CHAPTER XVI

THE GIRLS HAVE IT


It was an entirely new experience for Dalton men--searching for a
miscreant that spring evening in the lane. But evening wore into
nightfall and no trace of the "tramp" had been discovered.

From either end of the lane the men came together at last, and admitted
they had been again outwitted by the "slick rascal."

Mr. MacAllister, in dismissing the party, urged them to be at the town
meeting that night to vote for a constable, and never had the need of
such an official been so plainly demonstrated.

"We must go about to-night," he said, "and notify business persons to be
on the lookout for a fellow of this description. Of course, if we had a
regular constable we might save ourselves that trouble."

To the old politicians of Dalton, those who always voted promptly, but
put off paying taxes until the very last notice had been served upon
them, the appointment of John Travers to succeed Squire Sanders, came as
a surprise. Poor men are not always popular, and the other candidate,
Baldwin Blake, was the sort of fellow it was pleasant to meet--around
election times. But John Travers got the office without a dissenting