MY BEST FRIEND IS A SECRET AGENT, Book 2: How C.H.I.P. Took a Dive to Dash...

Chapter 16: "Pass the Salt"

When I got home, I squeezed the lake water from my wet clothes into a beaker.

Then I ran the water through my Mineral Mixifier, a device I invented in fourth grade that got me a Second Prize trophy in the science fair. (First Prize went to a kid in fifth grade who made one of those stupid vinegar and baking soda volcanos. I'm sure you'll agree I was robbed.)

Anyway, the Mineral Mixifier chugged and flashed its lights (which, I admit, were mainly for show), then it spit out its report:

The water from Lake Vortville contained 1.73 percent salt!

Now, that doesn't sound like a lot, but for a fresh water lake, it's very bad news, both for the fish and for the people who need to drink the water!

But where was the salt coming from?

Stella pulled up the Vortville Dam webcams on my computer. "Nort, when's the last time it rained?" she asked.

"You know as well as I do, it hasn't rained around here for months," I said, annoyed at her silly question.

"Then how come the water level in Lake Vortville is going UP?"

I looked closely at the webcam image of the dam. Stella was right! Since Dad and I went fishing on the lake, the water level had increased, and it might still be increasing!

But where could that extra water be coming from? Then it hit me: The lake water had turned salty . . . the water level was increasing . . . there was only one explanation:

"Someone's pumping saltwater into Lake Vortville!" I announced.

"But why?" Stella asked.

Why, indeed. And how? And, more importantly, who was behind this act of madness?

Then I realized, there was only one wacky bad guy ingenious, insane and water-obsessed enough to do something like this: "Dr. Eelstrom!" That's right, Dr. Lars Eelstrom!

Dr. Eelstrom had pestered Vortville like a fever blister for years.

He tried to turn all the streets in the city into canals.

He invented a cloud-making machine that made it rain every day.

He even built a hospital—which seemed like a non-wacky, even nice thing to do—but he put it at the bottom of the ocean!

So it wasn't too hard to figure out that he must be behind what was going on in Lake Vortville.

Stella looked confused. "But isn't he supposed to be in prison for like the next 467 years?" She looked Dr. Eelstrom up on the computer . . . and she gasped. "He escaped!" Apparently, the prison guards discovered that he'd sneaked into the sewer system and swum out like a slippery eel.

There was also suspicion that somebody on the outside had helped him escape, but nobody knew who it was. After all, his only friends were fish.

And now, Dr. Eelstrom was on the loose. "And I just know he's up to his old tricks," I said, "this time with Lake Vortville."

But what was he trying to do? And where exactly was he?

I had my suspicions, and it was time for C.H.I.P. and me to check things out . . . in our new C.H.I.P.-mobile!