All ages

Disclaimer: The original Trixie Belden characters in no way belong to me, this is a non-profit story and is written just for fun. The characters, Sally, Becky and Jake are mine though. So are the characters that are in Scotland.

The Loch Ness Monster Mystery

By Ginger Garland

Chapter 1

"Moms! Moms!" 15 year old Trixie Belden shouted as she burst into the kitchen of Crabapple Farm. In her hand was a pale blue envelope.

"What?" Helen Belden asked, she was pressurizing tomatoes.

"You know my pen-pal in Washington, Sally Grant?"

"Yes, the one who also solves mysteries, right?"

"Right, she and her friends are going to Scotland and she invited me and the Bob-Whites to come along!"

"That's wonderful!" Moms exclaimed.

"So can I go?"

"You'll have to ask your dad."

"Oh… okay."

Trixie ran out the door to tell the other bobwhites about the trip. She ran first to the Wheeler estate, better known as Manor House. She was greeted by Jim, who was washing his dad's car with the chauffeur, Tom Delanoy.

"Hi Jim, hi Tom!" Trixie greeted breathlessly.

"Where's the fire?" Tom asked curiously.

"No where. I got some great news. Can you get the Di and Dan to meet at the clubhouse?"

"Um…." Jim began and looked pleadingly at Tom.

"Go ahead, I'll finish here."

"Thanks!" Jim through his sponge into the bucket and dashed off to get his bike.

Trixie watched him go and ran inside the large mansion.

"Trixie!" Miss Trask said as Trixie burst in the door.

"Hi, I'm sorry Miss Trask, I just got some wonderful news! I gotta talk to Honey."

"She's in her room."

"Thanks." Trixie said over her shoulder and dashed up the stairs to her best friend's room. She pushed the door open. Honey was sitting at her desk sewing a T-shirt that had a hole in it. "Honey, I got the greatest news in the whole world!"

Honey looked up startled. "What is it?"

"Well, I'll tell you when we get to the clubhouse. Come on, I gotta call Brian and Mart."

Brian was two years older than Trixie and had dark hair like his father. Mart was only 11 months older than Trixie and looked so much like her, they could be twins.

Jim Frayne was Honey's older brother, with red hair and a temper to match it, he was her adopted brother.

The other members of their secret club were Diana Lynch and Dan Mangan. Diana was a rich girl with beautiful black hair and violet eyes.

Dan was the nephew of the Wheelers' groom Regan and he worked for Mr. Maypenny.

Trixie walked swiftly into the hallway and dialed her telephone number, Bobby Belden, Trixie's eight almost 9 year old brother picked up the telephone.

"What do you want?" He said annoyingly.

She heard her mother scold in the background "Bobby, that's no way to answer a phone!"

"Bobby, put Mart or Brian on."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

"Uh Huh." The telephone was loudly set down and she heard Bobby yell. "Hey, Brian! Hey Mart! One of you guys should pick up the phone!"

In a few seconds, she heard her older brother's gentle voice. "Hi Trix, what cooks?"

"Brian, you and Mart need to come to the clubhouse right away."

"Okay, but why?"

"Just come on!"

"We'll be there in a minute."

There was a soft click as Brian hanged up.

Trixie and Honey jogged towards the clubhouse and made it just as Diana walked in.

"Hi!" Diana greeted cheerfully.

Inside the clubhouse, were Jim and Dan they were sitting at the table.

"Well, all we have to do is wait for Brian and Mart." Honey said.

"You don't have to linger that long." Mart replied.

"All right, since everyone is here, I'm going to share my news." Trixie paused for a minute. "You know what? I think I'll read you my letter, of course you all know about my good friend Sally Grant." Trixie unfolded the letter and read…

 

 

All the Bob-Whites were wide-eyed. Trixie smiled. Then Honey broke the silence. "We're going to Scotland!"

Chapter 2

"That's in 2 days!" Mart exclaimed.

"How wonderful!" Diana said joyfully at the same time.

"I knew you guys would want to go." Trixie said with a smile.

"Trixie, I hate to burst your bubble, but I think we might want to discuss this matter with Dad," Brian said.

"Oh… He's gotta say yes!"

"Trixie, your dad should be home by now." Honey uttered.

"Gleeps!" Trixie shouted and ran out of the clubhouse.

Jim announced, "I guess this meeting of the Bob-Whites of the Glen is adjourned.

Everyone filed out of the clubhouse to ask their parents for permission to go to Loch Ness.

 

At the Lynch Mansion:

Di walked in as it began to rain. "Mother? Daddy?" She called into the massive library.

"Hello Diana," Her father greeted warmly.

