Chapter One
A Strange Presence
Comment0
Trixie Belden flung her spade to the ground with a loud
groan.
As of three o�clock her Sunday was offering about as much
excitement and mystery as a punctured balloon. It was bad enough that
she was spending the day helping her mother with an endless number of late-fall
chores in the garden, but that even though she didn�t have to, or need to,
her best friend Honey Wheeler insisted that she would help. At least
Trixie was beginning to understand how frantically busy her mother was.
What was harder for Trixie to tolerate was the weather
this time of the year. It was turning uglier and uglier as they worked,
which meant they would have to cancel their plans to go horseback riding
later.
�Between the wind and these clouds, I think it�s time
we took a break,� said Trixie. �Besides, my back is aching.�
Honey straightened up and put her hands on her hips.
�Perfectly perfect idea, Trix. Let�s go inside.�
�As we�ve been so over exuberant with our assignment,
morsals of calorific satisfaction are a necessity!� Trixie said with a giggle
as she leaned on her spade.
Honey burst out laughing. �You�ve been around your
brother too much!�
Trixie joined in with Honey in the laughter. Her
brother Mart, who was exactly eleven months her elder and often mistaken
for her twin, loved big words and enjoyed teasing Trixie with them.
But, Trixie held the trump card; she knew he didn�t have a prayer of being
able to spell them.
�It�s funny, but when I attempt to expand my vocabulary,
Bobby looks at me like I�m speaking a different language. But he looks
at Mart like he�s Mr. All-Knowing. I think that�s what confuses his
six-year-old mind the most and then he runs to Brian and asks him what a
certain word means. Usually, Brian is so patient with him. Lately,
though, Brian just snaps at people and tells everyone to leave him alone.�
�I�ve noticed some changes in Brian,� Honey said as she
cocked her head. �What is going on with that older brother of yours?�
Trixie shrugged. �I�m not sure, Honey. He�s
going to make a terrific doctor someday, that I know for sure. But
he�s taking things way too seriously lately. Sure, he�s only seventeen
and needs to study hard for college next year, but he should be having fun,
too.�
Suddenly the wind picked up a little stronger and Honey glanced up at the
dark sky. �Looks like we should get back to digging. This storm
is about to break any minute, and it looks like a dandy. If you think
this is hard, wait till you try digging in the mud.�
Trixie inwardly laughed at Honey�s comments. At
her grand house, they had hired help to do the gardening. Honey never
had to get her hands dirty or calloused by gardening equipment, but she had
heard Trixie grumble about it before. Trixie looked up at the dark
black clouds scudding across the sullen sky and felt a chill in the October
air. This wasn�t any ordinary storm. This was much like the hurricane
the two teenage girls saw last November.
�You�re right, Honey. I heard on the radio this
morning that New York might get the tail end of Hurricane Bob.� She
jammed the spade down into the dirt with renewed vigor. �I guess we
wouldn�t have been able to ride the horses today anyway.�
�You know, Trix,� Honey said as she lifted a shovel full
of dirt, �I think they should name this one Hurricane Bob-White.�
Trixie laughed. �Wouldn�t that be ironic?
We Bob-Whites do so much good work for the community so they name a hurricane
which does damage for us. What do you say we bring it up at our next
meeting?� Trixie giggled at the thought of the other members of the
club sitting around the conference table listening to her go on about renaming
the hurricane. Mart would be sure to tease her about it and Brian,
especially with the way he had been acting lately, would scoff at it and
put it down. Jim Frayne, Honey�s adopted brother, would be sure to
say it was a silly idea, but support her anyway. Diana Lynch and Dan
Mangan, who were Trixie�s neighbors, would most likely not be present.
They always had other chores keeping them from Bob-White activities. Comment1
�Hey girls!� came a voice from behind the two hardworking
girls.
Trixie and Honey whirled around to see a fellow member
of the Bob-Whites loping across the lawn toward them. It was Dan Mangan,
the quietest member of the group.
�Hi Dan! We were just talking about hurricanes since
it looks like we�re in for a good one,� Trixie said as she looked up at the
rolling clouds once more. The sky was much darker this time.
�We�re going to name this one Hurricane Bob-White,� Honey
piped up. �What do you think?�
Dan laughed. �I can�t think of anything better to
name it, but I have to admit that I�d probably suggest Hurricane Trixie,
after the most tempestuous person I know.�
Trixie blushed and continued to dig. Comment2
�Out of curiosity, Trix,� Dan said while digging, �isn�t
this Mart�s usual job?�
�Normally, yes.� Trixie stated. �But right now he�s
inside helping Moms with canning. Brian�s off somewhere with Loyola
Kevins, his lab partner.� Trixie couldn�t see Honey�s face, for she
was inserting wire brackets in the garden, but she could feel a small amount
of jealous energy from her best friend that she wasn�t with Brian right now.
�Now I know who she is,� Dan said with a grin. �Brian
told me they were collecting water samples for some ecological survey�for
their semester project. Loyola�s supposed to be especially interested
in the Hudson.�
Trixie giggled. �Between her brains and Brian�s
brains, they�ll get an A+ and will make it to med school together.� Comment3
�Loyola is really nice,� Honey said, trying to sound cheerful.
Trixie nodded. �Brian thinks she is, too.
He told me that she usually packs a lunch when they go to the river on the
weekends, and she throws in extra stuff for him. She makes a Waldorf
salad that�s out of this world, and she doesn�t even like it, but she knows
he does and so she brings some for him.�
�She does sound
nice,� Honey sighed. I wish it was
me on that picnic eating Waldorf salad with him. Then she frowned.
�They�re not on the river bluff just off the game preserve, are they?
The county engineers are having a terrible time stopping the erosion there.
It�s practically a sheer drop down the cliff to the river. Trixie,
I�ve never forgotten the day you climbed down that cliff to rescue Jim�s
cousin, Juliana. My hair nearly turned white that day!�
�I think Trixie was the last person with guts enough to
try that, Honey,� said Dan. Comment4
Trixie thought for a bit. �Brian said something this morning about
Killifish Point. That might be where he is.�
�That�s not even on the game preserve, is it?� Dan asked.
Trixie shook her head. �It�s actually part of Sleepyside, I think. Comment5 It�s on the northern outskirts of town. Brian says the cliffs are lower
there. There�re plenty of trails down to the river. It�s supposed
to be quiet and private�really beautiful too�so they�ve been getting a lot
of solid work done.�
�I�ll say it�s private,� said Honey. �I don�t think
I�ve ever been down there. It sounds like a safe place to work, though.� Comment6
Suddenly over the whistling of the wind came the sound of Mrs. Belden�s voice,
and all three looked up.
�I�m worried about Brian,� she called as she came closer. Slim and
pretty, Helen Belden looked as if she had had one hour too many in a bustling
kitchen. With the back of her hand, she brushed the blond curls from
her face in a nervous gesture. Comment7
�He said he was going to be home a half an hour ago, and
I think he dashed out of here this morning without hearing any of the weather
reports about the hurricane.� She studied the sky worriedly.
