The Mystery of the Blinking Eye Read online

  The Reed apartment was huge. From the moment they went in the door, the visitors knew it was a house filled with love and fun. The boys and little Nancy rushed to meet their father and nearly smothered him with bear hugs. Then, almost immediately, they adopted the Iowans as their “best friends,” to fit the classification already given to the Bob-Whites.

  “Colas, anyone?” Betty Reed asked. Without waiting for an answer, she brought in tall glasses with ice clinking. “Do you want to go into the railroad room now?” she asked with a smile.

  “He had the room designed especially for his trains,” Jim said as they followed their host. “Every single, solitary thing in this whole room Dr. Joe built himself —trains, scenery, towns, everything!”

  “Now, now, not the transformers! Betty helped, too, and the kids, with the rest of it.” Dr. Reed stood just inside the door, quite obviously delighted at the amazement on the Iowans’ faces.

  Before them, on a wide terrain raised about three feet from the floor, they saw the most elaborate model railroad system imaginable. There must have been at least three complete trains, passenger and freight. There were refrigerator cars, coal cars, automobile carriers, piggyback flatcars, cars carrying logs, tank cars, even rolling aquarium cars with live goldfish. There were coaches for passengers, dining cars, club cars luxuriously fitted with upholstered chairs, and, finally, saucy red cabooses to tag at the ends of the freight trains.

  Dr. Joe went up into the control room a few feet above the tracks and set his trains in motion. The young people crowded around, cheering the little engines, watching them whiz over trestles high above - water and snake through long tunnels.

  They watched the vigorous diesel-electric engine pull loaded cars to a mining town halfway up a mountain, then roar back to a village on the plain below. They saw an apparatus on the mail car catch tiny mail sacks from extended poles. Over the tracks the tiny trains flew. Freights were switched aside for main-line passenger trains to pass. In a roundhouse, engines turned for repairs.

  “It’s magic!” Barbara cried as Dr. Joe finally threw the switch and the cars slowed and stopped.

  “It’s the greatest!” Bob rubbed the back of his neck-“I think my head turned completely around trying to see everything! I wonder if Tex and the others are ever allowed to go up in the control tower.”

  “Sure! Dad lets us help with everything,” Tex answered.

  “Only when he’s here, though,” one of the twins added.

  “Climb up here and have a go at it, Bob.” Dr. Joe surrendered the control. “Take it easy... that’s it!”

  Excitedly, Bob watched the cars obey his guiding hand. “I never saw anything like it! Gosh, one thing’s true, Barb... I’m going to shelve the antique cars and start a real, live railroad system. Look at her go! It’d take a lifetime, though, to ever get an outfit like this going.”

  “I guess it would, Bob,” Barbara admitted. “How do you make the scenery, for instance?”

  “It’s a breeze. Even Nancy can tell you how to do it. She made some of the trees up there on the hill,”

  Dr. Joe said, pointing toward a cluster of tiny trees.

  “Yeah, the crooked ones,” Chris said with brotherly frankness.

  “They’re made from pieces of sponge, or sponge rubber, dyed and glued to balsa sticks,” Tex said. “We make the tunnels out of paper soaked in water and mixed with paint sizing. It turns into papier-mâché, and we pile it on top of wire forms, then color it brown to mark the entrances and exits.”

  “You tell them, Jeff, how we make the mountains,” Dr. Joe suggested.

  “They’re made of burlap covered with patching plaster—painted brown, of course.”

  “We make the grass out of pieces of Turkish toweling dyed and glued to the ground,” Chris explained.

  “The only thing Mom does is to feed the animals and clean up after them,” Mrs. Reed said.

  “That’s the biggest part,” Dr. Joe said, putting his arm around his wife and smiling.

  “Speaking of eating—and my characters are always doing that—” Betty Reed said, “can’t you all stay and have dinner with us? We’d love it.”

  “All this gang?” Trixie said, aghast. “Heavens, no! That would be sixteen people.”

  “What of it? We’ll have a cookout on the terrace— hamburgers—and you can all help. Jim, Dan, Brian, Mart, you get the fire going, and the rest can help me rustle up some salad. Stay, won’t you?”

  “Do! Please do!” the Reed children begged.

