d girl."

"Yes, she is. However, she isn't in this story, except as a side-issue.
At this time my ambitions were for a newspaper career, and I thought I
was succeeding. And her father's marked interest and the things he said
to me promised more than an ordinary success. He was a well known man on
the street, and influential. So my head began to swell, and I dreamed--a
lot of foolishness. And then--"

He paused, put down his empty pipe, and sighed.

"Well, then," he continued, "came the upset. I judged from what you
said at our previous conversation, Captain, that you were well enough
acquainted with Wall Street to know that queer operations take place
there. Did you read about the South Shore Trolley business?"

Captain Elisha considered. "Why, yes," he said, slowly, "seem's if I
did. One of those consolidations with 'holdin' companies' and franchises
and extensions and water by the hogshead. Wa'n't that it? I remember
now; the Boston papers had considerable about it, and I presume likely
the New York ones had more. One of those all-accordin'-to-law swindles
that sprout same as toadstools in a dark place, but die out if the
light's turned on too sudden. This one didn't come to nothin' but a bad
smell, if I remember right."

"You do. And I suppose I'm responsible for the smell. I got wind of
the thing, investigated, found out something of what was going on, and
printed a preliminary story in the _Planet_. It caused a sensation."

He paused once more. Captain Elisha, for the sake of saying something,
observed, "I shouldn't wonder."

"It certainly did. And the morning on which it appeared, Mr. Rodgers
Warren 'phoned me. He wished to see me at once. I went down to his
office. Captain, I dislike to tell you this. Mr. Warren was your
brother."

"I know he was. And I'm his executor. Both those reasons make me
'specially anxious to have you tell me the truth. Heave ahead now, to
oblige me."

"Well, I found him very polite and cordial, at first. He said that a
ridiculous and sensational story concerning the Trolley Combine had
appeared in the _Planet_, and he would like to have me contradict it and
suppress further falsehoods of the kind. I told him I couldn't do that,
because the story was true. I had written it myself. He was angry, and I
could see that he was holding himself in by main strength. I went on to
explain that it was the duty of an honest paper, as I saw it, to expose
such trespass upon the people's righ