�I�m sure he and Loyola would have sense enough to not be out when the weather
looks this frightful, but�� Comment8
�Don�t worry Moms,� Trixie said. �Honey and I�ll
be glad to go hunt them up, won�t we?�
�Of course,� Honey said warmly. �We�d better hurry,
though.�
�Just in case it decides to rain, I�d better run you over
in the station wagon,� offered Dan. Comment9
�Thank you, Dan,� Mrs. Belden said, heading back toward
the house. �I�d go with you my self but someone�s got to see that Trixie�s
father and brothers don�t eat all the vegetables before they have a chance
to be canned! Be sure to get back here as soon as possible�they�re
forecasting the fiercest storm we�ve had all year.� Comment10
�It seems like October�s always everyone�s busiest month
of the year around here�all work and no play, Comment11 if you know what I mean.�
�Quit complaining, Trixie,� Honey said, giving Trixie
a gentle push in the direction of the station wagon. �You do plenty
of playing, and you know it.�
�Not to mention mystery-solving,� added Dan, climbing
into the driver�s seat.
�That�s not always play,� Trixie protested. �Anyway,
who�s got time for a mystery in October? Not I!� Comment12
Trixie was as light hearted as the rest, but she was worried.
Brian was always dependable; it wasn�t like him to be late. She hoped
he was at least seeking shelter. The sight of the wind whipping the
trees along the road was unnerving. Comment13 She herself was glad to be under
a roof, even a car roof. Every now and then a drop of rain splattered
violently against the windshield.
Killifish Road ended a few hundred yards from the river.
Dan stopped the car there and left the engine running.
�I know the spot where Brian and Loyola have been going
lately,� Trixie said quickly. �Why don�t I just run down and see if
they�re there? If their not, I�ll come back to the car and we can start
searching.�
Trixie darted out into the wind, half wishing that Dan
or Honey had volunteered to go down to the river in her place. The
air was colder here by the water. Trixie scolded herself for not throwing
on a second sweatshirt. Clutching her arms around herself, she stepped
lightly over rocks and brambles, thankful that at least she had worn her
sneakers.
She reached the edge of the cliff without mishap and stood
there a minute, fascinated with the sight of the mighty Hudson about to take
it�s role in the hurricane. Then she headed down a path that looked
more worn that the others. Looking more at the murky water than at
the path, she nearly tripped over a patch of weeds and a protruding rock.
Finally, she aimed around a bend in the path and all but toppled into Brian
and Loyola.
�Trixie, what are you doing here?� asked Brian.
�Moms was worried�hi, Loyola�and Honey was over, and Dan
said he would drive��Trixie�s words came out in a rush��and what are you
doing here?� Comment14
�Oh, it�s all my fault,� said Loyola with an apologetic
look toward Brian. �Interesting chemicals and pollutants can show up
when the river is an upheaval, like it is now, and��
�I wanted to get those extra samples just as much as you
did,� Brian interrupted, shifting the weight of his knapsack on his back.
�With the Sleepyside Conservation Committee already expressing an interest
in the results of our project, I think we ought to do the best job we can.�
�Even if it means getting caught in a hurricane?� Trixie
demanded. �Come on, let�s get you two scholars up to the car.�
Trixie followed them up the path towards the car.
When they reached the top of the cliff, Brian and Loyola kept on walking
but Trixie, on a sudden impulse, lingered behind for one last look at the
river.
The normally placid Hudson had turned a sickly gray.
Ripples sliced through areas of deceptive calm. Trixie stared at it
for a long moment, awed by the thought of nature transforming a joy into
a threat in such a short time. In a way, though, even the threatening
Hudson was beautiful. The gusts of wind hitting her in the face and
the rhythm of the waters pounding against the shore were oddly hypnotic.
Something about the scene before her struck Trixie as
being out of place. Nearly everything was in various shades of gray�the
sky, the cliffs, the water. Even the trees lining the river were showing
their gray sides instead of their autumn colors. The grayness was what
made a black triangle, cutting slowly through the murky water, stand out.
What was it?�No, it couldn�t be that�it must be�what?
Trixie squinted and used both hands to hold back her wildly
blowing curls from her eyes. Standing as still as she could, she took
a good long look and decided that her first impression had indeed been correct.
�Yipes!� she whispered. �It is a fin! What
in the world is a shark doing in
the Hudson River?� Comment15
Chapter Two
Disturbed Dreams
Trixie was too startled to do more than stare disbelievingly at first.
Menaces such as sharks were absolutely unheard of along the Hudson River,
as far as she knew. Wait till I tell
the Bob-Whites! she thought, retracing her steps toward the river
to get a closer look.
From behind her came the sound of a horn impatiently honking.
Trixie recalled her mother�s warning to come right home, and reluctantly
she turned toward the car.
�What took you so long?� Honey asked as Trixie slid in
beside her. �Don�t you remember what your mother said��
Trixie bobbed her head up and down. Sometimes, when
she was excited, her words came out garbled. At the moment, she was
agitated that no words were coming out at all. Speechlessly she pointed
toward the river. Comment16 Instead of looking in that direction, the others
stared at Trixie.
�A shark!� she exclaimed finally. �I saw a shark
in the Hudson! Well, a fin, actually, but fins don�t come without sharks
attached�I mean, where there�s a fin there�s a shark.� Comment17
The others continued to gaze at Trixie. Loyola stared politely but
the others stared with a flicker of amusement. Dan turned his eyes
back to the road and, it seemed to Trixie, pressed the accelerator a little
harder.
�Don�t you believe me?� Trixie demanded.
�Should we?� countered Brian. �Sounds pretty incredible
to me. We�ve lived near the Hudson all our lives and never run into
any sharks. Besides, Loyola and I were there all afternoon and never
saw any sharks.�
�That�s why I�m so upset!� Trixie wailed. �Gosh,
think of all the swimming and boating�Well anyway, if you don�t believe me,
just turn the car around, Dan, and I�ll prove it to all of you!�
�No way,� Dan said tensely. �Sorry, Trix, but I
think getting back safely is more important than the, uh, figments of your
imagination.�
�The what?� sputtered Trixie. I know what I saw and I saw a shark! It
was a large, black, triangular fin and it belonged to a shark! I just
know it!
Honey noticed her best friend�s temper starting to flare.
�Maybe what you saw was a wave. The wind was really whipping up the
water�we could even see it from the car.�
�Then you must have seen the shark, too,� concluded Trixie.
�Stop jumping to conclusions,� Brian scolded rather harshly.
�Obviously you�re the only one who saw whatever it was that you saw.�
Trixie slumped down in her seat a bit. They don�t believe me. Then again, how
can I expect them to believe me. I hardly believed my own eyes when
I saw it. Suddenly, Trixie had a thought and sat straight up.
�Loyola, Dan said you were especially interested in the Hudson. You
must know more about it than we do. Couldn�t it have been a real shark
that I saw?�
�For once you�ve reached a right conclusion,� Brian put
in without waiting for Loyola to answer. �Even Mrs. Cowles, our chemistry
teacher, can�t believe how much Loyola knows about the river.�
�Oh, I�m just beginning to learn about the river,� said
Loyola. �If only the school could get more money from the Sleepyside
Conservation Committee to establish a floating laboratory, that would allow
me to do some research.�
�Well, what do you think?� Trixie asked. �About
the shark, I mean.�
Loyola shifted uncomfortably. �All I can say is
that sharks are marine animals�they�re generally found in salt water.