"Hi, Daddy!" She acknowledged back, and hugged him. "Where’s mother?"

"She is packing".

"Why?"

"Your mother and I  are taking a trip to Colorado, to visit old friends," Mr. Lynch explained.

"When are you leaving?" she asked, as she pushed back a strand of long, shiny, black hair.

"In two days, we’ll be gone for two weeks."

Diana turned around and stared at the books. "How marvelous!" she whispered.

"What did you say, sweetie?"

"Dad, the Bob-Whites were invited to go to Loch Ness in Scotland."

"In Scotland?"

"Yes, isn’t it marvelous?"

"Yes, Diana, but when are you leaving?"

"In two days."

"Well, how long will you be gone?"

That phrase stopped Diana, the letter from Trixie’s friend didn’t contain how long they would be gone.

Shyly she said, "Actually, I don’t know."

Mr. Lynch chuckled. "That’s okay, I doubt it will be that long. You may go."

"Oh, thanks, Dad!" She gave him a hug and walked quickly up the stairs to her room.

 

At Mr. Maypenny's

"I don’t think we’ll be gone that long," Dan said to his employer.

"Well, when you find out the exact dates, I’ll tell you what I think."

"I guess I’ll give Trixie a call then."

 

At The Wheelers'

"Yes, you can go, but find out the exact dates," Mr. Wheeler said to his adopted son and his daughter.

"All right," Honey said and picked up the telephone.

 

At the Beldens'

"Mart, that’s enough ice cream," Mrs. Belden scolded gently.

"Oh, Moms, please permit me at the infinitesimal have one more scoop of this palatable morsel?" He inquired using the big words he dearly loved but never could spell.

"I guess so." She gave in with a sigh.

"I can’t believe that you’re actually letting us go to Scotland! Everyone has been calling about when we are leaving, Sally said in a week and a half, I guess in all the excitement I left that out." Trixie exclaimed excitably.

"A week and a half in the frigid, vaporous, drizzly, Loch Ness, where the grotesque, disproportionate, ridiculous monster lurks in the shadows of the caliginous, incisive waters. " Mart demonstrated dramatically.

"What monster?" Trixie pleaded.

"Oh woe! Another mystery and we aren’t in Scotland yet!" Mart complained. "I must try to excel in keeping my mouth fastened."

"Trix, the Loch Ness Monster is an unproved thing that exists or might exist in Loch Ness."

"That’s what Sally meant by the sudden interest in cryptozoology!"

"Well, my dear sister, if you had an intellect such as mine, you would know about these things!" Mart teased.

"Ha ha ha." Trixie sarcastically laughed. Then she spoke to Brian. "Tell me more about this ‘thing’."

"Well, there has been numerous sightings of a long ‘dinosaur’ like creature that lives in the loch. The sightings have concluded a few things, such as that it has humps, and is presumable fifteen to twenty feet in length, and has a head like a reptile."

"What color?" Trixie begged with wide eyes.

"Gray to dark gray."

"Oh, wow!" Trixie said happily.

"Are there any pictures?"

"Several. The most amazing one is the Surgeon's photograph. Truly amazing, you'll probably see it when we get there."

"I can't wait! I'm going to go pack now!" Trixie announced and ran all the way to her room.

 

Chapter 3

"Hurry up, Mart!" Trixie yelled towards her brother’s room. Sally called the night before and told them they should get to the airport at five in the morning, cause that was the time that Sally’s flight was due in.

"You can be patient can’t you? I’m just seeing if I forgot anything." He shouted back.

"Gleeps!" Trixie exclaimed at once, as Brian pulled up the car.

"Gleeps, what?" Mart asked.

"I just remembered that we’ll need money, for the rental car and…"

Mart stopped her with his hand. "Hold it, Beatrix, we have all the necessities."

"Mart, I told you never to call me Beatrix!" Trixie shouted angrily. Trixie hated being called her real name.

Mr. and Mrs. Belden came out of the house with a final bag. "Here’s snacks for you and your friends" Mrs. Belden said with a smile.

"Swell, I hate airplane food." Trixie said.

"Thank you, Moms." Mart said taking the bag and handing it to Brian, who put it in his jalopy.

The kids all exchanged hugs with their parents and climbed into the jalopy, and with the three Beldens waving goodbye as they drove to the airport. There they would meet the other bobwhites in the station wagon.

 

They arrived at the New York International Airport at 4:45 A.M. the other bobwhites were there, getting their luggage checked. Tom Delanoy and Miss Trask we’re making sure everyone brought everything they needed. They were there to drive the cars back home, also.

"Hi, you guys have everything?" Tom asked the Beldens.

"Positive." They answered in unison.

