the hotel in a short time. But first there are some important sights
I wish you to see."

"Man shall not live by sights alone," objected my companion. "What are
you going to show us?"

"We have a beautiful woman's college."

"That," said my companion, "is the one thing that could tempt me. How
many beautiful women are there?"

"It's not the women--it's the building," the secretary explained.

"Then," said my companion firmly, "I think we'd better go and have our
lunch."

It seemed to me time to back him up in this demand. By dint of
considerable insistence we persuaded our enthusiastic cicerone to drive
to the hotel, where we found a table already set for us.

"I want to tell you," said the secretary as we sat down, "about the
agricultural progress this section has been making. Until recently our
farmers raised nothing but cotton; they didn't even feed themselves, but
lived largely on canned goods. But the boll weevil and the European War,
affecting the cotton crop and the cotton market as they did, forced the
farmers to wake up."

The secretary talked interestingly on this subject for perhaps a quarter
of an hour, during which time we waited for luncheon to be served.

"You see," he said, "our climate is such that it is possible to rotate
crops more than in most parts of the country. Cotton is now a surplus
crop with us, and our farmers are raising cattle, vegetables, and food
products."

"Speaking of food products," said my companion, "I wonder if we could
hurry up the lunch?"

"It will be along in a little while," soothed the secretary. Then he
returned to agriculture.

Ten minutes more passed. I saw that my companion was becoming nervous.

"I'm sorry to trouble you," he said at last, "but if we can't speed up
this luncheon, I don't see how I can wait. You see, we are leaving town
this evening, and I have an awful lot to do."

"I'll step back and investigate," the secretary said, rising and moving
toward the kitchen door.

When he was out of hearing, my companion leaned toward me.

"I suspect this fellow!" he said.

"What of?"

"I think he's delaying us on purpose. He's a nice chap, but it's his
business to boost this town, and he's artful. He doesn't want us to see
the street fair. That's why he's stalling like this!"

Now, however, the secretary returned, followed by a waiter bearing soup.

The soup was fine, but it was succeeded by another long interval, during
which the secretary said so