And the Hudson along here is freshwater.�
Trixie slouched down again, deep in thought.
Dan breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief as he turned
the corner into the Belden driveway. �Great timing, guys! If
we can get into the house before the storm unleashes on us, we�ll be lucky. Comment18
�Good thing we weren�t in my jalopy,� said Brian.
�With the way that�s been running, we�d still be stalled back on Killifish
Road. And I�m feeling too tired to deal with engine problems tonight.�
Trixie shot a glance in her eldest brother�s direction.
He truly did look tired, as if he had been drained of all his energy.
Dan pulled the station wagon as close to the Belden porch
as possible and shut off the motor. At that exact moment, thousands
of enormous raindrops began pelting the windshield. Comment19
�Make a run for it everyone!� Trixie yelled. She
reached for the door handle on her side and found that she could barely push
the door open against the force of the wind. She leaned all of her
weight against the door, toppled from the car into the wind, and was the
first of the teenagers to burst through the door into the white frame house.
A warm and cozy scene awaited them inside the Belden kitchen.
Mrs. Belden was busy frying chicken at the stove, while Mr. Belden was cleaning
up from the canning activities. Mart and Bobby sat at the table, laughing
noisily.
�Bobby, you�re silly,� Mart said with a laugh. �It�s
called fried chicken, not �cheid fricken�.� Comment20
�Oh Trixie, I�m glad you�re back,� Mrs. Belden greeted
her and then turned to Brian. �I�m so glad she found you guys!�
�Take your wet jackets off and have a seat, everyone,�
Mr. Belden said cheerfully. �Loyola, Dan, and Honey, you�re welcome
to stay for dinner, if you like.�
�May I call my grandfather?� Loyola asked. Mr. Belden
nodded and gestured to the phone. Brian once explained that Loyola�s
parents were both dead and that she has been living with her grandfather
in their apartment in downtown Sleepyside. When she was done, Dan and
Honey used the phone to call their respective houses to let everyone know
they were safe at Crabapple Farm.
�I�m so hungry I could faint!� exclaimed Brian, plunking
the last of the silverware down on the table.
�Didn�t you pack a lunch for this afternoon?� his mother
asked.
�We had a feast at around noon,� Loyola added.
�You won�t catch me denying that,� Brian said with a grin.
�I don�t know why, but I feel like my jalopy must feel when its tank is just
about empty.�
�Eat up, everyone!� announced Mr. Belden, setting down
the first heaping platter of crispy fried chicken.
�Oh by the way, while you were out the forecast changed,�
said Mrs. Belden. �The hurricane doesn�t appear to be heading inland,
after all. There are severe thunderstorm warnings out for the rest
of the evening, though.� Comment21
Trixie looked at the rain streaming down the kitchen windows
and shivered. She was still chilled from her brief run in the rain,
but she felt something more, too. Why am I so nervous? she wondered silently.
Round and round the table for the first, then second helpings
went the chicken, the mashed potatoes, the hot buttered rolls, the earliest
crab apple jelly of the season, the green beans with almonds, and the salad
of marinated tomatoes and cucumbers.
Suddenly, Trixie dropped her fork with a clatter.
�Gleeps, that�s why I�m jumpy,� she stated excitedly. �I haven�t told
the rest of you.�
�You have an announcement?� inquired Mart. Comment22
�Yes, I have an announcement,� Trixie replied. �I
simply saw a shark in the Hudson River today.�
Her family answered her announcement with a variety of
facial expressions. Comment23
Peter Belden shook his head. �I don�t know about
sharks in the Hudson River. Care to tell us about it, Trix?�
He listened as his daughter explained about her sighting that day and shook
his head again. �Can�t say as I�ve ever heard of a shark in this area.�
�We don�t know there is one now,� Brian told him.
�None of the rest of us saw it.�
�Maybe it was just a wave,� Mr. Belden said.
�That�s what I thought,� said Honey.
�It wasn�t,� Trixie said tersely.
�Or a bit of debris,� said Mrs. Belden.
�Heaven knows the river could be a lot cleaner,� Dan agreed. Comment24
�It wasn�t that either,� said Trixie. Suddenly,
she felt something cold on her ankle and jumped. It turned out to be
Reddy, hopefully nosing about for table scraps. Comment25
Loyola had been watching Trixie intently. She waited
until nearly everyone was through eating before she spoke, quietly and thoughtfully.
�That was a delicious meal, Mr. and Mrs. Belden. You know, Trixie,
you might want to talk to a friend of mine, Thea Van Loon. She�s a
children�s book writer who happens to know a great deal about the Hudson.�
�Really?� asked Trixie, leaning forward.
�In fact,� Loyola went on, �that�s why she�s in Sleepyside
this very month. She lives in New York City, but she�s here researching
for a children�s book she�s working on called The Wild and Wonderful Hudson.�
�She sounds fascinating,� commented Mrs. Belden.
�I don�t really know her that well,� Loyola said.
�The public library once sponsored a lecture on common fish in the Hudson,
and that�s where I met her. Thea almost knew more about the Hudson
than the lecturer, and she asked him several embarrassing questions.
She spends quite a bit of time Comment26 by the river. I�m pretty
sure I saw her down there this afternoon. She may be able to tell you
what it was you saw.�
Trixie was getting that familiar tingling feeling Comment27 that
told her she was on the trail of a mystery. Don�t be silly, she scolded herself.
A shark isn�t exactly a mystery.
Either I saw it or I didn�t. Comment28
Aloud Trixie asked, �Is Thea staying with you, Loyola?�
�No, she�s staying with friends who live a few blocks
from school.�
�Trixie, I�m not doing anything after school tomorrow,�
Honey said. Comment29 Do you want to stop off and visit Thea?�
Trixie threw Honey a grateful look. Even when Honey
wasn�t solidly behind Trixie�s notions, she usually could find some way to
demonstrate her loyalty.
�Moms, I promise I�ll single-handedly Comment30 can a thousand tomatoes
this week�� Trixie began.
�If you can just have tomorrow off,� her mother finished
for her. �All right for now, Trixie. But why don�t you call me
during your lunch hour, in case I run into trouble.� She rose from
her chair to start clearing the dishes. �In the meantime�� Comment31
�Oh let me get the dishes,� Mart interrupted. �It�s
my turn, although you�d think people who tell fish stories at the dinner
table would help.� Comment32
�Seeing as how you ate more than anyone else,� his mother
said wryly, �it seems appropriate that it�s your turn. Anyway, as I
was saying, Loyola, would you like to stay in our spare room tonight and
take the bus into town with the kids tomorrow? I just hate to think
of you traveling in this storm tonight.�
Loyola hesitated, looking at Brian.
�I was going to give Loyola a ride home,� said Brian,
�but to be honest, I�m really bushed. I was thinking of heading for
bed right after dinner. We�ve got a big chemistry test tomorrow, and
I�d like to get in a little studying first thing in the morning.� Comment33
�I�ve already studied,� Loyola said, a touch smugly. Comment33 To Mrs. Belden she said, �That�s very kind of you
to offer. After I help do the dishes, may I use your phone again?� Comment35
Mrs. Belden hurried off to prepare the spare bedroom,
while Loyola, Mart, and Mr. Belden cleaned up the kitchen. After Dan
and Honey went home, and Brian retired to his bedroom, Loyola and the rest
of the Beldens spent the evening telling Washington Irving stories and other
legends form the area along the Hudson River. The whole evening, Trixie
couldn�t help but be excited at the idea of meeting another children�s author,
especially so soon after meeting Mr. Appleton, who was the author of her
favorite detective series.
