The Pet Show Mystery

their attention momentarily diverted from Norma Nelson. When they turned back, a remarkable change had taken place in the girl. Her expressionless face had crumpled into a look of deep sadness.
    “That’s him,” she wailed. “That’s your dog. I’m sorry I took him. I’m really, really sorry.”
    “Could we go inside?” Honey asked softly. “We need to talk, and it’s too cold to stand out here.”
    Norma nodded and took in a deep, shuddering breath. She led the way to the back door and opened it. “Mother!” she shouted. “Reddy’s owner is here for him.”
    “At last!” Mrs. Nelson’s voice sounded pleasant enough, but there was a lot of relief in her tone. “He’s in the basement. You go right on down.”
    Reddy’s barking increased as the girls walked down the stairs. When they entered the room, Reddy ran to Trixie, jumped up, and put his paws on her shoulders.
    “Down!” Trixie shouted. She grasped his paws and pulled him free.
    Reddy immediately went to Honey and jumped up to her. When Honey, too, forced him down, he simply ran through the basement in an aimless expression of joy.
    Only Reddy could make me so irritated at the same time that I’m so thrilled to see him, Trixie thought with amusement.
    “I’ve taken good care of him,” Norma said. “But I can tell he belongs with you.”
    “Well, of course,” Trixie said. “He’s my dog!”
    “I’m sorry I took him.”
    “What about the other things?” Trixie asked.
    “I’m sorry about those, too.”
    “When did you decide to sabotage the pet show?” Honey asked.
    “I didn’t decide to wreck the pet show,” Norma began. “One day in the lunch line, two girls ahead of me were talking about it. They were saying what a neat idea it was to save the game birds and how they were going to enter. It made me mad, because I’d been spending all my spare time feeding the game birds, and they were talking as if you guys had invented the idea. So I said, ‘Are you sure that’s how the Bob-Whites are going to spend the money?’ They asked me what I meant. I said, ‘They dress awfully well, in those fancy matching jackets. And they have two cars. I wonder where they got the money for all those things.’ “The girls looked surprised. One of them said, ‘The Wheelers are rich. I heard Jim Frayne inherited money, too. They wouldn’t need the money from the pet show.’
    “That was that. I didn’t say another word. But a couple of days later, I heard some other kids saying that the pet show is a big rip-off, and that the Bob-Whites are going to use the money they raise for clothes and cars.
    “I was amazed,” Norma continued. “I never wanted to start such a rumor. I just wanted to say something mean, I guess. But there it was, spreading all over the school. I felt like it was the first time anybody had ever listened to me.”
    “But we squelched the rumor by opening the bank account,” Honey said softly. She was prompting Norma to continue talking.
    “That’s right,” Norma said. “It was so easy for you to get everybody back on your side. I almost gave up. One day I didn’t even go out to feed the birds. Let Trixie and her friends do it, I thought. But I missed the bird-feeding so much. I couldn’t let you take it away from me.
    “That—that’s when I called the radio station.” Norma swallowed hard. “It was scary to do that, but I had to because I was so angry.”
    “I still don’t see why you were mad at us for trying to save the game birds,” Trixie said. “You knew how badly they needed help.” Trixie and Honey were discovering the full range of emotions that lay buried under Norma Nelson’s stoic exterior. They’d seen sadness, bitterness, and fear. Now they saw anger. “That just shows what you know, Trixie Belden!” she shouted. “You’re so used to having everybody admire you and look up to you. What do you know about wanting to feel special and not ever being able to? What do you know about finding one thing that you think is important, and then having somebody else come along and do it so much bigger and better that you feel like a fool for doing it in your own silly little way?”
    Trixie drew a deep breath. She knew she had to stay calm, but she also knew that she couldn’t let Norma’s statement go unchallenged. “We didn’t make you feel like a fool, Norma. We only did what you yourself were trying to do—saving the birds. We even tried to get you involved, but you wouldn’t