  “We’d love it, of course, if you really mean it, wouldn’t we?” Trixie turned to her crowd.

  “If we can help, yes,” Honey said, “and that means doing the dishes, too. What’s the matter, Mart?”

  “I just happened to remember. I’m afraid we’d better not stay. Bob and Barbara sort of wanted to see the video tape of the show. We’d like to see it, too.”

  “What is it?” Mrs. Reed asked. “Is it something on television? Can’t we all watch it?”

  “Gee, sure, if you want to,” Bob said, a little embarrassed. “It’s kind of dumb.”

  Trixie explained that the show Barbara and Bob had appeared on the day before had been video taped for showing later in the evening. When she told the children that Barbara and Bob played guitars and sang songs they themselves composed, the Reed twins, enchanted with the visiting older twins, insisted they all stay.

  So Mrs. Reed thawed chopped meat from their big freezer, mixed it with bread crumbs soaked in milk to keep the patties juicy, seasoned them, and passed them on to the boys to cook. The charcoal grill was hot. Dr. Joe donned a tall white chef’s hat, and he and Jim and Brian quickly browned the hamburgers.

  The fragrance of meat cooking, the tangy salad dressing, muted sounds from the avenue below—all provided a magical setting for the visitors. Bob and Barbara sang as Tex strummed his ukulele. Dr. Joe and his wife added their voices, and even little Nancy chimed in with her childish treble.

  Later, as the coals whitened and when they had consumed the food like a swarm of locusts, the young people gathered paper plates and cups and carried them to the kitchen.

  "Time for the broadcast!” the Reed twins sang out.

  Dr. Joe wheeled the portable television set out to the terrace, and they all crowded around it to watch and listen.

  A Mysterious Call ● 14

  I THINK I’d BETTER hurry inside and telephone Miss Trask before the program starts,” Trixie said. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. We promised her that today we wouldn’t go anyplace after dark.”

  “Tell her I’ll take you all home,” Dr. Reed called after her.

  “Joe loves to have an excuse to drive through the theater district at night,” Mrs. Reed explained while Trixie made her call. “We never have enough time to go to a show.”

  “I have to stop at the hospital, anyway,” Dr. Joe said. “Did you get Miss Trask, Trixie?”

  “Yes, I did, and she said she wouldn’t worry as long as we’re with you. Jeepers, the show’s starting!”

  When “The Impossible Dream” was sung, the children clapped. “He has a marvelous voice,” Mrs. Reed said. “Why, there are Barbara and Bob now, right on the screen. Do you see them, Nancy?”

  “Shhh!” Nancy warned. Then, when the twins had finished their song, she ran to Barbara and threw her arms around her. “It was pretty music. You looked so pretty—”

  “Oh, look!” Trixie screamed and pointed. All the Bob-Whites jumped to their feet.

  “Did you see them?” Trixie exclaimed. “Away in back when the camera was turned on the audience?”

  “You couldn’t miss them,” Jim said soberly.

  “That wasn’t any coincidence, their being at the broadcast!” Trixie grabbed Honey’s hand.

  “Heavens, no!” Honey said. “Trixie, we sure bungled this job. We still haven’t anything but the faintest idea of why they are following us.”

  “Is the whole thing a secret?” Dr. Joe asked.
r />   Trixie’s face sobered. “Oh, how rude of us! It isn’t a secret at all, but it’s a long story. It sure is a strange mystery, too.”

  “Then tell us,” Tex cried. “Tell us, please!”

  “If you do, begin with the Mexican woman at Kennedy Airport,” Barbara said. “It all seems to fit together. It’s the thrillingest thing!”

  So Trixie told the story of the woman at the airport; her prophecy and the amazing way it seemed to be working out; the little Incan idol purchased at the antique shop; her accident in Central Park; the episode at Liberty Island; the men who hung around their apartment entrance; the strangers who searched the apartment; Trixie and Diana’s experience at the Empire State Building—all the odd things that had happened since they had been in the city.

  “We haven’t seen those men all day,” Trixie concluded, “so we thought that we could forget about them.”