Trixie came out of her reverie when Loyola began to sing an old lumberjack
song to Bobby. It was one she had learned from he grandfather.
Transported
I am
From the haunts of man
On the banks of the Hudson Stream,
Where the wolves and owls
With their terrible howls
Disturb our nightly dream.
Loyola�s strong voice dropped to a ghostly quaver on the
last phrase.
�Spooky,� Bobby admitted, and Trixie agreed with a shiver.
Chapter Three
Brian in Trouble
Comment36
�That�s just repulsive!� Di Lynch�s violet eyes widened in dismay.
�Why, I�ve been swimming in that river. And just last month, I took
the twins swimming at the Croton Point beach, and I can�t bear the thought
that there might have been sharks in the water! I just can�t believe
it!�
�It sounds too weird to be true, Trixie,� agreed Jim Frayne.
He leaned against a locker and frowned at her.
Trixie avoided his eyes and reached for a notebook inside
her locker. She should have known better than to bring up this subject
again! She had deliberately kept quiet on the bus ride to school that
morning, not wanting to provoke any more sarcastic remarks from her brothers.
Patiently, she had listened as Di told everyone about the inch of water in
their basement from the storm the night before, and Jim had told about the
hard time Regan had keeping the horses calm.
That�s just the point, Di,� she said, stuffing a sheet
of equations back into her locker. �We�ve all been swimming in that river.
A lot of us have gone sailing and fishing there, too. But most of all,
we�ve always thought of the Hudson as, well, a thing of beauty. We�ve
never considered it as a threat!�
Jim sighed. Trixie could see a torn expression on
his face. �Trixie, I want to believe that there is a shark in the Hudson
River, but I�m afraid I�ll need more proof.�
�But Jim, I saw the fin of a shark,� Trixie pleaded, shutting
her locker door.
Diana gasped once again, and Jim darted his green eyes
back to Trixie. �I�m not saying that you�re lying, Trixie. I
know you well enough to know you don�t do that. But can we talk about
this later? Class is going to start.�
Trixie nodded and held her books up to her chest.
Just then the warning bell sounded and students began to scatter. In
English class, her mind drifted back to the shark. Her history teacher
surprised the class with a pop quiz. Because they had been studying
about the old Viking voyages and the life of the old Scandinavian communities,
it came as no surprise to Trixie that her mind drifted back to sharks again.
During lunch period, Trixie tried her hardest to not bring
up the subject since it was pretty evident everyone was getting tired of
hearing about it. As if the rest of the Bob-Whites could read her mind,
none of them brought up the subject as well. Instead, they
radiantly discussed the Halloween party the Bob-Whites were planning.
Just before lunch was over, Trixie suddenly remembered that she was supposed
to call her mother to see if she was needed for canning that afternoon and
excused herself from the table.
When Trixie came back to the Bob-Whites� table a few minutes
later, it was with a slower pace and a longer face. She sat down by
Honey.
�Something wrong?� Honey asked.
�Oh, I guess it�s not the end of the world,� said Trixie.
�It�s just that Moms has eighty tons of tomatoes that she claims will rot
overnight if Mart and I don�t help her right after school. So we can�t
go see Thea today, Honey.�
�We�ll go tomorrow,� Honey promised.
�Maybe Thea heard you were coming and left a few bushels
of tomatoes on the doorstep,� Brian said.
Trixie made a face at him. She could tell he was
teasing, but he was missing the familiar twinkle in his dark brown eyes.
�You�re just jealous you�ll miss out on all the fun. Where are you
disappearing to after school, anyway?�
Brian sighed in frustration. �I already said this
morning that I drove my own car to school so Loyola and I could drive to
White Plains to buy some supplies for our project.� He looked at his
watch and stood up so fast he nearly lost his balance. �In fact, I�ve
got to go. Loyola and I have something to go over before our next class.�
The rest of the afternoon at school didn�t prove to be
any different than the morning. All Trixie could think of was the shark
she saw in the Hudson River. A few hours later, she was helping with
the canning process at home, trying to keep her mind from wandering.
Bobby was proud to be assigned the task of washing the
tomatoes Moms had selected. Mart had his hands full with scalding them
and dipping them in cold water. Trixie quartered them, while Mrs. Belden
packed the jars and boiled them for the required forty-five minutes.
Mart dumped several tomatoes into the boiling water at
once, causing a slight spray to shoot upward, splashing Trixie.
�Mart, watch out!� yelped Trixie. �Jeepers, you�re
more lethal than a shark!�
�Bobby, I think Reddy wants to come back inside,� said
Mrs. Belden. �Could you let him in?�
Bobby headed out into the hall and out the door to call
Reddy, and Mrs. Belden continued talking in low tones. �Trixie, I wish
you�d stop this business about the shark. You�ve got Bobby rather upset.�
�Oh gosh, I didn�t even think��
�I know you didn�t know, dear. I wasn�t worried
about it myself, until last night when I went in to say good night to him.
Between that song Loyola sang and the story you told at dinner, Bobby was
full of all kinds of fantasies. I don�t think he slept well last night.�
�Now I feel terrible,� Trixie said. �From now on,
my lips are sealed.�
�That�ll be the day,� snorted Mart. Then, as his
younger brother and Reddy came into the room, he beckoned Bobby over by holding
out a tomato in each hand.
Trixie noticed the small exchange between her two brothers and vowed to try
to control her tongue when Bobby was around. She had forgotten how
he often let his imagination run away with him.
Minutes later, there came a sound of footsteps in the hallway.
�That couldn�t be your father,� murmured Mrs. Belden.
�He has a retirement banquet to attend tonight.�
It was Brian who shuffled into the kitchen and without
a word, sat down at the table, his head in his hands.
Trixie took one look at her ashen-faced brother and said
sharply, �Brian, what�s wrong?�
Brian stared back at her and said slowly, �I�I�ve had
an accident with my car��
Instantly his family surrounded him, full of questions
and concern. �Are you all right?� �Is anyone hurt?� �Brian,
what happened?� �How did you get home?�
Brian waved his hands. I didn�t mean to scare everyone,�
he said apologetically. �I�m fine. It�s just that nothing like
this has ever happened to me before.�
Everyone joined Brian around the kitchen table except
Mrs. Belden, who was busy making tea for her son. As she set the mug
down in front of him, she asked quietly, �Brian, tell us what happened.�
�Thanks Moms,� Brian said as he accepted the mug.
�Loyola and I were getting some special equipment in a large bait and tackle
shop in White Plains. It was right downtown, and I had a hard time
finding a parking place. Loyola found one and pointed it out.
Anyway, what happened was entirely my fault. I saw the space Loyola
pointed out and moved into the right lane. Instead of backing into
the space, like I should have done, for some reason I decided to pull forward.
