justified in the fact that the house was on a prairie knoll at least a
foot above the surrounding level.

The bulletin board displayed this to all passers-by:

---------------------------------------------------
| CEDAR MOUNTAIN HOUSE |
| |
| Notice |
| |
|A Meeting to organize this Club will be held here|
|on these premises Sunday afternoon next. Men and |
|women who are interested are cordially invited. |
| |
| REFRESHMENTS |
---------------------------------------------------

The Board of Deacons would have had a wrangle over each and every word
of that notice. That was why they never saw it till long afterward.

"Now what's going to happen?" said Hopkins.

"A few will come and act very shyly; but I've a notion the refreshments
will bring them," was Belle's guess.

"I am afraid we have omitted something of importance," said Jim. "We are
invading a foreign savage country without taking any count of the native
chiefs."

"What's your idea?" said Hopkins, sharply.

"I mean, we have arranged matters with the real estate man, and the
Church workers and the police; but we haven't taken the trouble to look
up the ward boss."

"We ignored the boss because we thought he was an enemy," said Hopkins.

"I'm not so sure about that," said Jim. "I've been talking with the
police sergeant, who knows him well. He says he's a queer mixture of
prizefighter and politician. He can protect anything he likes, and
pretty nearly drive out anything he doesn't like. Isn't it worth while
making a bid for his support? It may please him to be asked."

"Who is he?"

"Oh, a saloon-keeper, Irish, ex-pugilist. His name is Michael Shay. He's
easy to find," said Jim.

"Let's go now," said Hopkins. "But I'm afraid that this is where you
drop out, Mrs. Hartigan."

So they went down to the headquarters of the boss. It was an ordinary
Chicago saloon of less than ordinary pretensions. The plate-glass and
polished-mahogany era had not yet set in. The barkeeper was packing the
ice chest and a couple of "types" were getting their "reg'lar" as the
two strangers from another world entered. The build of Hartigan at once
suggested plain-clothes policeman, a