"Okay. You guys, have a nice trip, and stay together." Tom cautioned, and walked out the doors.

After fifteen minutes, Miss Trask finally left, and the bobwhites awaited the arrival of Sally.

"Flight 214 from Seattle, Washington to New York, New York. Has just landed." A voice over the intercom stated.

Trixie, Di and Honey ran to the gate, they waited impatiently for a few minutes then the doors opened, and passengers started coming out, Trixie scanned the crowd for a minute and finally caught sight of Sally.

Sally had black shoulder-length hair and brown eyes. She was tall as Trixie and weighed about the same. Becky Campbell had long brown hair with blue eyes and a tiny waist, both girls were fifteen. Jake was Sally’s older brother, the same age as Mart. He had green eyes and black hair.

"Sally! Over here!" Trixie yelled as she waved.

"Trixie? Is that you?" Sally asked happily.

They ran to each other and hugged, then she hugged Becky and Jake. Jim watched enviously.

"Come meet my friends." Trixie pleaded with a smile.

Sally nodded. Becky and Jake followed. "This is my brothers, Brian and Mart, my friends, Dan, Di, Jim, and Jim’s sister Honey." She said pointing to each of them as she said their names. "Guys, this is Sally, Becky, and Sally’s brother Jake."

Everyone exchanged greetings. They talked politely for a few minutes anxiously awaiting the call to the plane bound for Scotland.

Then Becky checked her watch. "Hey, you guys, the plane leaves in a few."

"Oh, I’m so nervous!" Di stated to Trixie.

"We’ll be fine." Trixie reassured warmly.

"Yeah, we’ll be fine, Scotland is friendly country." Mart added.

15 minutes later, they were all seated in economy.

"This is so neat!" Sally exclaimed.

"I sincerely agree." Mart determined.

"Scotland! I can hardly wait!" Honey said happily.

"Yeah, but I think I'll be happy to be home again." Jim stated quietly, Trixie heard his comment. 'I wonder why Jim isn't happy we're going to Scotland' she thought, then it occurred to her. 'Is Jim, jealous? Nah. He couldn't be!'

"I hope against hope, Trixie won't find another mystery! Then we can have a relaxing vacation before school!" Mart asserted.

Nevertheless, for some reason Trixie hoped he was wrong.

 

Chapter 4

8 hours later

The group arrived finally in a city close to the place they were staying, Inverness. As they arrived, Sally's Aunt Lizzie, greeted them.

"Hello!" She welcomed warmly.

"Hi!" They greeted back.

"This is Scotland?" Mart questioned.

"No, this is an airport." She answered.

Mart and Dan exchanged glances and shrugged their shoulders.

"Here kids, this is a brochure of Scotland." She handed each of them one. "Come on, I got the van outside." She motioned them to follow, and they

did. Jim, Brian and Dan went to get the luggage.

Trixie and Sally fell behind. "Sal, you didn't tell me, your aunt was going to take care of us, I thought Brian was."

"I'm sorry, it slipped my mind, I was so anxious to get out of Washington."

"Bigfoot?" Trixie persisted.

"Yeah, when you see, what I saw, you would be scared too!"

"I did, remember?"

"Oh yeah!"

The girls climbed in the mini-van with the rest of the girls.

Mart waited by a rental car with Jake. Soon Brian, Jim and Dan returned with the luggage, they stuffed most of it in the back of the van and stuffed the rest in the trunk of the rental car.

"Brian started to the 'American' driving side as Dan did.

"Dan, you only have a permit, I better drive." Brian said.

"I'm letting you." He nodded toward the 'American' passenger side.

"Duh, we're in Europe!" He said and went around the car and got in that side.

Much to Jim's dislike he sat in the back with Jake and Mart, who were deep in conversation.

Before Brian climbed in, he shouted towards Aunt Lizzie, who was trying to get the luggage to fit all in. "We'll follow you!"

"All right!" She shouted back.

Soon everyone was ready and on their way to Inverness Inn.

 

In the girl's car

Di was reading the brochure. "It says here, that Edinburgh castle is haunted by ghosts and people have seen them and heard them."

"No!" Becky complained.

"What?" Honey asked.

"Now, Trix and Sal will want to solve that mystery."

Trixie and Sally burst into laughter.

"Well, girls, you can try, but you can only go on a tour. Its a good ways away anyway." Aunt Lizzie explained. "Girls, there is the Loch."

"Whoa." Honey whispered in absolute astonishment.

Di's mouth was gaping and Sally and Becky were smiling. But Trixie's eagle eyes were watching a large wake in the V shape moving towards the Inn. 'what is that?' she wondered.

Then it disappeared. Simply vanished!