And I�I guess I just wasn�t paying attention. I sort of blacked out.
The next thing I new, I had steered the jalopy right into the next car!�
�Oh, Brian!� gasped Trixie.
�Actually, it was more like I brushed against the car,�
Brian hastened to say. �I didn�t really do much damage, and there was
no damage at all to my car that I can see. Naturally I stopped right
away and got out to see what I�d done. The car�s owner was in the tackle
shop and came running out to see what had happened.
Well, the owner was very upset at first, but after she
took a good look at her car, she calmed down. She insisted that we
shouldn�t call the police and wouldn�t hear of my paying for the damage.�
Mrs. Belden leaned forward as Brian paused to take a sip
of his tea. �Of course you will pay for the damage,� she said.
Brian nodded. �That�s what made me feel so terrible.
It turned out that her car was almost brand new�a very expensive silver sports
car. No wonder she was so hysterical at first! What I did was
put a scratch in the small rubber guard over the rear fender. I felt
so guilty about putting the first scratch on a brand new car that I promised
to buy the replacement part and put it on her car myself tomorrow after school.
She wouldn�t hear of it for several minutes, but finally�probably just to
keep me quiet�she agreed. She left then, and Loyola and I got our errand
taken care of. Then I drove home. So I guess everything turned
out okay. I don�t know why I still feel sort of disoriented over the
whole thing.�
His mother placed a hand on her son�s. �You do seem
flustered,� she agreed. �And since you�ve come home, you�ve seemed
a little cranky and irritable. Brian, is there anything wrong�I mean,
really wrong? Are you feeling all right?�
�I�m fine,� Brian insisted. �And I apologize for
being so impatient. I seem to be doing nothing but causing trouble
these days.�
�I�ll talk this over with your father when he comes home,�
Mrs. Belden said. �I do think that, besides your paying for and putting
on the replacement part, it might be best if you didn�t do any driving for
a week or so. Of course, your driving record up till now has been perfect��
�No, you�re absolutely right,� Brian said. �I acted
irresponsibly. Would it be all right if I drove to school tomorrow,
though so I can take care of fixing that sports car?�
�Of course,� said Mrs. Belden, getting up from the table
and returning to her canning project.
�Brian rubbed his eyes, finished the last of his tea,
and stood up. Abruptly, he turned to Trixie. �Oh, I almost forgot.
The owner of that car was, of all people, that person you and Honey said
you were going to see this afternoon�Loyola�s friend, Thea Van Loon.�
Chapter 4
A Shocking Confession
Comment37
After school the following day, Trixie and Honey found
themselves crammed into the front seat with Brian in his car. To Trixie,
Brian still seemed moody and unpredictable. She had been almost surprised
when he had agreed at once to let the two girls accompany him to Thea�s.
Brian drove to a nearby car dealer�s and went inside to
purchase the part he needed. Trixie and Honey waited in the car, chatting
about the prospect of meeting a writer of children�s books.
�I wonder what she�s like,� Trixie mused. �Maybe
she�s a retired school teacher.�
�She could be younger than that, Trixie, or she could
be a sweet-little-old-lady type,� Honey said.
Trixie snorted. �A sweet-little-old-lady who drives
a sports car?�
�Well, there was the Little Old Lady From Pasadena,� Honey
joked. �Seriously, Trixie, you never know. Some people have their
little quirks.�
�I think she�s a tall and willowy woman who has high cheekbones,
and wears a long scarf, and wears very artsy, fashionable clothes.�
Honey guffawed. �Yeah, right, Trixie. I�m
real sure.�
Suddenly Trixie saw Brian come out of the dealership store
with the car parts and head for the car. She stifled her joking, knowing
that Brian just wasn�t in the mood for it. He didn�t really seem to
be in the mood for much of anything these days. Wordlessly, he started
the car and drove it to Wentworth Avenue, a nearby street lined with apartment
houses.
The woman who opened the door of the old apartment building
was nothing at all what Trixie and Honey were jokingly speculating.
Thea Van Loon was possibly in her early thirties. Her faded jeans and
nondescript top were not exactly high fashion. She was barely taller
than Trixie and on the plain side. Still, the smile of recognition
that crossed her face made her seem pleasant and open.
�Hello, Brian,� she said. �I must have told you
a hundred times not to bother coming over here, but somehow I knew you�d
be the type to come anyway.�
Brian started apologizing for the accident all over again.
�The car�s right out in front,� Thea interrupted him.
�I hope the repair doesn�t take you more than a minute.� She looked
inquiringly at the two girls.
�This is my sister, Trixie, and our friend Honey Wheeler,�
Brian said. �They were wondering�� He stopped, obviously at a loss
for words.
Trixie, too, was tongue-tied, but Honey stepped forward.
�We pestered Brian so much, Ms. Van Loon, and we just couldn�t let the opportunity
pass by. I mean, you know so much about the Hudson river and we live
right by it and I for one think it�s beautiful but not as beautiful as the
Mississippi, which is another fascinating river which I�m sure you know already,
and we just thought that maybe you could tell us something about the Hudson
which might make it more appealing to us, and well, because we�ve never met
an author before, and we just had to
come along and meet you and maybe get a sneak peek at your new book and see
if we could add anything to it, that is if you don�t mind but don�t feel
like you have to because you�re the author here which is really neat and
all since you must get paid a lot of money�er, well, of course you get paid
a lot of money and it�s really none of my business and what I said earlier
isn�t entirely true because we have met an author before�Mr. Appleton, you
know him?�anyway, he wrote the Lucy Radcliffe stories for teens which my
friend Trixie here is thoroughly obsessed with them and her brother, Mart,
likes to read Cosmo McNaught�ever read any Lucy�s or Cosmo�s?�anyway I think
it�s incredibly neat that we get to meet two children�s authors all in the
same summer and oh my gosh, I�m rambling�aren�t I?�
Honey�s question was met with a few blank stares from
Trixie, Brian, and Ms. Van Loon.
�Why don�t you girls wait inside,� Ms. Van Loon asked.
�Brian, let us know when you�re through.�
The girls followed Thea down the hall and sat down in
the small living room. As Thea left the girls to pour some iced tea,
Trixie leaned over to Honey, who sat next to her on the sofa.
�Way to go, Miss Tactful,� she whispered. �Is that
how you greet the countless celebrities you meet with your parents?�
Honey blushed and nervously smoothed her honey colored
hair back. �I always get nervous when I meet celebrities. Earlier
this year, at Mother�s annual big garden party, I helped her host.
I didn�t realize movie stars were on the guest list, although I should�ve
known. But, I got so nervous that I rambled on and on. I felt
like such a geek.�
Trixie chuckled. �I never would�ve thought you�d
be the kind to get nervous around famous people. After all, your parents
hob-nob with the best of them.�
�I know,� Honey blushed and sighed. �Not a very
tactful moment I had, I guess.�
Thea came back in carrying tall glasses of iced tea with
lemon slices. �Brian is certainly a conscientious person,� she said
as she handed Trixie and Honey their glasses.
�That�s one of the many reasons why he�s going to make
such a good doctor,� Trixie said proudly. She admired her eldest brother
in so many ways, and his desire to help others.
