The Querulous Effect by Arkay Jones Page B

on the plush carpet of the factory manager’s office.
    â€œI accept,” said the factory manager, Mr. Knibbs, “that the river does not belong to us. But you must agree that you were acting suspiciously. And what about those water samples? What’s all that about?”
    â€œWell, you see,” the Prof started to explain, “I’m a research scientist interested in the natural sciences. As a naturalist, I …”
    He got no further. “A research scientist!” Mr. Knibbs exploded. “A research scientist! Well that explains everything. I’ve had quite enough of scientists lately, thank you very much! A veritable plague of them! First there was Querulous, now you turn up paddling about in the river…”
    This time it was Mr.Knibbs who was interrupted in full flow.
    â€œQuerulous!” exclaimed the Prof. “Do you mean Cosmo Querulous?”
    â€œThat’s the fellow,” responded Mr. Knibbs, looking like thunder as he added sarcastically, “Cosmo Querulous, the great inventor!”
    Ignoring the sarcasm, the Prof continued, “I know Cosmo Querulous pretty well. In fact he was once my assistant. I wouldn’t call him a great inventor but, without doubt he’s a very bright chap, a Doctor of Philosophy in fact and author of many papers on the natural sciences.”
    Mr. Knibbs was not reassured by the Prof’s assessment of Cosmo, nor was he the least interested in the references to his academic distinctions. On the contrary, the link with the Prof merely appeared to confirm his deepest suspicions.
    â€œYour assistant!” Mr. Knibbs’ face was turning a bright scarlet. “So you are in this together, eh?” he continued, glaring accusingly at the four surprised faces looking at him.
    Jay, Tim and Ella began to feel even more uncomfortable and shifted about from damp foot to damp foot, wishing they were somewhere else. The Prof, however, just seemed confused at Mr. Knibbs’ reaction.
    â€œI really don’t know what you mean,” he said. “Dr. Querulous did work for me, it is true. But he left six months ago and I haven’t seen or heard of him since. But if he was at your factory, it might well explain something that has been puzzling me.”
    â€œSix months ago, you say,” replied Mr. Knibbs, “that’s about the time he came here as our new product scientist.” He looked hard at the Prof and the children. “So what were you doing here, poking around in the river? You must admit it’s a bit of a coincidence, what with you linked to Querulous. It’s all very suspicious.”
    â€œI agree it does look a bit – shall we say – ‘fishy’,” quipped the Prof. Seeing that this remark had not lightened the mood and only provoked a groan from Tim, he continued, “But it is not a coincidence at all. You are right; there is a link of sorts. You see, Querulous and I were both involved in the same area of research. I don’t know what he was doing here but I suspect that when he left me and joined your staff, it gave him an opportunity to continue his research independently. What exactly was he doing here?”
    Mr. Knibbs’ immediate inclination was to answer that it was none of the professor’s business and that it was his job to ask the questions of intruders. But the professor, and the children in particular, didn’t look like hardened trouble-makers and he hesitated before replying. The brief silence gave Ella a chance to intervene.
    â€œCan we sit down, please? I really am getting very tired,” she said, giving Mr. Knibbs the sweetest smile she could summon up in these difficult circumstances.
    Mr. Knibbs, who, in truth, was feeling as uncomfortable as anyone else in this embarrassing confrontation, visibly thawed. “Of course,” he said. “In fact, let’s all sit down and try to sort this all out properly.”
    In a more