The Hudson River Mystery Read online

  Brian frowned. ”I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Trixie. In the first place, I’m not going to the river. The Bob-White Halloween party is tomorrow night, don’t forget. In the second place, it’s pretty obvious that Thea doesn’t exactly intend to use you as a consultant on her book. If anything, she seems to go out of her way to avoid talking to you about it.”

  ”I know, but—”

  ”She seems to value her privacy a great deal,” he went on. ”I mean, I really had to do a sales . pitch on her to let me come over and fix up her car that day. Anyway, sis, I seem to remember a little discussion we had about you hurting people when you leap to conclusions. It seems to me you could be hurting Thea by seeking her out like this.”

  Trixie was silent, thinking about how she had already hurt one person recently.

  ”Not to change the subject or anything,” Brian said, ”but I forgot to tell you that Loyola and I saw Bunker again yesterday.”

  ”You did?”

  ”We saw him in his houseboat, just off the Point. He seemed to be rescuing two divers. We looked closely, but they didn’t seem to be Ken and Carl again!”

  Trixie continued chatting with Brian on the way home, but part of her mind was churning with thought. Well, at least I’ve learned two new things today, she decided silently. First is that Pat Bunker seems to have gone into the lifesaving business. And second, it looks like what I saw before the storm the other day was a sea serpent, after all!

  A Recurring Nightmare ● 13

  MAYBE THEA’S been seeing sea serpents, just like you!” giggled Honey on the bus ride home from school the following day. Trixie had just finished telling her about everything she had found out at the library.

  ”Not so loud,” Trixie muttered. ”I don’t want Brian to hear us. He thinks he talked me out of seeing Thea again, and he doesn’t know I’ve had second thoughts. And anyway, I didn’t say that Thea had actually seen the shark. She just said that someone had seen one in the Hudson over a year ago. Don’t you remember? You were there with me when she said it!”

  ”Yes, I remember.” Honey’s hazel eyes were puzzled as she turned to Trixie. ”But I’m sure there must be some explanation—”

  ”Maybe so,” said Trixie. ”But don’t you think we owe it to Thea to tell her what I found out at the library? Doesn’t it bother you to think that Thea might be putting false things into a book about our river? Well, it bothers me, and I think we ought to tell her today. Honey, think of it”— Trixie’s voice became urgent—”think of it as doing something in the name of truth, in the name of accurate research!”

  ”I have two things to say, Trixie Belden. One is that if you devoted half of your enthusiasm for ’accurate research’ to your schoolwork, you’d be a straight-A student. And secondly, we have a Halloween party to go to tonight, in case you’ve forgotten! So we can’t possibly go to talk with Thea today.”

  ”I’m going to ignore your first remark,” said Trixie, pretending to look hurt. ”As for your second, how could I manage to forget the party, when I’ve been racking my brain all week trying to decide what costume I should wear. Mart suggested that I go as Sherlock Holmes, but that sounds too complicated, and besides, I’d probably choke on the pipe. Mart’s been making a great show of locking himself in his room every night to work on his costume, I notice. But anyway, the party isn’t for a couple of hours—we have plenty of time!”

  ”We do?” Honey asked incredulously.

  ”I’ll get off the bus with you at Manor House,” Trixie rushed on. ”Then we’ll jog over to the Point, find Thea, say what we have to say, and zip back to your house, with oodles of time left to get ready for the party. And I’m sure that, as usual, you’ll be the belle of the ball!”

  ”And Fm going to ignore that remark,” Honey said pertly. Sighing, she added, ”Oh, why do I always let myself be talked into these things?” Trixie stood up and grabbed Honey’s arm with her free hand. ”Come on, it’s our stop!” Over her shoulder, she hissed, ”Because you’re my partner, that’s why!”

  Following Trixie down the aisle, Honey said, ”No, it’s because I’m crazy.”

  The two girls got off the bus at Glen Road with Jim, who continued on up to Manor House. He consented to take the girls’ books with him and seemed satisfied with their promise to be back soon.

  It took the girls several minutes of fast walking to reach the area where they’d seen Thea previously. There was no sign of the slightly built writer until the girls had again slipped halfway down the cliff toward the river. Thea was in the exact same location she’d been before—sitting on a large rock, facing the water.