�Tell us about your new book?� Trixie blurted. She
instantly blushed at her blunt question. Then she tried to redeem herself.
�The one called The Wild and Wonderful
Hudson. It sounds exciting.�
�How did you hear about the book? I barely have
it started,� Thea asked, rather confused.
�Um, er, that is, well we heard it from, uh, Loyola�Loyola
Kevins,� Trixie stammered. �You see, she�s a classmate of my brother�s
and she said you might be able to help me with a question I have about the
Hudson River. I saw something on Sunday that I�d never seen before.�
Thea gave Trixie her total attention. �What did
you see?�
Suddenly, Trixie felt as if she would just be laughed
at. Thea would probably think it�s
silly. A reassuring nudge from Honey gave Trixie the confidence
she needed. �A shark. I saw one in the river just before the
storm.�
�You�re kidding!� Thea exclaimed, sinking slowly back
down on the couch. She was silent for a moment, then said, �A shark
hasn�t been seen in these waters for, oh, at least a year.�
�It�s great to know I�m not imagining things at least!�
Trixie sighed with relief.
Honey leaned forward anxiously. �You mean there
are sharks in this area?�
Thea looked from Trixie to Honey and back again.
�At one time, this river was loaded with sharks,� she began.
Trixie�s mouth dropped. This piece of news more
than she had hoped for.
Thea looked as if she wanted to go on but something made
her change her mind. �So it�s entirely possible that you did see one,� she
concluded abruptly. �However, if I were you, I wouldn�t worry about
it or mention it to anyone just yet. There�s no sense in causing a
general panic. Let me do a little investigating on my own first.�
�Loyola said you spend a lot of time researching along
the river,� recalled Trixie. �Would you mind if Honey and I�� her question
was interrupted by the doorbell.
Thea leaped up to answer the door.
Honey glared at Trixie and shook her head leaned over
to her. �Thea has enough to do without us tagging along all the time.
She probably has deadlines she has to meet and can�t be pestered.�
�I know, Honey,� Trixie whispered. �I just thought
that she could be helpful and give me information to prove that my shark
really does exist. It seems that no one believes me, and it would be
nice to prove it to them.�
Honey put her arm around her best friend. �Trixie,
I�m not ready to believe that it was a shark, but I fully believe you saw
something. I�d like to know just as much as you, but bothering Thea
doesn�t seem to be the best way.�
Thea came back into the room with Brian, who motioned
to the girls to get up.
�I think we better get going,� he said. �We�ve bothered
her enough.�
�It was no bother at all,� Thea said pleasantly.
�Thanks for the repair job.�
They said their good-byes and followed Brian out to the
car. Honey made a point of making sure she was sandwiched between the
two Beldens. Ever since Brian and Loyola had started this science project,
he had spent less time with Honey, and she felt left out.
Trixie glanced at Honey and noticed the worried expression
on her face. A few times, Honey glanced at Brian, and each time her
worried expression grew. �Is there anything wrong, Brian?� she finally
spoke up. �Trixie told me about the accident, and I know it must have
been upsetting. But you seem, well, really depressed about something.
Can we help?�
�I�m sorry for being such a grouch today,� he said.
�I�m just short-tempered today. That�s all.�
�Are you sure?� Honey persisted. �I�ve never seen
you like this before. You�re always on such an even keel.�
�I guess I can�t hide anything from the two schoolgirl
shamuses, can I?� Brian asked dryly.
�Nope!� chorused the girls.
�I just�well, frankly, I found out today that I didn�t
do as well on that chemistry test yesterday as I had hoped.� The headlights
from the oncoming car flashed over Brian�s face, pale and drawn.
�Is that all?� asked Trixie. �Jeepers, Brian, you
can�t get a perfect grade all the time! If I got that upset every time
I flubbed up on a test, I�d spend my entire life moping around.�
�It�s�it�s not just that,� Brian said, taking one hand
off the steering wheel to rub his eyes. �I haven�t been feeling up
to par lately.�
�What do you mean?� Honey asked anxiously.
�Oh, I�m sure it�s nothing.�
�Please tell us,� said Trixie.
�Well, I just feel weak a lot of the time, kind of sluggish.
Sometimes I feel sick to my stomach, and sometimes I feel like someone is
squeezing my chest.�
Trixie gasped. �Brian, that sounds serious!
Why haven�t you mentioned this before?�
Brian shrugged. �Didn�t seem worth mentioning.
You can�t go around all the time complaining about every little ache and
pain, and I don�t want to worry anyone. The fact is, I�m having trouble
deciding whether I�m really sick or if it�s just nerves.�
�What have you got to be nervous about?� asked Trixie.
�Well, that chemistry test, for starters. I�ve told
you before what kind of cutthroat competition there is in the sciences.
I can�t afford to get a lousy grade in anything, much less in one of my most
important courses.�
�What else?� prompted Honey.
�Then there�s the ecology project that Loyola and I are
working on. She�s doing an incredible amount of work for it, and I
have the feeling that I�m not pulling my weight.�
�Oh, Brian�� Trixie started to disagree.
He shook his head. �There�s so much at stake on
that project,� he went on, his voice cracking slightly. �If the Conservation
Committee decides our results merit it, they�re going to give the school
the money to start a lab right on the river�a floating lab with an underwater
television camera. This could open up all kinds of possibilities for
kids at school, not to mention the benefits it could bring toward untimely
cleaning up the Hudson.�
�So, you�re feeling a lot of pressure right now,� Honey
said softly.
�I sure am. And the very thing I don�t need these
days is the kind of thing that happened last night�that stupid accident.
I just can�t figure out where my mind was last night.�
He swung the car onto the lane leading to Honey�s house.
�Fortunately,� he went on, �Moms and Dad are being great about it, what with
just letting me off with a warning to be more careful from now on.
But I still feel guilty, like I�ve let someone down.�
�Yourself?� Honey suggested.
�I guess so,� he replied. �I just feel sort of hopeless
about everything.� He parked the jalopy near the Manor House veranda
and stared straight ahead.
Trixie made no move to let Honey out. �Brian, you�ve
got so many things going on right now that you can�t afford to get sick,�
she said practically. �Don�t you think you�d better see a doctor?�
Brian laughed mirthlessly. �That�s the worst part
of the whole business�the doctor thing.�
�What are you talking about?� asked Trixie, suddenly alarmed.
�I�ve gotten very confused about that,� he said.
�I�I just can�t seem to remember what I ever saw in becoming a doctor.�
He sounded genuinely puzzled.
�What?� Trixie
and Honey turned toward each other, their faces frozen with shock.
0 This is a re-write
of �Trixie Belden and the Hudson River Mystery�. Everything in here
is in the original book. But, I had no other alternative than to delete or change some things that did not contributed to the mystery, but were so mind-numbingly horrible (spoonerisms). For example, pages 16-17 are just useless babble that doesn�t add to the story. Spoonerisms are unsuspectingly unleashed on the reader along with Trixie calling Honey a �peach� and Honey correcting her and saying �tomato� and pointing to a bush. Then Trixie gets a massage. (LOL! That sounds like something off of Howard Stern! *g*) Consider it a story gone on a diet�
1 For about half a
page here, Trixie then proceeds to give Honey a lesson in Hurricane names
and why they are usually named for women while a hurricane is approaching.
