AUNT JANE'S NIECE ON VACATION

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I THE HOBO AT CHAZY JUNCTION
II THE INVASION OF MILLVILLE
III THE DAWN OF A GREAT ENTERPRISE
IV THE WAY INTO PRINT
V DIVIDING THE RESPONSIBILITIES
VI MR. SKEELTY OF THE MILL
VII THE SKETCH ARTIST
VIII THE _Millville Daily Tribune_
IX TROUBLE
X THURSDAY SMITH
XI THE HONER'BLE OJOY BOGLIN
XII MOLLY SIZER'S PARTY
XIII BOB WEST INTERFERES
XIV THE DANCER SIGNAL
XV A CLEVER IDEA
XVI LOCAL CONTRIBUTORS
XVII THE PENALTIES OF JOURNALISM
XVIII OPEN WARFARE
XIX A MERE MATTER OF REVENGE
XX DEFENDING THE PRESS
XXI THE COMING OF FOGERTY
XXII UNMASKED
XXIII THE JOURNALISTS ABDICATE
XXIV A CHEERFUL BLUNDER

CHAPTER I

THE HOBO AT CHAZY JUNCTION

Mr. Judkins, the station agent at Chazy Junction, came out of his little
house at daybreak, shivered a bit in the chill morning air and gave an
involuntary start as he saw a private car on the sidetrack. There were
two private cars, to be exact--a sleeper and a baggage car--and Mr.
Judkins knew the three o'clock train must have left them as it passed
through.

"Ah," said he aloud; "the nabobs hev arrove."

"Who are the nabobs?" asked a quiet voice beside him.

Again Mr. Judkins started; he even stepped back a pace to get a better
view of the stranger, who had approached so stealthily through the dim
light that the agent was unaware of his existence until he spoke.

"Who be you?" he demanded, eyeing the man suspiciously.

"Never mind who I am," retorted the other in a grumpy tone; "the
original question is 'who are the nabobs?'"

"See here, young feller; this ain't no place fer tramps," observed Mr.
Judkins, frowning with evident displeasure; "Chazy Junction's got all it
kin do to support its reg'lar inhabitants. You'll hev to move on."

The stranger sat down on a baggage truck and eyed the private car
reflectively. He wore a rough gray suit, baggy and threadbare, a flannel
shirt with an old black tie carelessly knotted at the collar, a brown
felt hat with several holes in the crown, and coarse cowhide shoes that
had arrived at the last stages of usefulness. You would judge him to be
from twenty-five to thirty years of age; you would note that his face
was browned from exposure, that it was rather set and expressionless but
in no way repulsive. His eyes, dark and retrospective, were his most
redeeming feature, yet betrayed little of their owner's character. Mr.
Judkins could make nothing of the fellow, beyond the fact that he was
doubtless a "tramp" and on that account most unwelcome in this retired
neighborhood.

Even tramps were unusual at Chazy Junction. The foothills were sparsely
settled and the inhabitants too humble to be attractive to gentlemen of
the road, while the rocky highways, tortuous and uneven, offered no
invitation to the professional pedestrian.

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AUNT JANE'S NIECE ON VACATION