  The minute Trixie spotted her, she whispered to Honey, ”Oh, woe! Can you imagine how boring Thea’s book is going to be? She’s only seen this one tiny section of the river!”

  ”Well, it is a pretty spot,” Honey argued. As they drew nearer, she began to whistle loudly, in the hope that Thea would not be frightened by their presence this time.

  Thea looked quickly behind her, saw the two girls, and looked more irritated than frightened. This time, Trixie noticed, she was reading a book, a large volume bound in red.

  As Trixie strode forward, she thought to herself, If I get the slightest hint that Thea’s being hurt by our little visit, then I’ll leave—pronto. Of course, as soon as she started talking to Thea, this well-intentioned resolution went out of her mind completely.

  ”Hi,” said Trixie. ”We tried to keep our promise and not creep up behind you this time!”

  ”Thanks,” Thea said dryly. ”What can I do for you today?” She put her book behind her, in such a way that Trixie was unable to catch its title. Trixie decided to plunge right into her news.

  As she narrated the results of her library research on sharks, she observed that Thea was looking more and more displeased. Well, nobody likes to be told they were wrong, Trixie thought to herself.

  ”It’s not that I didn’t trust what you told us,” Trixie hastened to say. ”It’s just that someone else gave us different information and—”

  ”Indeed?” Thea said coldly. ”Then perhaps that should tell you something about the wisdom of seeking me out.”

  ”Gleeps, I didn’t mean—”

  Honey stepped forward. ”It’s been very pleasant chatting with you,” she said, suddenly bolder than Trixie had ever seen her. ”But we have a party we’re going to be late for, so good-bye for now, Thea.” Without giving Trixie a chance to add anything, she put her arm through Trixie’s arm and virtually dragged her friend back up the cliff.

  ”Have fun,” called Thea, a trace of laughter in her voice.

  The minute they were out of Thea’s hearing, Trixie exploded, ”Yipes, are you assertive all of a sudden!”

  ”Well, you are rude, Trixie Belden! Absolutely and positively rude!” Honey faced Trixie, her cheeks splotchy with anger.

  ”I was?” Trixie asked doubtfully. ”But, Thea’s book—”

  Honey rolled her eyes and insisted, ”You were! What makes you think that her book is any of our business? Has she ever asked for our help? No! Has she reacted favorably to any so-called help we’ve given her? No! Trixie, you can’t just go around telling perfect strangers how to manage their lives!”

  ”I—I think that’s what Brian’s been trying to tell me, too,” Trixie said in a small voice. She put her hands in her jacket pockets and kept her eyes on the ground.

  Honey reached out to place a gentle hand on her friend’s arm.

  ”Well, that’s that, I guess,” said Trixie finally. ”The next time I see Thea, if I ever do, I’ll apologize for my big mouth. I promise, Honey. In the meantime—we’re not going to be belles of the ball if we don’t step on it!”

  Honey smiled back at her, and the two girls began walking toward Killifish Road. Honey was a few paces ahead of her when Trixie turned for a final glimpse of the Hudson. She froze in her tracks.

  ”H-Honey,” she whimpered.

  ”What is it—?” Honey looked over her shoulder,
a smile still on her face. A frown replaced the smile as she hurried back to where Trixie stood, pointing.

  Then Honey uttered a sharp, short scream. Cutting through the blue waters of the Hudson was a triangular black fin! As the two girls, panic-stricken, clutched each other, the fin moved slowly to the right. It disappeared, then reappeared and moved to the left.

  ”You were right,” was all Honey could say at first. ”Oh, Trix, you’ve been right all along!” Trixie was much too puzzled to be happy at the sudden vote of confidence. ”I just don’t understand,” she muttered, stepping closer to the cliff.

  ”I don’t think I want to understand,” said Honey. ”Look at it move around, as if—as if it owns the river or something. It’s kind of—oh, how awful—like it’s waving to us! Oh, Trixie, what are we going to do?”

