The Hudson River Mystery

indirectly....”
    ”Besides, there could be all kinds of reasons. Maybe she’s been able to save up the money. Or maybe she won it in a contest. Maybe she has a rich boyfriend. Maybe she took out a loan. Maybe her parents gave it to her. Maybe—”
    ”Okay, okay,” Trixie said hastily. ”Hey, look over there!”
    The path the girls were on had taken a sharp downward curve. In the late-afternoon light, Trixie could see a peculiar formation of the rocks up ahead.
    ”Let’s go explore,” Trixie urged.
    Honey looked doubtfully at the steeply sloped, rocky shore.
    ”Come on, we’re both wearing sneakers,” Trixie said. ”Aren’t you the least bit curious? It looks like some kind of hole cut right into the cliff. Jeepers, I’ve never seen anything like that around here before!”
    Honey remained unconvinced. ”You go,” she said. ”I’ll stay down here so I can catch you before you fall into the river.”
    ”Don’t be a ninny,” said Trixie.
    ”Don’t be a daredevil,” Honey countered.
    ”Well, I’m going,” Trixie said, and she hoisted herself up onto a boulder.
    ”Hurry up,” called Honey. ”I should be getting back soon. This time I really mean it!”
    Trixie felt full of energy as she clambered over one rock after another. Her love of adventure kept her going even after she lost her footing at one point and scraped her hand when grabbing a jagged rock. Her hand was bleeding slightly, so she had to favor it in the climbing that followed.
    By the time she got halfway to her destination, she was breathing hard. She paused for a moment to study the cliffs above her. There was definitely a cave of some sort tunneled right into the gray cliff. Trixie scrambled upward, nearly dancing with curiosity to know what was inside the cave. Probably nothing , she thought to herself. She wondered briefly if Thea had encountered this cave in her explorations that day.
    Several ledges carved into the cliff made the last several yards of the climb relatively easy. Trixie halted in the opening of the cave to catch her breath and to stop the bleeding in her hand with her sweatshirt.
    Once she stepped inside, she had to wait another few minutes to let her eyes become accustomed to the darkness. Gradually she could make out several indistinct shapes. Approaching closer, she saw that they were large tubs. She walked over to them and peered inside.
    ”What in the world—?”
    Inside each tub were big, beautiful fish. She looked closer and discerned that each container seemed to hold a different kind of fish. The largest tub was filled with tiny silver flashes of fish. She gazed around the front section of the cave and saw fishing rods and reels, nets, other fishing equipment, and what looked like parts of boats.
    ”This is quite a setup,” she murmured. ”I wonder why it’s so hidden away.”
    Trixie walked carefully past the tubs and farther into the cave. As careful as she was, she nearly toppled right into what looked like a large pit. With a hand clutching her thumping chest, she looked down into the pit and saw water. In the vast silence of the cave, she could hear the water lapping gently against the sides of the pit. She squinted and was finally able to make out the sight of—she couldn’t believe it !—hundreds of fish, cavorting madly about in the water below.
    ”What’s going on here?” Trixie asked aloud. She hadn’t the slightest idea, but it occurred to her that perhaps it was something illegal. Why else would it be so remote from humanity? And the only person Trixie had ever seen in this area, besides Brian and Loyola, was Thea. Could Thea have something to do with whatever was going on here?
    ”Trixie... Trixie Belden!”
    Trixiejumped. Then she laughed nervously. It was only Honey calling, not some new breed of talking fish. Trixie walked back to the opening of the cave, caught sight of Honey, and made a vigorous motion for Honey to join her.
    Honey’s voice echoed strangely against the cliff: ”Hurry up! I’m going to be late!”
    Trixie had no choice but to obey. She slid down from boulder to boulder, grumbling all the way. ”Jeepers, just when I’m on the verge of discovering something really big, Honey has to go off and be the belle of the ball.... Little Miss Twinkletoes!” Trixie had the opportunity for a few other insults as she made her solitary way down the cliff, but she wasn’t nearly as angry at her best friend as she sounded. She had already decided she was going