  “If you’d looked at the prophecy again, you’d have known what to expect,” Diana said. “I remember it: ‘Be not misled by evening’s fun; a villain’s work is never done.’ ”

  “You’re right, Di! Then just after that it says: ‘Twin rails of steel, a trembling square, watch close, you’ll see the guilty pair.’ ” Trixie was so excited she could hardly speak. “Doesn’t that mean Dr. Joe’s model railroad, and the ‘trembling square’ surely means the television screen!”

  “Golly!” Tex said, awed. “Golly whiz! Aren’t you scared to death now, Trixie?”

  “No, I’m not. I’m just furious at myself because it all baffles me so.”

  Dr. Reed wore a deep frown. “This thing is serious, Trixie. Of course you’ve reported these things to the police....”

  “We have, but we’ve never had a good enough look at the men before to be able to describe them well.” Trixie sighed. “The police say they can’t do a thing till they have a definite idea of what the men look like.”

  “Of course you’ve reported it to your parents.” Dr.

  Reed looked inquiringly at Jim, Diana, and Trixie.

  “No, we haven’t—” Trixie began.

  “We haven’t been in any real danger—” Honey continued.

  Trixie interrupted. “Miss Trask is staying with us, and we begged her not to tell our families unless something really serious turned up. We didn’t want to have to go right home without showing the rest of the city to Barb and Bob and Ned. Besides—”

  “I know, Trixie, I know. You didn’t want to have to stop in the middle of solving a mystery. Oh, Trixie!” Dr. Joe put his arm around Trixie’s shoulder. “I have every respect in the world for Miss Trask, but serious things have happened. Maybe you haven’t emphasized them enough when you’ve told them to Miss Trask. She’s such a grand person she’d never want to spoil your good time here. I do honestly think that your parents should know, though.”

  Tex protested. “Oh, Daddy, Trixie and Honey have solved worse cases. I want to know the ending.”

  “Trixie’s on the job, for sure,” Mart said. “Her mind’s busy on the, mystery all the time. You know how she is. She’s not afraid of anything. She’d just as soon walk right into a cage with a pair of lions—”

  “Which isn’t wise,” Dr. Joe declared firmly. “Since Miss Trask is your chaperon, the one your family has put in charge of you, I’d never intrude. There’s one thing sure now: When the police see the video tape of the television show, they’ll have a good look at the men who’ve been following you. They won’t have any further reason not to swing into action.”

  “That’s right!” Trixie agreed.

  “Shall I call them now and tell them about it?” Jim asked.

  “I think that’s a good idea. Go into my study and use the telephone.”

  “If everyone would just let Trixie and Honey handle the thing themselves, they’d soon find out who the men are,” Tex said confidently.

  “Thanks, Tex,” Trixie said. “I guess I’d have to have some cooperation from the police to accomplish that. I haven’t quite graduated to detective work in as big a place as New York City.”

  “Gosh, it’d be a breeze for you here, after all the thieves you’ve rounded up!” Tex’s eyes were round with excitement.

  Jim came back from the telephone. “Did you get the police?” Trixie asked eagerly.

  “Yes. They said they’d have to arrange with the Celebrity Broadcasting Company to show the tape in the morning. They told us to forget it tonight, and someone would call for one or two of us tomorrow morning to go with them to see the rerun.”

  “At least that will be a beginning,” Dr. Reed said, apparently more satisfied. “If I can help you in any way, just give me a ring. I still think your parents should know about it.”

  “We’ll know more ourselves after the police see the rerun,” Trixie said. “I can’t see why that little idol could have stirred up all this trouble.”

  “Do you possibly have it with you? Could we possibly see it?” Tex asked. “Please, Trixie!”

  “I did carry it in my purse, but Miss Trask thought I should let her take care of it. She has it now. She’ll give it back to me tonight so I can show it to the police tomorrow. It’s a harmless-looking little statue.”

  “Ugly enough to be Mephistopheles himself,” Mart said. “About so big”—he measured with his hands— “and almost all head. Why Trixie wanted it in the first place, I’ll never know.”

  “I wonder myself,” Trixie said to herself softly. “There’s one thing sure: The prophecy that Mexican woman made is mere coincidence,” Mrs. Reed said.