  ”Well, I think we’re safe up here,” Trixie retorted. ”I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound sarcastic. I don’t know what to do any more than you do, or don’t, I should say.” Suddenly she straightened up and threw a defiant look at Honey. ”Well, I can think of one thing to do. And that’s go back to Thea and apologize right now for doubting what she told us about sharks.”

  To Trixie’s surprise, Honey was quick to agree. ”You’re right,” she said. ”We do owe her an apology. No wonder she looked so unhappy when you told her what you’d found at the library.”

  ”Come on,” said Trixie, leading the way back down the path.

  The girls scrambled down the cliff as quickly as they could. They raced over to the rock that apparently was the writer’s favorite location for her research.

  Unexpectedly, Thea had disappeared. The girls cast their eyes in all directions, but there was no trace of her other than her red book, still lying in the weeds.

  Curious, Trixie crouched down to pick it up. A second later, she turned to Honey, a look of astonishment on her face.

  ”Gleeps, we were right, after all!” she exclaimed. ”Remember when we joked about Thea’s reading Alice In Wonderland? Do you believe it—she does!”

  ”What a coincidence,” marveled Honey, stepping closer for a look at the beautifully illustrated volume.

  Trixie was examining the page Thea had obviously been reading. A poem on the page was circled in red pencil. Scanning it, Trixie put her hand to her mouth to stifle a cry. Then she read aloud, in tones of mounting horror:

  ”How doth the little crocodile

  Improve his shining tail,

  And pour the waters of the Nile

  On every golden scale!

  ”How cheerfully he seems to grin,

  How neatly spreads his claws,

  And welcomes little fishes in

  With gently smiling jaws!

  ”How strange that she’d be reading about jaws just when there’s a shark around!” Trixie darted a glance at Honey. ”Now,” she said triumphantly, ”don’t you agree with me that Thea Van Loon is mysterious?”

  Growing Suspicions • 14

  HONEY WAS ABOUT TO DISAGREE, when Trixie noticed something else.

  ”And look what she was using for a bookmark! It’s a newspaper clipping from a Poughkeepsie paper.’’ Trixie ran her eyes down the short article. ”It’s about a retired couple... and how they dug up a fortune in gold in their backyard... enough to support them for the rest of their lives! Gleeps, Honey, if this isn’t the most mysterious thing—”

  Honey wavered. ”Well, a little strange, maybe” was as far as she would go. ”And I don’t know what Poughkeepsie has to do with it. Come on, Trix, we really shouldn’t be spying on her like this—”

  ”We’re not spying! Oh, woe! I just thought of something awful. Remember when Jim’s cousin, Juliana, fell down the cliff and we had to find her and rescue her? Remember—Juliana left a book behind her, too! It was a book of poems, I think, and we knew it meant that she was in some kind of trouble. Honey, do you suppose that Thea’s trying to tell us something by leaving this book behind?”

  ”I don’t think so,” Honey replied. ”Why, Thea barely knows us, and I think she wants to keep it that way.” She leaned forward to peer down at the swirling water.

  Honey’s action reminded Trixie of something Thea had said. ”She told us she was afraid of water!” she exclaimed. ”Maybe she fell—” Afraid to finish the sentence, Trixie tiptoed to the edge of the rock to join Honey.

  Honey almost lost her balance and clutched at Trixie, causing both girls to waver wildly until Honey took a giant step backward toward the weeds.

  ”Let’s get out of here,” she said nervously. ”I’m sure Thea didn’t fall into the water, and now we really are going to be late for the party.

  If it makes you feel any better, you can call Sergeant Molinson from my house and report Thea missing. She is a grown-up person, remember, and it really isn’t our business if she wants to take a walk.”

  ”Well, okay,” said Trixie, reluctantly turning to follow Honey back up the cliff. ”But I’m keeping Thea’s book.”

  ”Why?” Honey demanded. ”So she can accuse you of stealing as well as meddling?”

  Trixie flushed uncomfortably. ”I’m not sure why, but this way, it won’t get rained on or something.”

  ”There’s no rain in the forecast,” Honey called over her shoulder. ”In fact, it’s supposed to be a clear night with a full moon. Who could ask for better Halloween weather?”

  ”Well, I guess the werewolves won’t complain,” Trixie muttered.

