The Hudson River Mystery

sense out of Bunker’s reaction to this calamity.
    He claims he’s been fishing this river for forty years, she thought angrily. You’d think an experienced man of the river would be on the lookout for people in trouble and be willing to help them. What an unpleasant, hard-hearted man!
    Trixie stubbed her toe on a rock and paused to rub it. Suddenly it occurred to her that perhaps Bunker had exaggerated his experience on the river to impress her. That might explain why his statements about sharks differed so much from Thea’s—because he simply didn’t know what he was talking about. Now that she was thinking along those lines, it seemed to her that he had hesitated just a fraction too long before launching into his opinion on the subject. He’s covering up something, Trixie thought grimly.
    Then she was stopped in her tracks by the thought of something more dangerous.
    Sharks! she thought. Gripped with apprehension, she studied the four figures struggling in the Hudson, thinking again of the fin she had seen in these very waters the week before.

A Serious Mistake 9

    SHARKS TURNED OUT TO BE the least of Honey and Brian’s problems in tugging Ken and Carl in to shore. The water was so calm, and Honey and Brian were such good swimmers, that their rescue effort should have been relatively easy. What they didn’t count on was the boys’ frantic desire to retrieve the Quarter Moon.
    Standing near Loyola, Trixie watched in agony while Honey literally pulled the larger boy the final several yards toward shore. The smaller boy was obviously not a very strong swimmer, and Brian had an easier time of it.
    ”They’re going to make it!” Trixie exclaimed finally. ”Loyola, can you give them a hand? I’ll be back in a second with some dry things for Honey and Brian. Oh, woe, poor Brian....” Without waiting for a reply, Trixie whirled around and raced for the jalopy. She gathered up all of their jackets and sweatshirts, and she found several beach towels Brian had tucked away.
    When she got back to the riverbank, four soaked figures had collapsed on the rocks and were catching their breath. Trixie’s eyes went first to Brian. His lips were blue, and his teeth were chattering, but he didn’t seem to be concerned about himself. He had an arm around the smaller boy’s shoulders.
    ”Now, Carl,” he was saying gently, ”you really should be wearing a life jacket when you go sailing. That river current is a lot stronger than you are.”
    Carl nodded and stared down at his bare feet. ”I—I was eating a sandwich,” he mumbled. ”It went overboard—”
    ”Brian, take off your shirt,” Trixie interrupted. ”Here, dry yourself off with this towel and put on your sweatshirt.”
    ”I’m not the only wet one around here,” said Brian. He indicated Honey, who was wringing out her honey-blond hair. ”It’s a good thing it’s such a warm day, or Honey’d get pneumonia waiting for you to get around to her.”
    Trixie hurried over to her wet friend, put a towel around Honey’s shoulders, and gave her a hug at the same time. ”Oh, Honey, I’m a real dunce. How are you? And you, boys, are you all right?” She handed each of them a towel.
    Ken, who appeared to be about eleven, nodded gratefully. ”I feel kind of dumb,” he began.
    ”Well, it wasn’t exactly a stroke of genius to go for a swim right after eating,” Brian said. ”Not that your swim was intentional, but—what happened, anyway?”
    ”We were coming down from Haverstraw Bay,” said Ken. ”That’s where we live. And I guess I just wasn’t letting enough air out of the sails. Then the boat tipped over. That happens sometimes, you know,” he finished defensively.
    Brian stopped shivering and leaned forward to examine the boys. ”First of all,” he said, ”you should have had life jackets on that boat, and you should have been wearing them. Second, you shouldn’t be eating on the boat if there’s any chance you’re going to capsize. And third, if you do capsize, hang on to your boat. Don’t let it get out of your reach! Can you remember that?”
    ”That’s what we were trying to do,” complained Carl. ”But you dragged us away!”
    ”Our dad is going to kill us,” Ken muttered.
    ”That’s my fourth point,” said Brian sternly. ”If people are trying to rescue you, don’t resist them. A boat can always be replaced, but human beings can’t. I saw you from shore, and you were already way out of reach of your boat by the