*RME*
2 Right here is a
full page of friendly bickering about Trixie and Honey�s plans to become
detectives and how Trixie teases Dan about being at Crabapple Farm during
�Hurricane Bob� and he plays along with her little mystery by saying that
all the horses have seemed to disappeared into the storm. Then he tells
her that he�s simply there to tell the girls that because of this storm,
they can�t go horseback riding *Regan says so* and the girls then ask him
to help them with the garden work. Honey then starts gathering things
from the shed and Trixie starts picking apples. You know, I�m beginning
to really wonder if that hurricane is coming or not! Personally, I
wish it had been here ten minutes ago�
3 Right here was something
that I left in but changed since it was so mind numbingly stupid. Yeah,
every now and then I find myself typing �Brain� instead of �Brian� but that
is not a spoonerism, which this Kathryn Kenny is sooooo fond of. It
was just a stupid waste of space and ink.
4 At this point, Dan
has a memory of this incident. Although, his memory isn�t all
that spiffy. He recalls how there were warning signs up and a fence
and how Trixie ignored them and how Brian wouldn�t have been dumb enough
to climb over that fence. Well, maybe so, but there was no fence and
all the warning signs had been thrown over the cliff and smashed to pieces.
The BWG�s had no other alternative than to rescue Janie (Juliana) themselves.
It was pitch dark out and the river was raging so much it was throwing mist
up in the air. (�Mystery of the Missing Heiress� starting at pg. 160)
Actually, what Dan says here as Trixie being the �last one� with enough guts
isn�t exactly true. She went because the ground was unsteady and she
was the only one light enough to go. Diana wasn�t with them, and Honey
wasn�t really in the state of mind to do what Trixie had in mind. Trixie
is still a lot braver than Honey, so logically, it would HAVE to be Trixie.
Jim even insisted that he go, but since he�s heavier, Trixie explained that
it would be better to have him back on stable ground to pull Janie and Trixie
to safety. Okay, I�m straying here, but I thought I�d ramble on while
Dan is having this flashback. By the way, the hurricane must be waiting
as well since it is still threatening to show up but hasn�t yet. And,
apparently Mrs. B is more interested in her canning than this storm as well�
5 LOL! A Mark
Moment�hehehe
6 We are on the second
to last paragraph on page 23. Right now the three Bob-Whites have given
up on their work and are all sitting on the ground talking. Um�Hurricane
anyone?
7 At this moment I
seriously pictured June Cleaver.
8 I�m glad SOMEONE
seams to be worried about Hurricane Bob�you remember, the one that�s been
threatening to unleash every disaster known to man on these three teens,
and yet they seem oblivious to it, even though they are aware of the clouds
and dark skies.
9 Right here Trixie
inserts a stupid joke, so I�ll leave that out. Personally, I�m just
relieved that finally someone is actually acknowledging this storm.
10 Wouldn�t it be easier
to send Mart along with Trixie, Honey, and Dan than to worry about his eating
all the food? I�m sure Bobby is pretty much more in the way than anything
else. She could also send her husband down to the river to get Brian
and Loyola. Why send Dan, Trixie, and Honey? Oh! Canning
holds priority over her son�s prolonged absence�that�s right. Silly
me� Oh well. At least the storm is beginning to mean something
now! LOL
Also right here
as they are cleaning things up and heading for the BWG station wagon, Dan
makes a dumb joke about �Canning the family�. That�s just as bad as
�Baking Yak�.
11 Makes Trixie a dull
girl
12 Okay, it�s a friendly
banter scene, so I�m going to take this opportunity to remind all the readers
of the mystery last October dealing with Diana�s imposter uncle. But,
Trixie never had time for that one either�
13 Why? It never
affected her before.
14 Okay, didn�t quite
know how to make that sound better, but in a way, I felt I should leave it
in because of what Loyola says in a bit. Trixie knows that Brian and
Loyola are down at the river for an ecology experiment, so why is she asking
them why they are there???
15 It is my considered
opinion that this author didn�t write these last few paragraphs of Trixie
looking out at the Hudson River, except for the bit about the shark fin.
This moment is so different from what the rest of the book is like.
But, so far, no sign of that hurricane. Please! Let it come and
just rid us of this horrid fiasco they had the gall to call a mystery!!!
16 Is it just me or
could that sentence have been worded a tad differently� �Unable to speak,
she pointed toward the river.� I don�t know�
17 I can�t help it!
My husband is part Finn yet I don�t believe I got a shark out of the deal
when I married him. At least, I haven�t seen it yet�
18 Why? Are they
all made of sugar?
19 At long last, ladies
and gentlemen, I present to you�Hurricane Bob!!!
20 (Pg. 33, starting
with the first paragraph. Bobby and Mart are involved in a conversation
that involves more of those dreaded spoonerisms. he�s teaching Bobby
how to say �cheid fricken� instead of �fried chicken�. Something tells
me that if earlier in the day Mart had started this with Bobby, and now it�s
dinner time and they are still continuing it, either Mr. and Mrs. Belden
are deaf, or they are extremely tolerant of this while they are canning and
preparing for dinner. For some reason, it becomes important for Mart
to teach this to Bobby and once again, does not add to the mystery.
Besides, it reminds me of a scene in Cannonball Run 2 when the mob guys are
asking their prisoners what they wanted to eat, since they are being held
up in an abandoned restaurant. Dom De Louise�s character orders a chicken
fricassee and then corrects himself and says, �fricken chickassee?�
Never mind�you had to be there.
Also, if this hurricane,
such as it is, is anything like the one they experienced last November, when
Tom and Celia got married, it seems funny that they aren�t the least bit
concerned about things. I suppose since Trixie said that it was the
�tail end� of the hurricane, it shouldn�t be too severe.
21 What???? All
this time I waited so patiently for a hurricane and now we don�t get one??? What is this?
22 Okay, maybe some
might�ve left the rest of Mart�s paragraph in here, but I couldn�t stomach
it. Kathleen Krull, the author, basically opened a book of careers
and fancy names thereof, and picked four careers with lengthy names and had
Mart rattle them off at Trixie. This is where the �pod character� debate
comes into play, because while some wouldn�t view this as a �pod-Mart� moment,
I do. Mart likes to use big words to stump Trixie, but he makes his
whole sentence sound that way. Not just unleashing big words on her
just to do it. For example, he might say �Investigative minds resembling
that of our fair Beatrix habitually result in locating a mystery.�
23 The original sentence
was �A variety of facial expressions greeted this speech.� Personally,
that sounded corny. �I simply saw a shark in the Hudson River today,�
does not constitute a speech. The way this author has written so much
of this book makes me think that she wrote it all in simple English words
and then dug out her thesaurus and had a hay-day with it. Another thing
that bothered me was how Trixie was so nonchalant about this shark to her
family when earlier she was ready to have Dan turn the car around so they
could all see it at the river. �I simply saw a shark in the Hudson
River� is so�everyday-ish. It�s something that would be said over tea
with friends. �So, Trixie, what did you do today?� �Oh, nothing
really, Honey. I saw a shark in the Hudson but that�s not really big
at all.�
Page 36, paragraph
4 through page 37, paragraph 2. Another part that I cut from this is
a page of bantering back and forth between Mart and Trixie about loan sharks
and money. Mart thinks he�s being funny by deliberately misunderstanding
Trixie when she says she saw a shark in the Hudson by thinking she means
a loan shark. Yeah, Mart, Trixie saw a loan shark in the Hudson River
and now she needs money�twit! So, there�s a whole page that�s wasted
to nothing but ridiculous jokes and the like. Apparently, this Kathleen
Krull has a sense of humor�NOT!!!
