“But they’re vitally important,” Professor Noble said when people had settled down again. “Bats keep the insect population down in Fairport. If they didn’t, you’d be tortured by mosquitoes even more than you are now on a warm, summer evening.”
“So what?” someone called.
Nancy turned to George and raised her eyebrows. Fairporters were a feisty bunch!
Professor Noble frowned.” ‘So what?’ you ask? We’re all connected to the natural world. Bats may not seem important to you, but in the natural world they play a vital role. Lose them, and you could begin to lose the plants and animals you care about.”
The professor went back to his place by the wall. A tall, sandy-haired man rose and took the microphone.
“I’m Chuck Danzig,” he said, “from the state fish and game office. I’ve done a biological survey of the area, and I believe taking down those trees won’t destroy the bats’ habitat.”
Professor Noble went back to the microphone.
“Chuck, I’ve seen your conservation plan, and I agree with you—up to a point,” Professor Noble said. “You’re not taking into account that bats hibernate during the winter. There’s a cave near the trees where they do that now.
“I know you think you can relocate the bats to a clump of trees a couple of miles away,” he continued. “But there’s no cave there. Without a cave they’ll die when it gets cold.”
“What cave?” Mr. Danzig asked. “Find it, and then we’ll have something to talk about.” He left the microphone and sat down.
“We’re going to look for it tomorrow,” Professor Noble replied, and went back to stand beside Jessie.
Ms. Oberdorf scanned the crowd. “Would anyone else like to speak?” she asked.
People turned in their chairs to see who would step forward. To Nancy’s surprise, Mr. Tolchinsky went up to the microphone.
He cleared his throat. “My name is Hank Tolchinsky, and I’m somewhat new to Fairport,” he began quietly. “I have to say I’ve never seen so much fuss about so little.”
People moved restlessly in their chairs. Aunt Elizabeth sat up and glared at him.
“I couldn’t care less about those bats,” the man continued. “And I couldn’t care less about the road widening. In fact, I’ve read about a town where a road was widened, and all it did was encourage people to drive even faster and more recklessly because they thought they had more space to maneuver in.”
Angry murmuring began in the hall.
“But that’s not my concern,” Tolchinsky continued, raising his hand and pointing at the crowd. “All I care about is people staying off my property,” he declared. “I’m sick and tired of finding strangers wandering around on my land looking for bats and who knows what else. I came here for peace and quiet. And I’ll do whatever I have to to get it!” He turned on his heel and stormed out of the hall.
“How rude!” Aunt Elizabeth exclaimed. All around them voices buzzed in anger.
Sarah rushed to the microphone and began to speak, her face twisted with emotion. “Is this the kind of thing we have to hear? All he’s concerned about is his privacy. What about my brother? He lost his life on that road because it was too narrow and dark and someone misjudged how far away Tommy was from their car.”
Sarah began to cry.
“The only thing I can agree with Mr. Tolchinsky about is that I hate those bats, too. And I think anyone who supports the bats and goes against the road widening is a murderer!” She glared at Aunt Elizabeth, then walked away from the microphone.
Mr. Stryker, who had been watching the proceedings from his seat at the front table, stood up and grabbed the microphone from Ms. Oberdorf.
“Please, let’s all quiet down,” he said. “We’ve held this meeting so that different points of view can be heard—not to call names.”
Nancy saw Mrs. Connor holding Sarah back from the microphone.
“Anyone who has information they think should be filed along with the petition to the Fish and Wildlife Service should make sure to give it to Jeannette by the day after tomorrow,” said Mr. Stryker. “Unless someone else has something to say, I’m going to suggest we close this meeting.”
The crowd was dead quiet. Then Aunt Elizabeth stood up and went to the microphone.
“As you all know, I’ve been an ardent conservationist for years,” she said. “And I’ve fought many a hard fight for causes I thought were just.” She paused. “But this is the hardest one I’ve ever had to fight because I’m not entirely sure I’m right.”
“That’s news to us,” someone said. A few people laughed.
“All I know,” Aunt Elizabeth said, “is that we can’t afford to compromise the biological diversity of our world any more than we can afford to compromise the safety of Fairport’s citizens.”
“Bravo!” cried someone in the crowd.
Mr. Stryker took the microphone again. “I think we’ve heard all we need to hear tonight. I’m familiar with the circumstances Mr. Tolchinsky described. Wide roads can be hazardous. But it’s time to pass on our comments to the federal government, and let it decide.”
There was some grumbling in the crowd, but when Mr. Stryker asked that the meeting be adjourned, he was quickly seconded.
Nancy and her friends moved slowly with the crowd toward the door.
“I’ve never known that man to be so accommodating to the environmentalists’ point of view before,” Aunt Elizabeth said under her breath.
“What do you think it means?” Nancy asked as she dodged a chair to head out the door.
“I don’t know.” Aunt Elizabeth shook her head. “It’s just odd.”
Outside the Town Hall the crowd was still milling about. People seemed reluctant to leave.
Professor Noble asked Aunt Elizabeth whether he could drive her home. “I have some things to discuss with you on the way.”
Aunt Elizabeth agreed to go with him. “George can take my car and drive everyone else home.” She waved goodbye and headed off with Professor Noble.
