Honey shook her head, her eyes brimming with tears once again.  "Daddy got just furious when Jim said that.  He said that Jim needed to be shown a thing or two."

"Shown what?" Brian asked.

Honey shrugged helplessly.  "I don't know.  After Daddy said that, he turned to me and said, 'You'd better get to the bus stop.  Jim won't be going to school with you this morning.'  He looked so angry, I didn't dare ask any questions.  I-I just left."

Trixie looked from Mart to Brian, seeking an explanation for what had happened.  They looked as bewildered as she felt.

Surely Mr Wheeler isn't planning to send Jim away just because Jim talked back to him, she thought, a panicky feeling pushing at her chest.  When Trixie and Honey had first met Jim, he was a homeless runaway hiding from his cruel stepfather.  It had taken the girls a long time to get him to trust them, and even longer to convince him that there were some grown-ups he could trust, too.  The result of that trust had been a real home with the Wheelers, and his first close friendships with the other Bob-Whites.  If this disagreement with his adoptive father destroyed that trust, it could destroy the home and the friendships as well.

Trixie felt tears springing into her own eyes as she imagined Jim running away again.  Although she denied it to the others, and even to herself, Jim was more than a friend to Trixie.  He was someone very, very special.

The Mystery at Maypenny's  (p. 44-45)

Title :
Trixie Belden and the Mystery at Maypenny's

Author :
Kathryn Kenny
The ghost writer of this book is unknown.

First Published :
1980

Chapter Titles :
1.  Mr Maypenny's Mystery
2.  A Clash of Viewpoints
3.  Bob-Whites Divided!
4.  Dan's Surprise
5.  Two Visitors
6.  A Sudden Departure 
7.  Uproar in the Auditorium
8.  Shocking News
9.  An Inconclusive Vote
10. The Car in the Woods
11. The Fugitive
12. A Devious Plot
13. Terror!
14. At the Police Station

Setting :
Sleepyside, New York

Synopsis :
Temperatures run high and a town is divided by the proposed expansion of the International Pine Company into the game preserve.  While Dan and Jim struggle to remain loyal to those closest to them and respect each other's opinions, two newcomers to town are adding fuel to the fire - Mr Maypenny's long lost nephew and a social activist who wants to stop the expansion.  The Bob-Whites struggle to maintain a united front and Trixie and Honey investigate some strange incidences in the game preserve and the odd behaviour of Mr Maypenny.  By solving the mystery, they contribute to a solution that everyone is happy with and reunites the town.

Characters : 
Trixie Belden
Jim Frayne - adopted son of the Wheeler's
Honey Wheeler - Trixie's best friend
Brian Belden - Trixie's eldest brother
Mart Belden - Trixie's "almost twin" brother
Helen Belden - Trixie's mother
Peter Belden - Trixie's father
Bobby Belden - Trixie's six year old brother
Diana Lynch - a Bob-White and neighbour
Dan Mangan - a Bob-White and Regan's nephew
Sergeant Wendell Molinson - head of the Sleepyside police
Matthew Wheeler - Honey and Jim's father
Mr Maypenny - game keeper
David Maypenny alias Lawrence Howard - Mr Maypenny's "nephew"
John Score - a representative from CAUSE who is trying to stop the expansion
Mr McLane - Brian's Social Studies' teacher
Mark Nelson, Todd Maurer and Jim Ver Doorn - classmates of Brian's who debate on the expansion
George Gemlo - head of the state wildlife  department
Chair of the town council members and several concerned citizens.
David Maypenny - Mr Maypenny's real nephew

Villains :
Lawrence Howard - he impersonates Mr Maypenny's nephew to try and get Mr Maypenny to give him power of attorney, which would allow him to sell his land.  He also poisoned ducks and planted them so they could be found easily to make Mr Maypenny appear incompetent.

Points of Interest:
The book commences in later August/early September.  Di is away on a late vacation with her parents and won't be back for two weeks.  She visited Wisconsin and Minnesota and when she returns it is September and she tells Trixie she has missed three weeks of school (p. 84).

Dan is in Brian's Social Studies class (p. 54).  Does this mean that he is the same age as Brian?

Honey rides Strawberry on several occasions in this book without any mention of Lady, her usual steed.

This is the second occasion that the International Pine Company has been mentioned.  In the beginning of #16 The Mystery of the Missing Heiress, the Bob-Whites discovered that the company was going to build on the marshland that was owned by Jim's aunt.

And this is the third occasion that an impostor has impersonated a relative of the Bob-Whites or someone they know.  Seems like a great plot device!