Honey noticing Trixie had a puzzled look on her face, asked. "Trixie, did you see something?"

"Did you see the monster?" Becky inquired.

"What's wrong?" Di questioned.

"I-I saw….." She began.

"Here we are! Inverness Inn!" Aunt Lizzie interrupted without knowing.

"I'll tell you later."

They piled out of the car and wandered to the back of it just as the boys pulled up.

Trixie almost wanted to blurt out what she saw, but Jim's warning hand stopped her.

'Why?' she asked herself. 'Something is in those waters, something I never seen, nor do I know what it is. Something big.' She thought.

 

Chapter 5

3 hours later:

Trixie watched out her window, which gave a breathtaking view of the loch, the clouds were dark, giving the sign of rain. She looked out across the chilling, dark waters, what lies beneath? Was there truly a monster? What did it look like?

Honey came over with the rest of the girls. "Trixie, what is it?"

"Honey, I saw it."

Di gasped and strained to look out the window.

"Di, I saw it when we first passed the Loch, it isn't there now."

"Oh." She said sounding disappointed.

"Don't be discouraged, Di, you'll see it."

"Yeah, I guess I might."

"Hey, gals, I'm famished and we're on the way to the dining room? You coming?" Mart asked opening the door a little.

"We'll be there." Sally answered for the group.

"Okay." The door closed.

 

It was about 8:00 P.M. when they came down stairs, they arrived at about 6:00 P.M. in Scotland.

The smell of food greeted them. Mart was at a booth in the corner with the guys, he was obviously telling a story about the monster. The girls put on their best smiles and went over to the table.

"Hi!" Becky greeted as cheerfully as possible.

"Ah, the girls have finally arrived from their living quarters." Mart teased.

"Scoot over." Sally said, as she sat down by Brian, who scooted over.

"So what's the plans for tomorrow?" Dan asked as Di sat by Mart and Becky sat down by her.

"We could take a tour of Edinburgh." Sally said with a sly grin.

"It would take a while getting there." Brian said logically.

Trixie and Sally sat down by Honey in the horseshoe shaped booth.

"We could go shopping!" Di suggested helpfully.

"I vote, we take a look around the Loch."

"The monster is just a legend, get it through your head." Brian sternly said.

"Then explain the thing I saw this morning!" Trixie argued.

"What thing?" Everyone said in unison.

"When we were driving past the loch, when we first arrived, I saw a wake moving across the water, quickly."

Everyone grew silent, then Jim spoke. "Trix, I saw it to."

Trixie smiled brightened. "You did? Exactly the way I described it?"

"Exactly." He answered.

The dinner was eaten in absolute silence; no one said anything except the occasional 'pass the salt.'

"Well, I think we probably all have jet lag, we better get to bed." Brian ordered.

Everyone glumly went up the stairs, said their good nights and went to their rooms. The five boys had two rooms, as did the girls.

Trixie tossed and turned in her bed. Sally and Honey were in her room. She turned on her bedside light, grabbed an old Lucy Radcliffe novel and tried to read it. After about five minutes, she gave up. "Its no use!" She mumbled and slid her feet on the floor.

She wandered to the window, and through the mist, she saw a figure standing by the edge of the loch, a lantern swinging in his hand. He then continued to walk to the ruins of a castle. (Urquhart) While he was walking, Trixie searched frantically through her bag for some binoculars. She pulled them out and brought them to her eyes, realizing she couldn't see a thing, pulled the lens caps off, and watched.

He was bending over with something in his hand. 'Focus' Trixie thought as she adjusted the camera settings. That man was digging! She continued to watch when he looked like he hit something, he pulled a long wooden box out of the ground, Trixie suddenly found out what it was, a coffin.

 

Chapter 6

Trixie watched as he opened the coffin, another man came out of a nearby truck, and helped the first man carry the coffin to the bed of the truck, they covered it with a gray blanket, they came back for the tools and to fill in the hole.

'I can't believe it! They must have killed who ever is in the coffin!' Trixie thought as the truck sped down the road.

Trixie stared at the road even after the truck was long gone. "Sally! Honey! Wake up!" She said loud enough to wake them up, but quiet enough to not wake the boys.

"Mmm… Go away, Trixie, try to get some sleep." Honey mumbled.

"Come on, guys! Get up!"

Sally bounced out of bed; the sound of urgency in Trixie's voice made her quickly get dressed.

"I'll get Becky and Di." She said and went through the door that attached their room to Di and Becky's.

Soon all girls were awake and dressed. Trixie related the story again, and when she got to the part about the coffin, the girls gasped.

"Trixie, we'd better call the police." Honey said.

"No!" Sally and Trixie argued in unison.

