s, and irregular verbs and all that makes
German a useful, forceful language. As long as he rubbed his head--with
a rotary motion--he spoke German; then he stopped rubbing and spoke
English.

"So is it you treat your mayor!" he exclaimed indignantly. "Such a town
is Kilo, to give mayors a klop on the head! Donnerblitzenvetter! Not so
is it in Germany." He turned to the crowd. "A klop on the head! It is
not for klops on the head that I am mayor. No. I resign out of this
mayor business. Go get another mayor, such as likes klops on the head. I
am no mayor. I am resigned."

He turned and walked slowly back to his car, pulled the awl out of the
door, and went inside.

The editor moved away from the window. He seated himself at his desk and
leaned his head on his arms and thought.

"Headache?" asked Eliph'.

"No," said the editor, lifting his head. "I'm trying to think this thing
out. Guthrie is in it, and Skinner must be in it, and Stitz. And that
fellow across the way said you knew something about it, and he said Doc
Weaver wrote the article. No," he added hastily, as Eliph' offered to
speak, "let me think it out myself."

He leaned his head on his hand, and gazed at the attorney's office. He
drew the week's copy of the TIMES toward him and read over the article
that had caused all the trouble.

"It might be that fire-extinguishers ordinance," he said slowly. "Stitz
pushed that through. And Skinner had to buy them. And--they were owned
by Miss Briggs and the Colonel negotiated the sale." He jumped up
and turned over the file of back numbers of the TIMES. He found the
announcement he had made of the arrival of Eliph', and the report of
the meeting of the city council that had passed the fire-extinguishers
ordinance. Eliph' had been in town before the ordinance had passed.
Eliph' boarded now with Doc Weaver. Again he read the article in the
TIMES, seeking for the meanings that Doc knew so well how to hide. He
paused at the "Things are seldom what they seem" lines, and considered
it. Suddenly he arose and put on his hat.

"Wait here," he said, "I'll be back."

When he returned he was smiling. He had visited Skinner's Opera House
and had examined the fire-extinguishers where they sat, each on its
bracket.

"Hewlitt," he said, "when you told Doc about the fire-extinguishers did
you tell him they were lung-testers?"

The little book agent stared at the editor.

"I never told," he exclaimed. "I have never said a wo