The Hudson River Mystery

owed Loyola the explanation. ”Sometimes that makes me insensitive, too, like when I jump to conclusions too fast. Obviously—” she laughed shakily—”I should change my goal to being the world’s worst detective!” She reached out and covered Loyola’s hand with her own.
    Loyola smiled warmly back at her. ”I think probably all four of us have a lot to learn before we reach our goals,” she said. ”But that doesn’t mean we’re hopeless, does it?”
    ”Certainly not,” Honey said, then hesitated. ”I hate to break this up, but, Trixie, didn’t you say your mom was super scared that something in your kitchen was poisoning Brian? Shouldn’t we get back and tell her what we found out?”
    ”Jeepers, you’re right,” Trixie said. ”I suspect you wouldn’t mind getting into some dry clothes, either, Honey. Oh, and poor Brian! Come on, everyone!”
    The young people soon had everything packed up and loaded into Brian’s car.
    As she had done on the previous Sunday, Trixie fell behind the others on the path so she could take in a final river panorama. This time she knew what she was looking for—a sign of that shark. A lone gull flew overhead, squawking crazily... like me, thought Trixie. Out on the water, there was nothing unusual. She could see The Kruller II , no longer attached to the Quarter Moon. Of course, she couldn’t be certain, but it seemed as though the houseboat was in the same general area in which she had seen the fin.
    Trixie grinned to herself, thinking of Bunker’s ”little lady” routine and hoping Mart never got wind of it. Then she hopped up the path to join the others in the car.
    When the group got back to Crabapple Farm, Mr. and Mrs. Belden were extremely relieved to hear their news.
    ”I was just about to tell the doctors about all the canning I’ve been doing,” Helen Belden said, ”in case there was something I’ve been doing wrong. And I’d just finished the canning for this year, too. I was dreading the thought of all that going to waste!”
    Brian hugged his mother. ”Now it can just go to waist,” he said. ”Get it?”
    ”I’m glad to see your sense of humor hasn’t changed a whit,” Mr. Belden said.
    ”He thinks he’s a wit, and he’s half right,” quipped Mart.
    Mrs. Belden turned to Loyola. ”You must feel just terrible—would you be able to stay for Sunday dinner with us again?”
    ”I’d love to,” Loyola said, ”but I’m supposed to meet my friend Thea at a restaurant in town for dinner. We don’t get to see each other very often anymore, and—”
    ”Why don’t you ask Thea to come here?” Trixie urged.
    ”What a nice idea,” Mrs. Belden agreed. ”She’s certainly welcome to come.”
    It was soon arranged that both Loyola and Thea, as well as Honey, would be having dinner at the Beldens’. Trixie made an extra effort to help with the preparations for the roast beef dinner. She felt guilty over the fact that curiosity, not kindness, had been her main motive in suggesting that Thea come for dinner. She was hoping for the opportunity to question Thea about the differences between her shark story and Bunker’s.
    Not until the entire group was seated around the food-laden Belden table did Trixie remember her promise. She wasn’t supposed to talk about sharks in front of Bobby. Trixie watched her angel-faced little brother for a moment and knew she’d keep her promise.
    It’s not worth upsetting Bobby just so I can pick up new information for my own personal mystery-solving, she decided silently. I guess I learned this afternoon that consideration for others is sometimes just as important as solving mysteries!
    It was evident, as the meal progressed, that had Trixie brought up the topic, Thea probably would have found some way to close the discussion. She was as polite as possible and quite charming, but also extremely quiet. It was apparent that most of the Beldens felt somewhat awed at the idea of having a writer as guest at their dinner table. Thea made no attempt to set people at ease and spoke only when spoken to.
    Thinking of the contrast between this demure woman and the animated champion of children’s reading she had heard the previous week, Trixie started to frown. Then she tried to be understanding. Not everyone had the ability to make friends with strangers as easily as Trixie herself did.
    What concerned Trixie more was the fact that Loyola also was unusually quiet.
    She seized the chance, when Loyola got up to