans Vorwald.” Juliana wasn’t playing a game. Her marriage would last “till death do us part.”
    Mrs. Belden patted Juliana’s hand. “We’ll miss you, dear.”
    “Until the wedding, you’ll see me so often you’ll be sick of the sight of me,” Juliana said gaily.
    Mart sagged in every muscle. “I agree, Juliana. For the want of a vision of beauty, I languish. Now, there are many kinds of beauty. For example, the smile on a youth’s face when he contemplates a juicy berry pie—that’s beauty beyond compare!”
    “Okay, okay, I get it!” Trixie said. “You want to feed your face.”
    “Why didn’t he just say so?” Hallie asked.
    Amid the laughter, Trixie got up and went to the kitchen to cut Mrs. Beldens cobbler.
    After the group was served, Trixie found that Jim had reserved space for her. She forgot the day’s tensions as she and Jim enjoyed their pie together. Only when she heard Hallie chuckle was Trixie reminded that some changes had been made at the farm.
    Honey stood and reached for Peter Beldens plate. “Everybody help clean up, then come home with us. We have wedding plans to talk about.”
    “I’ll bring you Belden kids home,” Jim promised. “Okay, Moms?” Mart asked.
    The Bob-Whites made a collective dash for the kitchen while Mrs. Belden called out, “Who waited to see if I said no?”
    “Oh, Moms!” Trixie retorted over her shoulder. “You never do.”
    Hallie remained on the porch when the Bob-Whites, Hans, and Juliana crowded into the station wagon. “Get a move on, Hallie,” Mart called.
    Hallie made a helpless motion at her bare legs and feet. “Unless I put on my suit, I have nothing to wear. I can’t go visiting dressed like this.”
    “You look fine to me,” Jim told her.
    Ordinarily, Trixie