he devious means by which public service
corporations sometimes gain their end. Her mind flashed over all the
situation's possibilities.

Suddenly she paused before her father, face flushed, triumph in her
eyes.

"Father, _it was planned!_"

"Eh?" said he.

"Father," she demanded excitedly, "do you know what the great public
service corporations are doing now?" Her words rushed on, not waiting
for an answer. "They have got hold of almost all the valuable public
utilities in the great cities, and now they are turning to a fresh
field--the small cities. Westville is a rich chance in a small way. It
has only thirty thousand inhabitants now. But it is growing. Some day
it will have fifty thousand--a hundred thousand."

"That's what people say."

"If a private company could get hold of the water-works, the system
would not only be richly profitable at once, but it would be worth a
fortune as the city grows. Now if a company, a clever company, wanted
to buy in the water-works, what would be their first move?"

"To make an offer, I suppose."

"Never! Their first step would be to try to make the people want to
sell. And how would they try to make the people want to sell?"

"Why--why----"

"By making the water-works fail!" Her excitement was mounting; she
caught his shoulders. "Fail so badly that the people would be
disgusted, just as they now are, and willing to sell at any price.
And now, father--and now, father--" he could feel her quivering all
over--"listen to me! We're coming to the point! How would they make
the water-works fail?"

He could only blink at her.

"They'd make it fail by removing from office, and so disgracing
him that everything he had done would be discredited, the one
incorruptible man whose care and knowledge had made it a success!
Don't you see, father? Don't you see?"

"Bless me," said the old man, "if I know what you're talking about!"

"With you out of the way, whom they knew they could not corrupt, they
could buy under officials to attend to the details of making the water
bad and the plant itself a failure--just exactly what has been done.
You are not the real victim. You are just an obstruction--something
that they had to get out of the way. The real victim is Westville!
It's a plan to rob the city!"

His gray eyes were catching the light that blazed from hers.

"I begin to see," he said. "It hardly seems possible people would do
such things. But perhaps you're right. What are