The Alaska citizen., 1910-12-05
VII.


 lLe first time IL Ee.Is that the company equipped with au ,mcr- u,ucy battery uf tsuamos which how proved uu- If order. had ever fuot for au instant of proper ser vice Candles. kcgu. enc lamps and c.I gas fN.u-p.. th, T.-.r cocks of which had moi ben turned in de cldp. were put hastily iH use, while the streets were hla.k with a blacRuos= particularly S.gian. con --astes with the brilliantly illu- mina'od squares supplied by the C rSalidatca e1maaH=. All night 'ong The mechanical force. attended by the worried bat painfully help les Bobby. pounded and tapped and worked in the crime, but il Was not Hutil broad daylight that they were able 10 discover the cause of trouble For two nights the lights ran steadily On the third night about scycuthirry. they turned to dull. red ulaW. and slowly died out. This time .t was wire trouble, and through the long night as large force of men as could be muster ci were tracing f. Not until noon the nc<t day was the leak found.
 
 ten of the city was for he third tim in darkness but when this occurred the business men ef the district. who had been patient enough the first HigHt and enduring enoueh the second looS.d their rc.n= and became frantic
 x rhtS happy jurature the Con sotared company threw an army
 ltr monrpo'iaed blocks, ani the can vas-crS 5jt not med to he men who coula talk. for arguments were Eot necessary. The aI voru-9uf equip meut Cf he HriLhfli-ht Electric an1 the fac, that f Wa> managed aul controlled h. men who knew nothing Whatey.r of tle business itS very pre- ideat young fellow "ho had probably never seen a dy. namo until he took charge. were enough.
 Bobby. passing over Plum street one moEuiHg wa surprised to see a large gang of men putting in new poles. and when he req he'd the of fee he asked Johnson about it In two minutes he had definitely as. cerraiued tha- 10 orders had hecn
 
 eom=anv uar any one connected with f. and further inquiry ro~oaled the fact that those pH'es were heine put mp h. n Consolidated. He called up Chalmers at once.
 "I knew I'd hear from you said Chalmers. and ! have already been at work eu tAe rhfre Of course T.u saw what was in the papers, No" confessed Bobby
 You should read them every mornne" sccllc1 Chalmers. The new city council ar therr meeting last night, granted The Consolidated a franchise to put mp poles and wires ill his district for liahting
 But how cou'1 they?" eyp0sru lated Bobby Our contract with thn city has several years 10 run yet. and guarantees u@ exclusive privilege to supply light. both 10 the city and 10 private Individuals, in those twelve blocks"
 That cleverly unobfrusive joker clause about 'reasonaHlv sattsfac- tory service " replied Chalmers. an grilY. By the way. have ycu ever inyestigated those accidents very thorougkly?"
 
 T think fl would pay you to dc SO am delving into this thing as deeply as I can, and with your per mission l am going to call your fathers old attorney, Mir Barrister into consultation"
 Co ahead, by all means" said Bobby, worried beyond measure.
 Al five o'clock that evening Con Ripley came jauntilv 10 the plant of the Brghtlght Electric company Con was the engineer, and the world was a very good joke 10 him althoueh Eot such a joke that he overlooked his own interests. He sprnced up considerably outside of working hours. did Con. and al though he was nearly forty, con- sidered himself very much a ladies' man. also an accomplished athlete and positively the last word in electrical knowledge. He was don ming his working garments in very leisurely fashion when a short, man came- back toward him from the office.
 You're Con Ripley" said the newcomer by way of introduction Maybe" said Con. Who are you?"
 I'm the Assistant Works" ob- served Professor Henry H. Bates.
 "Oh." said MT Ripley in some wonder, looking from the soft cap of MT. Bates to the broad thick tan shoes Of MT. Bates, and then back Up to the w'de-set eyes. ''I hadn't heard about it.
 'No?" responded MT Bates, Well. l came in to tell you. don't know enough about electricity to say whether you feed it with a spoon or from bottle, but I'm here just the same, to notice that the juice slips through the wires all right tonight, all right"
 The h-ll you are." exclaimed MT. Ripley, taking sudden umbrage at both tone and words, and also at the physical attitude of MT Bates. which had grown somewhat threatening. All right MT. Works, and MT. Ripley began to step out of his overalls; jump right in and push juice till you get black in the face, while l take a little vacation I've been wanting a lay-off for a long time"
 You'll lay on, Be-" dissented Mir Bates. Nix on the vacation. That's just the point. You're going to stick on the job, and I'm going to stick within four feet of you until