LAKESIDE was a pleasant little town of five or
six thousand inhabitants, and a rather pretty
one, too, as towns go in the Far West. It had church
accommodations for thirty-five thousand, which is
the way of the Far West and the South, where every-
body is religious, and where each of the Protestant
sects is represented and has a plant of its own. Rank
was unknown in Lakeside--unconfessed, anyway;
everybody knew everybody and his dog, and a
sociable friendliness was the prevailing atmosphere.

Saladin Foster was book-keeper in the principal
store, and the only high-salaried man of his profession
in Lakeside. He was thirty-five years old, now; he
had served that store for fourteen years; he had
begun in his marriage-week at four hundred dollars
a year, and had climbed steadily up, a hundred dol-
lars a year, for four years; from that time forth his
wage had remained eight hundred--a handsome
figure indeed, and everybody conceded that he was
worth it.

His wife, Electra, was a capable helpmeet, although

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