is picture and a half-column account. The heading was
"Sensation at Annual Land-men's Convention. G. F. Babbitt, Prominent
Ziptown Realtor, Keynoter in Fine Address."

He murmured reverently, "I guess some of the folks on Floral Heights
will sit up and take notice now, and pay a little attention to old
Georgie!"

VII

It was the last meeting. The delegations were presenting the claims
of their several cities to the next year's convention. Orators were
announcing that "Galop de Vache, the Capital City, the site of Kremer
College and of the Upholtz Knitting Works, is the recognized center of
culture and high-class enterprise;" and that "Hamburg, the Big Little
City with the Logical Location, where every man is open-handed and every
woman a heaven-born hostess, throws wide to you her hospitable gates."

In the midst of these more diffident invitations, the golden doors of
the ballroom opened with a blatting of trumpets, and a circus
parade rolled in. It was composed of the Zenith brokers, dressed as
cowpunchers, bareback riders, Japanese jugglers. At the head was
big Warren Whitby, in the bearskin and gold-and-crimson coat of a
drum-major. Behind him, as a clown, beating a bass drum, extraordinarily
happy and noisy, was Babbitt.

Warren Whitby leaped on the platform, made merry play with his baton,
and observed, "Boyses and girlses, the time has came to get down to
cases. A dyed-in-the-wool Zenithite sure loves his neighbors, but we've
made up our minds to grab this convention off our neighbor burgs like
we've grabbed the condensed-milk business and the paper-box business
and--"

J. Harry Barmhill, the convention chairman, hinted, "We're grateful to
you, Mr. Uh, but you must give the other boys a chance to hand in their
bids now."

A fog-horn voice blared, "In Eureka we'll promise free motor rides
through the prettiest country--"

Running down the aisle, clapping his hands, a lean bald young man cried,
"I'm from Sparta! Our Chamber of Commerce has wired me they've set aside
eight thousand dollars, in real money, for the entertainment of the
convention!"

A clerical-looking man rose to clamor, "Money talks! Move we accept the
bid from Sparta!"

It was accepted.

VIII

The Committee on Resolutions was reporting. They said that Whereas
Almighty God in his beneficent mercy had seen fit to remove to a sphere
of higher usefulness some thirty-six realtors of the state the past
year, Therefore it was the sent