“Oh, that’s perfectly perfect!” Honey exclaimed. “I would have felt terrible if Mr. Lytell had lost any of his money. I would have felt as though it was all my fault, since I urged him to help Laura.”
“I did, too,” Trixie added.
“There’s no reason for you two to feel that way,” the sergeant said. “Remember what Mr. Anderson just told you. Those con artists had already chosen Mr. Lytell as their mark. They would have gotten the money out of him one way or another, with you or without you.”
Mr. Lytell’s whiskers bobbed up and down indignantly. “It certainly didn’t help any to have those two youngsters cooing over that dishonest woman, telling me how pathetic she was and how I just had to help her,” he said.
Trixie and Honey looked shamefaced, but Sergeant Molinson winked at them before he turned a stern gaze on Mr. Lytell. “Are you trying to tell me you would have refused to help a lady in distress?” he asked.
It was Mr. Lytell’s turn to look shamefaced. “Well,” he said slowly, “perhaps I would have done something. But I have to admit that when she mentioned a possible reward, I was more generous than I might have been otherwise. You see,” he explained apologetically, “what I have saved for a rainy day doesn’t seem like very much these days.” He threw a quick glance at Honey and Jim and looked away again just as quickly, his face reddening slightly as he added, “A man’s plans change sometimes, too.”
“We’re sure you had your reasons,” Honey said tactfully. “I can’t speak for those at Crabapple Farm, of course,” she added with a twinkle in her eyes, “but I’m sure that everyone at Manor House appreciates your efforts to help Laura, even if she did turn out to be a con artist.”
Trixie, recognizing her best friend’s allusion to Miss Trask, added mischievously, “Maybe Mr. Anderson’s client will give you a reward, Mr. Lytell. Would that help your change of plans?”
The storekeeper turned apoplectic. “My plans are none of your business, you meddling youngster, you! You just stay out of my affairs!”
“It’s a good thing she did meddle in your affairs, Mr. Lytell,” Sergeant Molinson reminded the storekeeper. “This time, anyway,” he added.
“Yes, indeed,” Burt Anderson put in. “I don’t believe my client is offering a reward, but if he is, it really ought to go to these ‘meddling youngsters.’ In fact, it seems to me that you are the one who should be rewarding them.”
“Reward!” Mr. Lytell bleated. “What do you think I am, some kind of millionaire? Why, I can’t afford—” He broke off suddenly as he glanced from Trixie to Honey to Jim. “I suppose a small reward would be fair,” he said. “But I want it taken into account that these young people helped get me into this mess before they helped get me out of it.”
Sergeant Molinson looked as if he were set to give Mr. Lytell another scolding, but Honey interrupted. “We wouldn’t think of asking for any reward, Mr. Lytell. We were glad to help.”
“Honey’s right,” Jim told the storekeeper. “We don’t want a thing.”
“I do,” Trixie said firmly.
Honey and Jim turned to her in surprise. Of all the Bob-Whites, Trixie was usually the most generous and the least willing to accept any sort of payment for her services.
Trixie returned their look with a defiant one, chin up. “There’s something I want Mr. Lytell to spend part of his money on when he gets it back. It won’t cost him anything, in the long run.” She turned to the storekeeper, struggling to keep a straight face. “What I want,” she said, “is for you to buy a whole case of strawberry pop.”
Table of Contents
A Find! ● 1
Mr. Lytell Calls ● 2
Laura’s Story ● 3
Mysterious Mart ● 4
A Real Detective ● 5
A Spy! ● 6
Trixie Trespasses ● 7
The Green Car Returns ● 8
Trixie Answers Questions ● 9
McGraw Asks for Help ● 10
Jumping to Conclusions ● 11
The Getaway ● 12
Trixie’s Reward ● 13
The Mystery of the Millionaire Page 13