"Why? Trixie, we've solved a lot of mysteries in the past.."

"And we can solve this one." Trixie interrupted.

"No, these men are murders, dangerous and violent men, they could easily do the same to us!"

"We don't know if they are murders!" Trixie volunteered.

"Honey, she's right, you know." Di said calmy.

"Yeah, she is. Okay, what are we going to do?"

"We gotta sneak out of the hotel and find out where they were digging, before it storms."

"N-Now?" Becky asked.

"Now."

"Okay. Let's do it!" Sally exclaimed.

The five girls creeped to the door with their flashlights and Sally opened it a crack, no one was in the hall, and they shuffled out of the room, quietly and started for the stairs. As they passed the boys rooms, they heard the faint sound of snoring.

'Whew!' Trixie thought.

They finally arrived out side, a chilly wind was blowing against them, fog covered the ground like walking on clouds, the clouds above were darker than they were earlier, the loch had a chilling effect, it was still as glass, and the mist made it even more creepy.

Trixie led the way to the castle ruins; it was tremendously amazing and large.

"Wow!" Trixie breathed.

"Double wow!" Becky asserted.

"There! That's where it was buried!" Trixie pointed to a mound of brown earth.

"Yep, lets look for clues." Sally agreed.

They began searching with their flashlights. "I think I found something!" Di called almost immediately.

"What?" Everyone wanted to know.

"Oh, never mind, just a shiny rock!"

"Diana Lynch, with all your money, you should know the difference between a 'shiny' rock and gold!" Honey scolded.

"Let me see that!" Trixie commanded. She grabbed it and began turning it round and round. "That's what they're after, gold! Girls, I'm pleased to announce that our suppose murders are actually robbers!"

Why they were telling each other how relieved they were they heard loud splash. All eyes went to the loch where a shadow was emerging, something large with a long neck was getting closer, and close. Trixie shined her flashlight on it, and then they saw It.. Something different than all they imagined, its large eyes reflected the light giving it a ghostly effect, then as quick as it came it sunk under…

 

Author's Note: Some material in this chapter may not be suitable for young children. PG

Chapter 7

The girls stood there in awe, half-hoping it would come back, half-hoping they were dreaming.

Di released the breath she was holding. Honey looked toward the loch, it was still glass calm.

"Was that the…" Becky began.

"Yes." Sally whispered.

"Wow." Trixie exclaimed, which was echoed by her companions.

They stared there in absolute amazement for about five minutes; the crisp night air bit at them as fog hid them from view of the hotel.

"Maybe-Maybe it was our mind playing tricks on us." Honey suggested not exactly believing what she just saw.

"Maybe, but I doubt it." Trixie stated.

"I think we should go inside, its cold out here!" Becky complained.

They started towards the Inn, but Di stayed behind. "Please come back." She whispered. She stayed behind for a minute and thought she saw the hump of something through the mist and fog, she went back with the others.

 

The Next Morning

The unfamiliar sounds of the birds of Loch Ness announced the arrival of a new day; Honey was the first to awaken. The sun was hidden behind still gray puffy clouds, rain had fallen over night, and hopes for searching for more clues, was gone.

Trixie was stirring in her bed, she opened one eye and pulled herself out of bed, stretching and yawning.

"Morning Honey!"

"Good morning."

Sally was next to awake; she looked at her clock. "Gleeps! Its already nine a.m.!"

"Yep, and our hopes are ruined!" Trixie complained as she glanced out the window which was dotted with droplets of water. She looked at the loch; it didn't have the haunting effect it had the night before, all eyes were on a man who was walking away from the hotel.

"He looks…" Trixie began.

"Hey girls! Whatcha doing!" Aunt Lizzie greeted as she came into the hotel room..

"Looking for the monster!" Sally supplied. 'It really isn't a lie, we are looking for it. In a way.'

"Well, how would you like to go down to the loch?"

"We would love it!" Becky exclaimed.

"That's wonderful! The boys went to help a local shepherd with his flock but there is a lot we can do around the Loch. The boys will be gone the whole day."

Trixie smiled at Honey who returned it, then they followed the rest of the girls out to the loch were there was a picnic blanket laid down on the shores, a basket was perched neatly in the middle next to a cooler.

"Is this ours?" Di asked.

"Yep, enjoy, and eat when you want to!"

" Oh thank you Aunt Lizzie!" Honey squealed with delight.

The ground was soaked and it squished under Trixie's feet, again the Loch was flat calm.

"Why?" Honey was asking as she joined Trixie.

"Why what?"

"Why did they bury the stuff there? There are so many tourists, why would they risk getting caught?"