  “You’re right, Betty. I’m glad to see some of the fortune-tellers ousted from the city.” Dr. Reed’s face grew stern. “You have no idea how much occultism and how many crazy beliefs I run into in trying to treat some of the families here in New York City.”

  “It’s queer about the prophecy, though,” Trixie insisted. “Meeting that poor, bewildered Mexican woman seems strange, too. I don’t think she should have been sent away.”

  “I guess the police know what they’re doing,” Dan protested.

  “Right!” Dr. Reed agreed. “They’re of inestimable help to me in my work. They’re right on the ball when a child is involved in an accident. I set the bones and try to heal bodies, but the police furnish all the facts that help the poor families collect damages. That’s mighty important. Say, kids, how would you like to stop at the hospital with me on the way home to your apartment? There’s a little girl there who’d be thrilled to pieces to meet the singing twins of television.”

  “You know how I’d like to do that!” Brian exclaimed. “It’s the most marvelous hospital, Ned. Dr. Joe used to let me watch sometimes when he dressed Terry’s leg... he’s Di’s brother. I sure hope the time comes when I’ll be able to help handicapped children the way Dr. Joe does. Terry never cried once when the cast came off. I know it hurt him.”

  “Terry’s a soldier. Most children are. I sometimes wish grown-ups had half as much courage,” Dr. Joe said. “As for you, Brian, you’ll make a great surgeon one of these days. I can tell.”

  Brian’s eyes shone. “Thank you, sir!”

  After the Bob-Whites and their visitors had helped restore order to Mrs. Reed’s patio and kitchen, they thanked her, waved good-bye to the children, went down in the elevator, and all crowded into the big Reed station wagon.

  Dr. Reed guided the car slowly and skillfully through the hordes of screaming taxis and shining limousines carrying the theater crowd; past the blazing strips of multicolored neon lights in the theater district; past the food stands in open stalls—hot dogs, soft drinks, ice cream, red-hot chestnuts. Finally the big car moved away from the bright lights and picked up speed on the expressway. Bob leaned back with a sigh. “All those famous places... gosh!”

  “The most important one is just ahead—over there where you see the circle of lights along the driveway. It’s Dr. Joe’s hospital!” Brian’s eyes were like stars.

  “Jeepers, just look at the size of it!” Ned exclaimed. “I thought Merc
y Hospital in Des Moines was big.”

  “It makes me sad to think of all the sick people there,” Trixie said. “There are hundreds of hospitals in New York City, too, all full of sick people.”

  “It makes me glad... glad they have a place to go and people like Dr. Joe to make them well,” Brian said.

  Dr. Reed parked the station wagon, and the young people jumped out and followed him through the emergency entrance and into a shining white elevator that shot them to the children’s floor. Everywhere nurses smiled and called greetings to Dr. Reed. When they saw all the young people, they smiled again.

  “May we go into Evalinda’s room?” he asked the gray-haired floor nurse. “All of us?”

  “Do, please, Doctor,” she answered. “She’ll be so glad to have visitors. She hasn’t had one all day.” When Dr. Reed stepped into the hospital room, a small face, with a halo of bristling pigtails, turned into one big smile that spread from ear to ear.

  “Dr. Reed!” the girl cried. “I was so lonesome.”

  “You won’t be lonesome long, Muggins,” Dr. Joe said with a warm smile. “See all the friends I brought to call on you. This is Trixie. She’s a girl detective. This is her partner, Honey, and their friends Barbara and Diana. This is Jim, Honey’s brother; Brian and Mart, Trixie’s brothers; and their friend, Dan Mangan.

  The others are Bob, who is Barbara’s twin brother, and their neighbor Ned. Barbara and Bob and Ned live in Iowa. Shake hands with everyone the way I taught you!”

  Since Evalinda’s arms and both legs were in traction, Trixie couldn’t imagine how she’d ever manage to shake hands. The others, too, watched curiously.

  “They don’t believe you know how to shake hands. Show them, Muggins,” Dr. Reed urged the little girl.

  She smiled at him, raised her head, and shook it from side to side. Little tinkly bells jingled a fairy greeting. Then, as she saw the puzzled faces on her visitors, her broad smile came back. “They’re tied to my top pigtails! Dr. Reed brought the bells to me last week. Dr. Reed thinks of everything.”