Bahama Crisis

I said, "We have to retrieve something out of this mess, so we'll turn it into a public relations exercise. I'll notify the Department of Public Health that we're closing before they tell me I must." I grinned at Tony and quoted,"

"His cause is just who gets his blow in Just." Then there are the customers. We'll get them into other hotels, preferably our own, and stand the expense. " It would break Jack Cunningham's heart, but would be good business in the long run.

"What about all the people still here and sick?"

"They can stay if you and the other medicos can look after them. My worry is how many of them are going to die here."

"None," said Tony.

"No one has been known to die of Pontiac fever yet. They'll be up and about in a few days a week at most."

"Thank God for that!" I said fervently.

"Now for the big question. I know we can get this bacterium out of the water system. What I want to know is how it got in."

"I'll check into that," said Tony.

"I'll need your maintenance engineer, and I think we should have one of the Public Health people along."

"And you'll have me," I said.

"I want to know exactly what happened so I can make sure it never happens again."

We began the investigation that night. All afternoon I had been helping Philips and the rest of the managerial staff to organize the future well being of our departing guests. It took a lot of telephoning around but it got done, and although my competitors were pleased enough to take the business they did not really like it.

We all knew it would be bad for trade in the future.

Then I had to quell a minor revolt on the part of the staff. Word had somehow got around that there was something wrong with the hotel water and I was in danger of losing some of my best people. It took some straight talking on the part of Tony Bosworth, including a demonstration in which he drank a full glass of water straight from the tap and so did 1. 1 was glad he believed his own theories but I was not so sure, and it took some effort to drink that water without gagging.

Four of us gathered together at eight that evening myself, Tony Bosworth, Bethel, the hotel maintenance engineer, and Mackay from Public Health. Tony had a dozen sterilized sample bottles.

"Where do you want to start?" asked Bethel.

"Bottom up or top down?"

"We're nearer to the bottom," said Tony.

"Might as well begin there."

So we went down into the basement where the boilers were. A hotel needs a lot of hot water and we had three calorifiers, each of a capacity of three million British Thermal Units. The huge drums of the calorifiers were connected by a tangle of pipes coloured red, blue and green, with arrows neatly stencilled to indicate the direction of flow. Tony asked questions and I looked about. The place was spotless and dry.

Bethel was explaining something technical to Tony when I broke in.

"This place is as dry as a bone, Tony; there have been no leaks recently." I turned to Bethel.

"When did you last strip down any of this?"

He frowned.

"Must have been eight months ago, Mr. Mangan. A normal maintenance check. This equipment is efficient; hardly ever goes wrong."

"Where does the water come from?"

"Out of the mains supply." He nodded towards Mackav.

"Mr. Mackay can tell you more about that."

"Then why should we be the only building hit?" I asked Tony.

"That's not exactly true," said "Mackay

"Isn't the mains water piped into tanks somewhere at the top of the building?"

"That's right," said Bethel.

"Right at the top to give it a good head."

"So it could have been contaminated in the tanks after it left the mains," I said.

"I don't think it could have happened down here.

Everything is as tight as a drum. "

"Let's go to the top," proposed Tony, so we went up in the service elevator.

The water tanks were on the roof and they were big.

"Twenty-five thousand gallons," said Bethel.

"Five thousand in each tank." He pointed out the mains piping rising up the side of the hotel.

"The water comes up there and is distributed by this manifold into the tanks. Each tank has a ball valve to control the water level." He shrugged.

"The whole system is just the same as the one you'll have in your own home; it's just that this is bigger."

"I've never seen mine," I said.

Bethel grinned.

"I don't come up here too often myself. The system is automatic." He pointed.

"You can see that the tanks are all interconnected by that manifold at the bottom."

That meant that water would flow freely between the tanks.

"Why five?" I asked.

"Why not one big tank?"

"Well, if something happens a tank springs a leak, say we can isolate it and go on using the other four." Bethel was very good at answering stupid questions from a layman.

"And the tanks are sealed?"

"Sure. There's a manhole on the top of each so we can get at a sticky valve if we have to, but the lids are bolted down on a mastic seal."

"Let's take a look," said Tony, and began to climb the steel ladder on the side of the nearest tank.

We all followed him. On top of the tank Bethel squatted on his haunches.