"Because they new it was an unlikely spot for someone to bury something so they took the chance, cause no one would bury someone there cause there are a lot of tourists they would bury it in an out of the way place. But maybe they couldn't get to the place very easily so they buried it in a common place so no one would suspect and it would be easier to get to, and so they came back for the stuff the buried to get rid of it or to cash it in. After the crime they had to wait for things to calm down."

"It makes sense."

Di and Becky came over. "We're going with Sally's aunt, we're going shopping."

"Okay. Where is Sally anyway?" Trixie said.

"Over there," Becky replied pointing to the castle ruins where Sally was pretending to be interested in the castle not clues.

"Oh…" Trixie answered. "Have fun, we're going to stay here."

"Mmm.. 'kay." Di exclaimed and went back up the hill with Becky, glancing over her shoulder for one last view of the loch.

"She really loves this monster." Honey said warmly.

"I guess she enjoys the thrill and maybe she senses this isn't something normal."

"Guys!" Sally screamed.

"What?" Trixie inquired running toward her with Honey at her heels. Sally was scared she was pointing her hand toward the Loch where a motor boat speed along, a familiar man was driving he looked up and saw them.

"It's him!" Trixie whispered.

"And he's reaching for something!" Honey breathed.

He slowed the boat down and raised his hand and they could clearly see what he held a 44 magnum, a steel blue pistol promising harm whatever it shot at.

He was 100 feet away but that gun was great for long distance shooting, he squeezed the trigger as Honey screamed and Trixie yelled "Duck!"

The girls fell to the ground behind some ruins. Several shots were heard, then the motor boat sped away.

"Whew, that was close!" Sally exclaimed her voice shaking. "You guys okay?"

"Yeah." Trixie replied, but Honey was sobbing.

"Honey?"

"My….. leg…."She sobbed and screamed at the same time.

"What?" Trixie asked and looked at her leg, she was shot, but she appeared fine. "Sally get the doctor!"

Sally didn't answer she was already on her way to the Inn.

"It's okay Honey, you'll be fine."

 

Chapter 8

The ambulance soon arrived, sirens blaring; two men came rushing out with a stretcher.

"We'll take it from here," one said in a heavy Scottish accent.

Honey was pale and still crying as the men gently lifted her on the stretched and carried her away. Trixie watched her being put in the ambulance with tears coming to her eyes, before they closed the doors, Honey screamed. "Trixie! Come with me!"

The paramedics motioned for Trixie to come and she did quickly, Sally walked up to the ambulance too and Trixie helped her in.

The girls smiled warmly at each other, both knowing everything will be okay.

At the hospital.

Immediately, Honey was taken into surgery, and Sally and Trixie were directed to the waiting room. Sally looked worried but calm, Trixie asked a nurse to call the sheriff for her.

When the sheriff was on the other line, Trixie told him the story about Honey getting shot, and asked him to locate the others.

"I can do the best I can, och, I'll send some of my deputies over to the farms surrounding the Loch to look for your friends, I'll try to find the others too."

"Thank you so much!" She exclaimed relieved, then they hung up, she quickly dialed a long distance telephone call to the Wheelers. "Hi, this is Trixie Belden. May I speak to Miss Trask?" She inquired remembering the Wheelers were on vacation.

The servant agreed and went to fetch Miss Trask.

"Trixie?" Miss Trask answered breathlessly.

"Oh Miss Trask! Honey was shot!"

"My word!"

"She's fine, she's in surgery, she was shot in the leg."

"When, where?"

"At the Loch, a man did it. Oh I feel so stupid!"

"Do you need me to come?"

"We have Sally's aunt here, and she'll take care of everything. But I need you to tell Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler."

"Sure, anything."

"I better hang up."

"Okay, and Trixie, its not your fault."

"Thanks."

They hanged up and Trixie wandered to a sofa in the waiting room, Sally was staring blankly at a magazine.

"Sally?" Trixie asked,

"What?"

"I'm so scared!" She sobbed; Sally came over and sat by her. "On the way here, I was convinced Honey would be okay, but now anything can go wrong."

"We got to stay strong and we got to stay together.." Sally began as tears formed in her eyes. "I'm scared too." They waited in silence for a while longer when a doctor came out.

"Trixie Belden?"

Trixie bounced up.

"Your friend Honey Wheeler is just fine."

"Oh! Thank you! May we see her?"

"Sure, room 312."

"Thank you so much!" Trixie beamed as she and Sally started for the room.

 

Room 312

Honey lay motionless, her honey colored hair framed her delicate face, and she was pale.

"Honey?" Trixie asked quietly.

In reply was a soft moan, she was beginning to come out of her anesthesia.

