The Hudson River Mystery
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
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