municipal bonds of one sort
and another."

"Well, well--Johnnie at the mill certainly is popping open like a
chestnut bur. Generally when he has some scheme on to buy public
sentiment he endows something with N.P.C. stock, so that in case of a
lawsuit against the company he'd have the people interested in
protecting the stock. This new tack is certainly queer doings.
Certainly queer doings for the dusty miller!" repeated Dolan.

"Well, it's like his buying the waterworks of Bemis last month, and
that land at the new pumping station, and giving the council money to
build the new dam and power-house. He had no rebate or take back in
that--at least no one can see it," said the young man.

"Nellie says," put in Watts, "that she heard from Mrs. Fernald, who
got it from her girl, who got it from the girl who works in the Hub
restaurant, who had it from Mrs. Carnine's girl--so it come pretty
straight--that Lige made John pay a pretty penny for the waterworks,
and they had a great row because John would give up the fight."

"Yes," replied Dolan, "it come to me from one of the nigger prisoners
in the jail, who has a friend who sweeps out Gabe's bank, that he
heard John and Lige dickering, and that Lige held John up for a
hundred thousand cold dollars for his bargain."

"The Associated Press to-day," said young Ward, "has a story to the
effect that there is a great boom in certain railroad stocks owing to
some secret operations of Mr. Barclay. They don't know what he is
doing, but things are pretty shaky. He refuses to make a statement."

"He's a queer canny little man," explained Watts. "You never know
where he'll break out next."

"Well, he's up to some devilment," exclaimed Dolan; "you can depend on
that. Why do you suppose he's laying off the hands at the strip
factory?"

The young man shook his head. "Give it up. I asked Mr. Mason and the
best I could get out of him was a parrot-like statement that 'owing to
the oversupply of our commodity, we have decided to close operations
for the present. We have, therefore,' he said pompously, 'given each
of our employees unable to find immediate work here, a ticket for
himself and family to any point in the United States to which he may
desire to go, and have agreed to pay the freight on his household
goods also.' That was every word I could get out of him--and you know
Mr. Mason is pretty talkative sometimes."

"Queer doings for the dusty miller," repeated Dolan.

The gro