"Honey?" Trixie asked a minute later, as she and Sally sat down in the chairs.

"Trixie?"

"Honey! You're okay!"

"I-I-I-I think so."

Sally smiled wishing Becky would arrive soon. As if on cue, the others arrived in the room. Jim rushed to Honey's side while everyone exchanged hugs.

"You're sure you're okay?" Jim asked worried.

"Yes, I'll be fine, a couple weeks off my leg."

"I cannot believe someone would want to shoot you." Brian exclaimed with a gleam in his eye.

"I can't see why anyone would shoot anyone!" Mart asserted.

They all stood there, glad to be together, but there was a thought in Trixie's mind, who was it that shot Honey, why did he shoot her, and what was he doing last night?

 

 

Chapter 9

Trixie was so uncertain what was going to happen next, was someone else going to get hurt? Maybe even killed? 'This is too dangerous, but I can't just tell somebody! Besides, we don't know if that man was the same, maybe he didn't see us at the castle.' She thought as she walked out of Honey's room. Sally, Becky and Di soon followed. Brian and Jim were going to stay a few more minutes.

"Guys, we need to talk." Di said suddenly.

"Okay, where?" Sally asked.

"The cafeteria?" Becky suggested helpfully.

"Sure." Di agreed and the four girls walked to the cafeteria, it was empty except for a doctor having a late lunch.

"What time is it?" Becky questioned.

"Two-thirty." Sally said looking at the watch on her right arm.

"Okay." Becky said, and the girls sat down at a table in the corner.

"Shoot." Trixie told Di.

"Don't say that word!" Di exclaimed and then went on. "Okay, I think we need to take a vote on if we stay silent about the whole ordeal or we tell the police. Majority will rule."

"Okay." Agreed everyone.

"Those in favor of staying silent, raise their hand." Trixie's and Sally's hands shot up.

"It's a tie." Becky moaned.

"Let's ask the boys." Di suggested.

"No, they don't need to know about it!" Trixie commented.

"Why not? We should at least tell Jim. He's Honey's brother."

"Don’t you see Diana, if we tell, we'll get in trouble with Scotland Yard!"

"For with holding crucial evidence!" Sally added.

"If we tell, we will get in trouble, but that's better than getting someone killed or injured!" Diana argued.

Becky watched hopelessly.

"And if we tell, it's possible everyone will get killed!"

"How would you like that?" Sally shouted.

"I'm changing my vote," Becky stated. "I say we don't tell."

"Becky!" Diana screamed. Then she stood up and darted out of the cafeteria.

"She's really scared," Becky whispered.

"She would be more scared if detectives were investigating the place and those two guys got rid of us," Trixie commented with a shiver.

"I hope what we are thinking is right and we aren't getting in some kind of trap," Sally stated.

 

The group went back to the Inn to spend the night… They agreed to let Aunt Lizzie stay with Honey.

That night brought another storm much fiercer than the one the night before. The wind howled, the thunders clapped like bombs exploding, the rain struck the window with a mixture of hail, the lightning flashed violently across the sky. All four girls decided to sleep in one room.

Trixie stared at the ceiling, for her sleep was just a dream, the storm kept her awake, when she suddenly wanted something to eat. Becky and Di were sleeping but Sally was staring at the ceiling too.

Trixie motioned her to follow her out of the room.

"What are you doing?" Sally demanded.

"Going to get a snack. The snack bar is still open."

"Okay," Sally said and followed her.

They crept down the now familiar stairs and out of the corner of their eyes, they saw two dark shadows. They pressed on, and then all of the sudden, large hands were clasped on their mouths.

"If you say anything to the police, you aren't going to live to go home. You or your friends. You understand?" The man that held Trixie gruffly warned.

Both girls shook their heads, and they felt something hard hit the back of their heads and they fell to the ground. Unconscious.

 

Chapter 10

It was early morning when Trixie regained consciousness, the sun wasn't even risen yet, and she found herself in a dark, cold room. She could hear a purring sound, kinda like a motor. She glanced over at Sally who was beginning to wake up too.

The girls were gagged and tied. Trixie was anxiously looking around the room for some way to untie herself. 'Obviously these guys didn't trust and brought us along for a boat ride.' Boat ride! 'That's it!' She thought.

Sally half crawled to the wall where there was a shelf. The basic items were there, a flare, life vests and miscellaneous other items including a razor.

Sally pulled herself in a sitting position and looked over the floor; Trixie was on the other side at another set of shelves in a sitting position as well. Sally mumbled "Trix!"

Trixie's head turned toward her and she wedged her way towards her. Together they managed to get the razor down and put it in between Sally's fingers. Back to back Sally began to cut through Trixie's rope.

