"Why not?" asked Ted. "Didn't he fall down into the big hole when
Trouble led him to it?"
"Yes, but Nicknack is there in his stable. He isn't loose at all, and he'd have to be loose to come here and knock over Trouble's playhouse. The goat is tied fast just where he was last night."
So Nicknack was; and Grandpa Martin, who was the first one up in the camp that morning, said the goat was lying quietly down in his stable when he went to give him a drink of water. So it couldn't have been Nicknack.
"Anyhow, Trouble's blue-stone castle wasn't just knocked down," went on Hal, "it's gone—every stone is gone. Somebody took 'em!"
Jan and Ted noticed this for the first time. When Trouble had called out that his playhouse was gone they had thought he meant it was just knocked over. But, instead, it was gone completely. Not a blue stone was left.
And, strangely enough, none of the other three castles was touched. Hal had built quite a large one, but not a stone had been taken from it.
"Where my p'ayhouse?" asked Trouble, looking all about. "I want my p'ayhouse."
"We'll find it for you," promised Jan, though she did not know how she was going to do it. Perhaps Hal could think of a way. Hal was older than Jan and Ted.
"What's the matter, Curlytops?" asked Mother Martin as she came out of the tent. "Has anything happened? Why is Trouble crying? Did he get hurt?"
"No, but someone took away his nice blue stone castle," explained Jan, and she and the others took turns telling what had happened.