The Mystery at Maypenny's

telepathy, I assure you.” Trixie wrinkled her nose at her sandy-haired brother. “It seems to me,” she drawled, “that you should be able to read my mind, since everyone says we look enough alike to be twins.” Mart blushed. He hated being reminded of the close resemblance between himself and his sister. “Not to change the subject,” he said, “but the reason I came up here was to ask if you want to go to the town council meeting with Brian and me this afternoon.”
    “Gleeps!” Trixie shrieked. “I’d forgotten all about the meeting. Of course I want to go! I’ll have to get busy and do my chores so that Moms will let me. Oh, and Mart, that’s a perfect excuse for calling Honey!” Trixie bounded to her feet and almost knocked Mart over as she ran out of her room and galloped down the stairs to the telephone.
    She was just reaching for the receiver when the telephone rang, startling her. She picked it up and said, “Honey? What happened? What did your father say?”
    “Oh, Trixie,” Honey wailed, “I have the most awful news!”
    Suddenly Trixie wished that she could hang up the phone and run away. I've been so eager to hear the news that I didn’t even worry that it might be bad , she thought.
    Aloud she said, “What is it, Honey?”
    “Jim told Daddy about the ducks last night,” Honey said. “Daddy called a friend of his at the state wildlife department, and the friend sent someone right over to pick up the ducks. They put them through tests at the state lab last night to try to find out what killed them.”
    “That doesn’t sound so bad,” Trixie said. “It’s lucky your dad knows somebody at the wildlife department so he can get an answer back so—”
    “Trixie!” Honey’s usually soft voice was sharp as she interrupted. “The answer did come back, just a few minutes ago.” Honey’s voice broke and she started to cry. “Oh, Trixie, those ducks had botulism!”

An Inconclusive Vote ● 9

    TRIXIE STOOD motionless, the telephone still held to her ear, staring at a picture on the wall. The word botulism sounded familiar, but she didn’t really know what it meant. From the sound of Honey’s voice, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
    “Are you still there, Trixie?” Honey asked in a worried voice.
    Trixie nodded, then realized her friend couldn’t hear a nod over the telephone. “Y-Yes,” she stammered. “I just don’t— What’s botulism?”
    “It’s a disease,” Honey told her. “It’s caused by bacteria—germs. The germs are an-aer-o-bic.” Honey said the word slowly, syllable by syllable. “Jim says that means they grow without air, so the swamp areas where ducks feed are perfect for them.”
    “What does all that mean?” Trixie demanded. Honey sighed. “We don’t really know yet. Investigators from the wildlife department are going to start right away to find the feeding area that has the botulism germs in it. What happens next will depend on when—or if—they find it.“
    “C-Can this botulism hurt people?” Trixie asked. “This botulism can’t,” Honey replied. “There are several different kinds. The one they found in these ducks is harmless to humans. It creates an awful smell in the ducks, too, so other animals wouldn’t touch the meat. But the man from the wildlife department says that where one type of botulism exists, another might, too. That’s why he’s going to advise everyone to stay out of the area and to avoid contact with any of the wildlife in the preserve until they’ve found the source and taken care of it.”
    “Avoid contact?” Trixie repeated. “Does that mean no hunting and no fishing?”
    “Yes, it does,” Honey said sadly.
    “What about Mr. Maypenny?” Trixie asked. “He lives off the game he traps and shoots on his property.”
    “Daddy already talked to Mr. Maypenny about this,” Honey said. “Jim went along, and he told me all about it. He said he thought Mr. Maypenny had a guilty look on his face when Daddy told him, but he said he didn’t think Daddy noticed it.”
    “That’s good news, anyway,” Trixie said. “Jim must have done a good job of keeping your father from getting suspicious.”
    “I told you he had,” Honey said. “Mr. Maypenny didn’t seem to suspect that Dan had anything to do with it, either, Jim said. That didn’t keep him from getting fighting mad when Daddy told him about the wildlife department’s advice not to hunt or fish on the land for a while.”
    Trixie