24 LOL!!!!! DAN
saying �Heaven knows��??? Little did we all know he�s the secret member
of Mrs. Belden�s bridge club! �Oh my land! Oh my stars!
Gosh golly gee!� I�m dying here!!!
Okay, back to the
story. First of all, everyone is so quick to tell Trixie what it could
have been when Brian admits that they didn�t see it. He says, �We don�t
know that it is�� He never dismisses the fact that it was, or it wasn�t.
Everyone else seems to jump on the �It couldn�t have been a shark, so it
must be something else� bandwagon. Frankly, it gets tiring after 27
books of everyone saying Trixie�s got an overactive imagination. She
saw a shark, dang it! Yes, while I understand that it�s highly implausible,
I�d feel extremely guilty if my daughter came home and said she saw a shark
in the Chippewa River and I did nothing about it, or even report that someone
had seen something, and someone was attacked by it while swimming.
25 Meaningless bickering
between Brian, Mart, and Trixie occur that really doesn�t add to the book.
Oh, just so the reader knows, LOYOLA is still at the table�
26 in a van down
27would this make
the Church Lady blush???
28 I can�t resist.
Everyone�s so nonchalant about this shark. Trixie�s so bent on convincing
everyone that she saw a shark when she�s not even sure that�s what she saw
in the first place. After all, she saw a fin and fins come with sharks�
Her whole family and Dan and Honey insist that what she saw was a wave or
debris that she is pushing herself to believe even harder that it was a shark.
Now she�s saying that it�s no mystery at all. I�ll say there�s a mystery:
Mystery of the Ding-bat Author! It�s not impossible since Ossining
(Sleepyside), New York is close enough to the Hudson Bay, and it could very
well happen. So, truthfully, no one should be so quick to deny what
she said. You know, it�s a pain in the rump when you know what you
saw, mysterious or not, and everyone dismisses it.
29 Miss Trask apparently
does her homework
30
wonder where she
picked up that term??? *VEG*
31 This upcoming bit
is priceless�
32 Traditionally, who
is it that tells the fish stories? Men. Fisherman #1: �I
caught me a bass and it was yay long. He was a mean one. Put
up a fight.� Fisherman #2: �Huh�I found a trout up stream
that was oh, about a little bigger than that. Nearly snapped my line!�
Fisherman #3: �Yeah? I was this far from catchin� the biggest
darned Muskee you�d ever saw. I guaran-damn-tee you he was four�no,
five honest-ta-God feet long and I would�a had him too, but my line snapped.
Lost me a good lure too.� Now who, may I ask, is doing the dishes as
this conversation about fish, test line, fishing poles, reels, and tackle
is taking place? I rest my case.
33 Brian Belden, where are your manners!
34 So there, Brian!
35
I�m sorry, I should
have given you a Mary Sue alert�my bad.
36 This whole chapter didn't bother me
very much. I left most of it in because it all pretty much contributed
to the mystery and the rest of the story. I did, however, change things
so this chapter is not taken from the book verbatim. In the book, Jim
is very critical of Trixie and practically calls her a liar. Now, in
a book discussion for "Mystery of the Missing Heiress", it was brought up
that Mart had joked that if Trixie said that there was a dinosaur behind
a bush, that Jim would believe her. I prefer to think of Jim as the
type that would do that instead of being critical of Trixie because she saw
a shark in the Hudson River.
Another thing I left out of here was how friggin' annoying Trixie was when Brian came home to tell about the car accident. First Mart asks him who was driving...well, since it's BRIAN's car, it's safe to assume that it was BRIAN who was driving. Then, right after he said he's had an accident, Trixie jumps right in and blurts out, "I'll bet you had car trouble!" as if she's just solved the mystery to end all mysteries. Um, Trix, he just got done saying it was an accident...duh!
There are also countless spoonerisms in this chapter that have been omitted,
along with a number of ridiculas remarks made by Mart that make him sound
younger than Bobby. Speaking of Bobby, I know he doesn't get much for
lines here, but everything that came out of his mouth was spoonerisms. You
know, we are only on page 54 and I'm already spired of toonerisms...hehehe
37 This chapter could've
been very powerful, had the author not decided to model Thea Van Loon after
herself. I've seen pictures of Kathleen Krull and the description of
Thea is herself to a T. I left out a whole page where Thea babbles
on and on about how being a children's author is such a noble career... Now,
this is just my opinion, but the point of children's mysteries is to get
children to think things out for themselves. As adults, most of the
time these mysteries are pretty obvious, but to young children, they aren't.
It's like problem solving questions in Math. You have three variables:
Motive, evidence, and suspect. You try to figure out who did
it, with what, and why. The last time I checked, the point of these
books was not to guilt the reader into thinking that they should appreciate
this book because someone spent a lot of time on it. Obviously, anyone
who writes anything puts a lot of time and energy into something, but to
come right out and say it in the story is just a little too brassy if you
ask me.
Trixie and Honey
stay in the car when Brian goes into the car dealership to buy the part for
Thea's car. The conversation between the girls at this time has got
to be one of the stupidest conversations in fiction. The girls go on
and on imagining what Thea Van Loon must look like, making her out to be
this stereotypical rich, snobby, glamerous self-important celebrity. Of
course Kathleen Krull is going to put the images of everything undesirable
about celebrities into the minds of the readers so when we actually meet
"Thea Van Loon", we see that she is, in fact, nothing like this, therefore,
instantly making her a ... MARY SUE!!!
When Trixie and
Honey show up at Thea Van Loon's place, Trixie utters a pretty stupid statement.
"We've never met a children's author before!" That's pretty pretentious
of Trixie, as the Bob-Whites just met Mr. Appleton, author of the Lucy Radcliffe
books in the previous mystery. Personally, if I met Julie Campbell
and then met some author (obviously not very well known since Trixie never
recognized her name when Loyola told her) I sure wouldn't just come right
out and say, "I've never met a children's author before!" So, I remedied
the situation without actually taking that ridiculous satement out of there.
Instead of Trixie saying it, Honey rambles on and on. Now, yes,
Honey's the one with the endless tact, but even she has nervous moments when
it comes to celebrities. Think about it? What's the first thing
you would say to a celebrity? "I'm your greatest fan!"??? Cliche'...
The conversation
at the end between Trixie, Honey, and Brian is the best thing this chapter
had to offer. That is the only part of the chapter I kept word for
word and uncut. The interaction between Honey and Brian is priceless.
He's pouring his heart out to the girls about his troubles and how
he's not feeling well, and what is Honey doing? None other than providing
a shoulder for him to cry on.
Shark graphic courtesy of Fiona's Shark Mania Website She has some awesome shark graphics there, and quite a few were just perfectly perfect for this story! :)
Trixie Belden Fan Fiction