re entirely forgotten.

"For good! For whose good?" inquired Bobby.

"Mine," responded Clarence. "This town's gone to the bow-wows. It's in
the hands of a lot of pikers. There's no chance to make big money any
more."

"Yes, I know," said Bobby dryly; "I had something to do with that,
myself."

"It was a fine lot of muck-raking you did," charged Clarence. "Well,
I'll give you another item for your paper. I have resigned from the
Consolidated."

"It was cruel of you."

"It was time," said Clarence, ignoring the flippancy. "Something's
going to drop over there."

Bobby smiled.

"It's always dropping," he agreed.

"This is the big drop," the other went on, with a wine-laden man's
pride in the fact of possessing valuable secrets. "They're going to
make a million-dollar bond issue."

"What for?" inquired Bobby.

"They need the money," chuckled Mr. Smythe. "Those city bonds, you
know."

"What bonds?" demanded Bobby eagerly, but trying to speak
nonchalantly.

Mr. Smythe suddenly realized the solemn gravity of his folly. Once
more he was talking too much. Once more! It was a thing to weep over.
"I'm a fool," he confessed in awe-stricken tones; "a rotten fool,
Burnit. I'm ashamed to look anybody in the face. I'm ashamed----"

"It's highly commendable of you, I'm sure," Bobby agreed, and took his
hasty leave before Clarence should begin to sob.

Immediately he called up Chalmers at his home.

"Chalmers," he demanded, "why must the Consolidated Illuminating and
Power Company purchase city bonds?"

Chalmers laughed.

"Originally so Sam Stone could lend money to the Consumers' Electric.
It is a part of their franchise, which is renewable at their option in
ten-year periods, and which became a part of the Consolidated's
property when the combine was effected. To insure 'faithful
performance of contract,' for which clause every crooked municipality
has a particular affection, they were to purchase a million dollars'
worth of city bonds. Each year one hundred thousand dollars' worth
were retired. In the tenth year, in renewing their franchise for the
next ten years, they were compelled to renew also their million
dollars of city bonds. These bonds they then used as collateral. Stone
carried all that he could, at enormous usury, I understand, and let
some of his banker friends in on the rest; and I suppose the banks
paid him a rake-off. The ten-year period is up this fall, and their
bonds are naturally retired;