Read Online Bus Station Mystery by Gertrude Warner - Free Book Online

declared. “We can’t swim in it. We can’t fish in it. And all because one man pours dirty water from his factory into it. I say Mr. Pickett’s factory should be closed. We can do it!”
    “Agree! Agree!” many people called out.
    Mr. Pickett jumped to his feet. “You can’t do that!” he cried. “You can’t close my factory. I have put a lot of money in my business. Who needs fish from the river? You can buy fish at the market the way I do.” Then he sat down.
    Suddenly a lot of angry voices began to fill the hall. It was impossible to tell what was being said.
    The man in charge of the meeting called out, “Order! Order! Let one person speak at a time.”
    Frank raised his hand to show that he had something to say.
    Benny was sorry not to see the bundle of fish in his hand. “Too bad,” he said to Henry. “That fish would have been a good piece of evidence.”
    To everyone’s surprise, Frank went to a table and opened a drawer. He took out a newspaper bundle.
    “You don’t have to touch this,” Frank said to the people. “But I assure you it is a fresh dead fish.”
    “Fresh dead fish,” everyone murmured, half laughing.
    “It’s fresh,” Frank went on, “because it hasn’t been dead long. Just this afternoon this fish was swimming in our river. Then I saw him stop swimming and float to the top. I picked him up. You can find a fish like this almost any time, poisoned by waste from the paint factory.”
    “That’s a fine new piece of evidence,” called a teen-ager from the front row.
    “Just exactly what I said!” Benny whispered.
    But Frank had not quite finished what he wanted to say. “I have called the factory a bad neighbor,” he said. “And now Mr. Pickett wants to buy my house and land and make it into a parking lot.”
    “And you’re going to sell him your land?” someone asked, sounding shocked.
    “No!” Frank shouted. “I’m not selling. But I am hoping Mr. Pickett can become a good neighbor. If he makes some changes in his factory, I believe he can make paint and not spoil the river. Just spend some money, that’s how!”
    Mr. Pickett stood up. He looked at the men and women in the hall before speaking. Then he said, “I do want to be a good neighbor to Frank and to everyone. But who can show me how to run my factory and keep the river clean?”
    “This gentleman over here can, I think,” Frank answered and asked Grandfather to rise. “Mr. James Alden.”
    Everyone turned around to stare. Mr. Alden stood up and smiled. Then he walked over to Mr. Pickett and shook his hand.
    “I have had some of the same troubles in my plastics factories that you have had,” he explained. “Bad odors. Polluted water. In my plants we have found a way to burn the bad-smelling gases before they go up the chimney. We need a great deal of water. But we use the same water over and over. Not a bit of dirty water empties into any river or sewer.”
    “None?” asked Mr. Pickett.
    “None. The dirty water goes into big tanks. The dirt and pollution settle to the bottom of the tanks. Clean water rises to the top. It can be used again, and the tanks are cleaned out to hold more water.”
    Mr. Pickett was listening carefully.
    Mr. Alden continued, “You probably have a dust problem in your factory, too. That’s not bad for the river, but it is bad for your workers. We use a huge suction machine to pull the dust out of the air so that the air is safe to breathe.”
    The moderator asked, “Do I understand you, Mr. Alden? You say that Mr. Pickett’s factory can make paint and be a better place to work, too?”
    “Exactly,” said Mr. Alden. “If Mr. Pickett agrees, I’ll be glad to take him to my factories and show him what we do. My men will explain how the air and water are kept clean. I will be happy to talk with him about the business details.”
    Now everyone looked at Mr. Pickett. He spoke slowly. “Of course I know Mr. Alden’s name. With his help I think I can make some