s. After the arrival of coffee the Major
was rallying Eugene upon some rival automobile shops lately built in a
suburb, and already promising to flourish.

"I suppose they'll either drive you out of the business," said the old
gentleman, "or else the two of you'll drive all the rest of us off the
streets."

"If we do, we'll even things up by making the streets five or ten times
as long as they are now," Eugene returned.

"How do you propose to do that?"

"It isn't the distance from the center of a town that counts," said
Eugene; "it's the time it takes to get there. This town's already
spreading; bicycles and trolleys have been doing their share, but the
automobile is going to carry city streets clear out to the county line."

The Major was skeptical. "Dream on, fair son!" he said. "It's lucky for
us that you're only dreaming; because if people go to moving that far,
real estate values in the old residence part of town are going to be
stretched pretty thin."

"I'm afraid so," Eugene assented. "Unless you keep things so bright and
clean that the old section will stay more attractive than the new ones."

"Not very likely! How are things going to be kept 'bright and clean'
with soft coal, and our kind of city government?"

"They aren't," Eugene replied quickly. "There's no hope of it, and
already the boarding-house is marching up National Avenue. There are
two in the next block below here, and there are a dozen in the half-mile
below that. My relatives, the Sharons, have sold their house and are
building in the country--at least, they call it 'the country.' It will
be city in two or three years."

"Good gracious!" the Major exclaimed, affecting 'dismay. "So your little
shops are going to ruin all your old friends, Eugene!"

"Unless my old friends take warning in time, or abolish smoke and get
a new kind of city government. I should say the best chance is to take
Warning."

"Well, well!" the Major laughed. "You have enough faith in miracles,
Eugene--granting that trolleys and bicycles and automobiles are
miracles. So you think they're to change the face of the land, do you?"

"They're already doing it, Major; and it can't be stopped.
Automobiles--"

At this point he was interrupted. George was the interrupter. He had
said nothing since entering the dining room, but now he spoke in a loud
and peremptory voice, using the tone of one in authority who checks idle
prattle and settles a matter forever.

"Automob