The Mystery at Maypenny's

she added hastily. “I don’t approve of his tactics, but I do think he sincerely believes in the cause he’s working for.”
    “Then why do you hope he’s left Sleepyside?” Trixie asked.
    “I think the judge was right,” Mrs. Belden replied. “John Score has made enemies since he’s been in this town. There are men with families to support who have been out of work for months. International Pine is a ray of hope for them. They see Score as a threat to that hope, and I’m afraid they might resort to violence against him if he stayed in town.”
    Trixie shivered. She and Honey had often gotten themselves into dangerous situations accidentally while trying to solve a mystery. Still, it was hard for her to imagine somebody intentionally getting himself into situations like that, as John Score must do in nearly every community he worked in.
    “Is that all the paper has to say about the debate?” Mart asked his father.
    Peter Belden picked up the paper again and turned the page. “Several of the citizens of Sleepyside must have hand-delivered letters to the editor yesterday afternoon,” he said. “The entire editorial page is devoted to what happened at the debate.”
    The Beldens continued to eat in silence while their father scanned the letters. “The opinions on what happened yesterday seem to be as evenly divided as the opinions on the expansion itself,” he said finally. “One letter says that Score’s act ‘only proves how irrational the objections to the expansion, in general, have been.’ But another says that ‘Score showed in a shocking but effective way the damage we will do to our environment if we allow the plans for expansion to proceed.’ ”
    Brian shook his head ruefully. “I really believed that a good debate would help people make up their minds on the basis of facts,’ he said. I guess I should have known better. Those letters prove that nobody’s interested in facts—except ones that support their own opinions. If both sides can use what John Score said yesterday to support their beliefs, then anything I’d have been able to say certainly wouldn’t have made any difference.”
    “Don’t be too hard on yourself, son,” Peter Belden said. “You did an excellent job of presenting one side of the case, and from what you said last night, Jim VerDoorn did just as good a job for the other side. That will make a difference. Remember, the people who have their minds made up are always the loudest. But there are also a lot of people who haven’t decided yet. They’re the ones you and Jim were trying to reach. Don’t be too sure that you didn’t have some success.”
    Brian smiled appreciatively at his father.
    “Thanks, Dad,” he said. “I had lost track of the fact that a lot of people haven’t made up their minds yet—even though I’m one of them. I guess the turnout at the meeting Saturday will be the best proof of whether or not our little speeches did any good.”
    “What meeting on Saturday?” Trixie asked.
    “If you were prone to soil your delicate digits with newsprint, you would be aware of the fact that the town council will be in session this Saturday to discuss, in public and with the public, the International Pine controversy,” Mart told her.
    Trixie flushed, angry at Mart’s superior tone and embarrassed that she hadn’t read about the meeting in the newspaper. “What’s the point of the meeting?” she asked meekly.
    “The town council has discovered—with some help from John Score, I suspect—that the parcel of land International Pine wants isn't zoned for industrial use,” her father told her. “The council has the right to rezone the land, which would keep the issue alive. They’re meeting Saturday to listen to public opinion. Then they’ll vote on whether or not to rezone the land.”
    “If the town council votes in favor of the new zoning, they’re telling International Pine that the people want them to expand. Then the company will probably step up its effort to buy the parcel of land,” Brian said.
    “Oh,” Trixie said. She felt a twinge of fear as she realized that Mr. Maypenny could be under even more pressure to sell after Saturday’s meeting. She sighed. At least it will all be settled, she thought. Right now, I think that's all I care about.
    By Friday, the commotion over the debate had subsided. When Trixie and her brothers got on the bus that morning, the excited din of the two previous days had returned to the usual