The Pet Show Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page B

three girls look up with a start. A thin, bearded young man was standing in front of their table. Unlike most of the people at the mall, he was wearing a thin, woolen jacket, not a thick, down-filled one. He was bare-headed, and there were no bulges in his pockets from heavy gloves. “The birds will be fed this winter. Isn’t that just wonderful.”
    “We think it is,” Trixie said.
    “Sure, it is,” the young man said in the same sarcastic way. “Let’s be sure we save the birds, the adorable little birds. Let’s not worry about all the people in the world who are starving. They aren’t cute. They don’t sing pretty for the folks here in Sleepyside. So it’s no point seeing that they get fed.”
    “That’s not true,” Trixie said, her temper flaring. “We have raised money for people. We do think people are important. We just happen to be helping the birds this time, that’s all.”
    “You’ve done your bit for people, have you? Is that what you’re trying to say?” the young man retorted.
    “That’s not it at all,” Honey said. “We haven’t done enough for people. I mean, not all we’re ever going to do. We’ll do more someday, but— Oh, what’s the use of talking to you?”
    “None at all,” said another voice.
    The girls turned to see a middle-aged man approaching the table. He was as distinguished-looking as the younger man was scruffy. His charcoal-gray topcoat made his curly white hair seem almost radiant. He held his hat politely in his hands. “He won’t listen to you, no matter how long or how hard you try to talk to him. His sort are interested in finding problems, not in solving them,” the older man said.
    “You call this a solution?” the young man said. With a wave of his arm, he dismissed the girls, the sign-up table, the entry blanks, and the posters.
    “I call it a good start,” the older man said calmly. “If you don’t like it, why don’t you go off somewhere and see if you can come up with something better?”
    The young man opened his mouth to make another sarcastic retort. Something in his confronter’s calm but determined gaze seemed to stop him. Without another word, he turned and strode angrily away from the table.
    “Whew! I guess that’s what they call an angry young man!” Trixie said.
    “You handled him beautifully,” Honey said. “We would have sat here all day, trying to defend ourselves.”
    “Don’t ever feel you need to defend yourself from blowhards like that,” the older man said. His voice was soft and calm, but the gleam in his eyes showed the intensity of his feelings. “If he really cared about others, he’d find a way to help—as you girls have. Instead, he pretends to care about others as a way of calling attention to himself.”
    “I’d never thought of it that way, but I think you’re right,” Trixie said.
    “I know I am. Now, may I make a donation to your cause, just in case the young rebel frightened away some potential donors?” He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a large leather wallet.
    “Well, you don’t really donate ,” Trixie explained. “You pay a fee for entering your pet in the pet show, and that’s how we raise money.” The man put his head back and laughed loudly. “My pets are two very aged and placid cocker spaniels. Their show days are long past. I’m sure that they would prefer it if I just gave you some money and let them stay home.”
    “I can understand that,” Trixie said, grinning at him. “My dog will be staying home the day of the contest, too, but not because he’s placid. In fact, he’s so energetic he’d probably destroy the gym.”
    The man had taken a bill out of his wallet.
    As Trixie spoke, he took out another one. “In that case,” he said, “let me make a contribution in your dogs name, as well.” He handed over the money, nodded to the girls, and walked away.
    “There’s forty dollars here!” Trixie gasped. “Two twenty-dollar bills.