After a few minutes she finally cut through, Both girls heaved a sigh of relief as Trixie cut Sally's rope and untied their feet; they pulled the gags and took a breather.

"How'd we get here?" Sally questioned.

As quick as she could, Trixie repeated her suspicions while Sally nodded silently.

All of the sudden the motor came to a jolting stop.

The girls could hear heavy footsteps above them. In the tiny room, there was no room to hide, so they braced themselves. The door swung open, and one of the men that hit them over the head the other night stood glaring down at them.

"Oh so the little detectives freed themselves."

"How'd you know about us?" Trixie demanded.

"I saw you, several times."

"What was in that coffin?" Sally inquired hiding her fear.

"Why should I tell you?" The gruff man said as he pulled them on deck.

"Since you are going to throw us over board you might as well." Trixie stated.

"Okay. There was these two other guys, we had this brilliant plan, the classic rob the bank, so we did stealing about a half a million bucks..."

"Half a million." Trixie mouthed.

"We decided to get in gold, cause you track money down. It was risky but we did it. Anyway, we decided to bury it until things quiet down, when our third man, died on us, we buried the body with the gold so no one would know."

"But you didn't count on us." Sally said.

"Exactly."

"You already stole half a million dollars, do you really want to add murder to those charges?" Sally asked.

By now, the man was sweating his skin clammy and pasty. In the distant was another motor.

Trixie looked up, and with relief, there was a familiar red head on board. "Jim!" She shouted.

"Trixie!" He yelled. "There they are!" He replied. In addition, the boat went faster.

As they closed in on them, Trixie could easily see, Brian, Mart, and Jake and what looked like a sheriff.

"Thank goodness!" Sally sighed, as the sheriff boarded their boat, which was now at a stand still.

The man went calmly; knowing it was no use to run. After the man was in handcuffs, Trixie asked Jim. "Where are we anyway?"

"In the middle of Loch Ness. Why?"

"Well, I was just curious, we were hit over the head you know."

"Did it knock some sense in you?" Mart teased.

"As a matter of fact, it did, I don't think I'll have anymore midnight snacks."'

"We should get you to a hospital and see if you are okay." Brian said worriedly.

"You worry to much, we're fine." Sally exclaimed.

"What about the other one?" Trixie remembered.

"What other one?"

"The other man!"

"There was two?"

"Actually three."

The boys groaned. Jake slipped away to ask the sheriff a few questions.

Briefly, the girls recalled the whole incident. "So they aren't murders, but they are robbers."

"Sounds like the Ocean's Eleven plot, where Frank Sinatra's gang robs the casinos, and one of the guys dies, so they put the money in the coffin, only to find out he was going to be cremated." Mart pointed out.

"But instead of these guys getting the surprise of their buddy being cremated, they get caught." Brian remarked.

"Exactly!" Trixie said happily.

"The sheriff said that they caught the other suspect, yesterday. Someone recognized him from the news ad, he's in jail right now, I thought you would want to know." Jake said returning to the group just as the boat lurched forward to the shore.

"That's swell!" Everyone exclaimed.

 

Back in Sleepyside.

It was a day after the return, which was mainly spent resting from the flight back.

Trixie got up at eight a.m. In addition, paraded down the stairs, where moms were warming up her breakfast.

"You slept in." She said plainly.

"I know, it was well deserved too."

Mrs. Belden sat the plate of eggs, sausage and toast on the table.

"No thanks, Moms, there is something I got to do first."

"Oh?"

"Yes, I got to go see Honey." Trixie answered and ran out the door and up the trail, which led to the manor house.

Honey came to the door on crutches. "Hey, how are you!"

"I'm fine, can we talk in a minute, I got to tell Jim something."

"He's down by the clubhouse, repairing it, we had a storm while we were gone." Honey explained.

"Okay, thanks!" Trixie jogged to the clubhouse, once an old gatehouse for the Wheeler Estate.

"Jim! You're alone."

"What the. Oh hi Trix."

"Hi, I have something to tell you."

Jim, who was on the roof, came down. "What is it?"

"Thank you, for saving my life."

"Oh, it was nothing."

Trixie did something she wanted to do for a long time. She kissed him, Jim, the one guy she had special feelings for. The one who saved her life. It was a quick kiss, followed by a gentle kiss, Jim gave her back.

"I've got to go," she said nervously. She ran back to Manor House, away from the clubhouse, away from Jim, but Jim was also in her heart, more than a friend.

The End

Author's note: There was a foot print found in March 1969 around Bear Creek road. Information uptained from the BFRO.net Skamainia County has the most sightings for the Washington area and one recently. Over 35 sightings have taken placed there.