The Pet Show Mystery

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    Honey drew nearer. There was a smile on Honey’s face—but there were tears in her eyes!
    “Oh, Trixie,” she said softly, the tears running down her cheeks, “you won’t believe this. She says there’s a rumor going around school about us, and that’s why she withdrew. The rumor is that we don’t plan to use this money for the game birds at all—we’re going to spend it on ourselves!”
    Trixie was absolutely stunned. “We’re going to have to tell the other Bob-Whites right away,” she said. “This is too big—and too awful—for us to handle on our own.” She began to sweep the contents of the sign-up table into piles that she and Honey could carry to their lockers for storage.
    Just as the girls were finishing, Jim appeared in the hallway. “What’s up, sis? I came back early to help you with the sign-up, but the table’s gone. This is no time for you and Trixie to take a vacation,” he added with a teasing grin.
    As Honey turned to face him, Jim’s grin faded. Seeing her distraught, tear-streaked face, he asked, “Honey, what is it? What’s happened?”
    Honey swallowed hard and shook her head.
    “I can’t tell you. I mean, I have to tell you, but I need to tell the other Bob-Whites, too, and I can’t say it more than once. We need an emergency meeting right away.”
    “Right away,” Trixie echoed lamely.
    Without further question, Jim said, “Let’s head home. But first, I’ll call Brian and Mart to tell them we’ll be stopping by for them. I’ll have them call Di and see if she can get a ride to the Manor House. We can just swing by Mr. Maypenny’s on our way; Dan will probably be there. Head for the station wagon—it’s unlocked. I’ll catch up.”
    Trixie’s feet were leaden as she moved toward the door. At least he didn’t make us explain, she thought. And at least he’s still able to think clearly, even though Honey and I can’t.
    The girls were barely seated in the car before Jim opened the door on the driver’s side and took his place behind the wheel. “Brian and Mart will pick up Di and meet us at home,” he said. “That will give us time to get Dan.”
    The drive out of Sleepyside and along Glen Road seemed endless. Trixie alternated between trying frantically to think of a way to end the rumors about the pet show, and trying just as frantically to put the whole thing out of her mind until the Bob-Whites were all assembled.
    The only distraction was Honey’s nudging her and pointing to the side of the road. There, a hen and a rooster pheasant were picking along a thin strip of ground.
    “Poor things,” Honey said softly. “All we wanted to do was help.”
    From the way she put it, Trixie thought, I can ’ t tell if she means the pheasants are the “poor things” or we are. Maybe she means it both ways. I think we’re more like sitting ducks than pheasants, though—for whoever started this stupid rumor.
    Soon they pulled up in front of the cabin where Dan lived with Mr. Maypenny, and Jim ran in to get Dan. The two boys were back in minutes, and Dan had been told not to ask any questions.
    It took only moments to drive from Mr. May-penny’s to the Manor House. Trixie noted with relief that Brian’s car was parked out front.
    Brian, Mart, and Di were already waiting in the den. Trixie and Honey took off their coats and sat down close together on the couch. Honey looked at her more-talkative friend, but Trixie shook her head. “You’re the one who heard it firsthand. You tell them.”
    “A girl named Heather told me about a rumor that’s spreading through school,” Honey said. “The rumor is that we’re going to use the pet show money for ourselves, not for the game birds.”
    Trixie waited for a burst of protest, but there was none. Apparently, her friends were as bewildered by the explanation as she had been earlier.
    “Maybe we can track the rumor to its source and stamp it out,” Dan said finally. “Did your friend say where she heard it?”
    Honey shook her head. “I asked her that, but she can’t remember where she heard it the first time.”
    “The first time?” Brian echoed, recognizing immediately the significance of those words.
    “That’s right,” Honey said, confirming his fears. “Apparently, the rumor is absolutely all over school. Everybody has heard it from three or four different people by now. There’s no way of knowing how it started, so there’s no way of stopping it.”
    “The former is true,”