  Back at Manor House, the girls headed straight for Honey’s room to freshen up. Trixie went into Honey’s private bathroom to wash her face.

  As she was selecting a dainty pink towel, she called, ”Honey, what’s your costume for the party going to be?”

  Even from inside the bathroom, Trixie could hear Honey’s sigh. ”I’ve told you a million times,” she said. ”I’m not wearing a costume.

  I’m pretty sure Jim isn’t, either. We voted to make costumes optional, remember? I didn’t realize that we were also voting to make your brain optional.”

  Trixie sat on the bed to watch Honey brush her hair. ”Well, I’ve had a lot on my mind,” she defended herself. ”It isn’t every day that my brother practically dies, and I find sharks practically in my backyard, and— Well, anyway, I’m truly sorry about forgetting what you told me. Hey, I just had a super idea! Let’s go as each other!”

  ”Each other? Trixie Belden, we already are each other! What I mean is, you’re you and I’m me and—”

  ”I didn’t say ourselves,” giggled Trixie. ”I said each other! We’ll trade clothes!”

  Honey looked down at her brand-new outfit, which Trixie was sure had come from some exclusive New York City shop. The blue and green plaid skirt was topped by a navy wool vest and a crisp white blouse. From one wrist dangled several expensive gold bangles.

  Then she looked over at Trixie, who wore a neat pair of comfortable jeans. Her red pullover sweater, knitted a year ago by Mrs. Belden, already featured several tiny ink blotches from where Trixie’s pen had leaked one day.

  ”It’s a deal,” Honey said promptly. ”Only I’m not sure what size this outfit is....”

  ”What you’re tactfully trying to tell me is that you think I’ll burst the seams. Well, let’s try. I’ve been doing so much running around lately that I just might surprise you!”

  Trixie was able to fit into Honey’s clothes, but because Honey was taller, the skirt hung down to a ludicrous length, the trim vest became lumpy, and the blouse sleeves hampered Trixie’s fingers. Honey, on the other hand, looked like a scarecrow, in loose-fitting jeans that stopped well above her ankles and a sweater with sleeves that stopped well above her wrists.

  The girls took one look in the mirror and burst out laughing.

  ”I wonder if anyone will recognize us,” Honey said sarcastically, tugging gently at the sweater sleeves.

  Trixie tried to smooth back her hair. ”If only there was some way I could disguise this mangled mop,” she groaned.

  ”Let’s quit while
we’re a head,” Honey snorted, ”if you catch my meaning! Anyway, I have to run down to the kitchen now and finish making my sandwiches. Mart will never forgive me if they’re not ready!”

  ”Who would? I’m sure they’ll be a gourmet treat. I asked Brian to bring over my contribution when he comes—some plain old ordinary kidney bean salad I whipped up last night. Can I use your phone now? Jeepers, I wish the sergeant could see me and be convinced that it was you calling, not me. I have a feeling you’d get a lot warmer reception.”

  Honey shook her head doubtfully, wished Trixie luck, and disappeared down the lushly carpeted stairway.

  Trixie went to the phone, steeling herself for a gruff response. Because of her special interest in detective work, her path and the sergeant’s had crossed many times before, rarely to the liking of the brusque policeman.

  Well, this time I'm not ”interfering” in police business, thought Trixie, holding her breath as she dialed the familiar number. I'm just reporting a missing person.

  But sure enough, this proved to be unpleasant news to the sergeant. ”I’ve got enough real police work on my hands,” he said sternly after she’d finished, ”without playing hide-and-seek with your friends.”

  ”She’s not an actual friend,” Trixie said. ”I just wondered if you’d had any report about her or if you had some information about her in your files—”

  ”Why would we? You haven’t a shred of evidence of foul play or anything else that would bring her to the attention of the police. She’s probably a fine, upstanding citizen, just going about her own business—which is a heck of a lot more than I can say for some people.”

  Trixie chewed her lip. ”Well, then, maybe you could fill out one of those missing persons forms.”

  ”I’ll make a note of your call,” he said grudgingly, ”but I’m not going to act on it till tomorrow. I’m sure your friend, or enemy or whatever, will turn up before then. Doesn’t she have some relatives you could contact if you’re that anxious about her?”