factory, or vice versa, he would have to go by trolley unless he
possessed the hardiness of an ox and was not dismayed by the vastness
of the city limits. For like all towns in the great Northwest,
Mockawock had its limits and they were wide enough to make New York or
Chicago appear cramped by comparison. One could walk for hours in a
straight line south from the public square in Mockawock and still not
be "out in the country," figuratively speaking, although he might not
see a house or a human being--unless he turned his head--after the
first ten minutes. He could also walk west or north in the same futile
effort to get out of the "city" into the "country," but he could not
walk east for more than two city blocks. Mockawock happened to be
situated on the shores of Lake Superior and not even the most boastful
citizen would have contended that the city limits reached far in that
direction.

And, having successfully promoted such enterprises in Mockawock as
would tend to convince the citizens that some day the city limits
would have to be extended, he very wisely took the gains acquired in
the sale of options, the disposal of franchises, the surrender of
equities, and all such, and slipped away to the vast forests in the
north, where he bought timber-land by the section.

Another town required stirring up by this time, so he descended upon
it, backed by the reputation gained at Mockawock and, before the
citizens could say Jack Robinson, he had skilfully promoted a number
of enterprises, including a belt railroad, an electric lighting plant,
and a new evening newspaper, all of which fairly set the town by the
ears and made him one of the most important figures in the upper Lake
region.