There was a sewage works near the river too. The sewage from another small town came to it. One day, in The factory, John Duncan found two young chemists testing samples of water from the river. The water came from two kilometers upstream, near the sewage works,
‘Why are you doing that?’ he asked, surprised.
‘It’s a special experiment,’ one of them answered. ‘David Wilson asked us to do it himself. Didn’t look worried; he looked pleased, proud of himself. ‘That sewage works is putting a lot of nasty things into the river, you know. I think the newspaper will be very interested.’
‘The newspaper?’ John asked. The young man smiled.
‘Yes, Mr Duncan, of course. Our company cares about the environment, doesn’t it? That’s why we’re doing this. We want to help those poor seals, if we can.’
As John walked away, he listened for the sound of quiet laughter behind him. But he heard nothing. Perhaps the young man really believed what he said.
Christine and Simon were married on a fine day in June. When they came back from the church, they had a party in the garden at John’s house. Everyone seemed very happy. John liked Simon’s parents, and talked to them a lot.
‘You’re lucky, Mr Duncan,’ Simon’s father said. ‘You have a beautiful house with a lovely river at the end of the garden.’