"Let's have it from first hands," interrupted Bruce, irritated by the verbal excelsior which the prosecutor so deliberately unwrapped from about his fact. He turned to the minister, a slender man of hardly more than thirty, with a high brow, the wide, sensitive mouth of the born orator, fervently bright eyes, and the pallor of the devoted student--a face that instantly explained why, though so young, he was Westville's most popular divine. "What's it about, Doctor Sherman?" the editor asked. "Who's the man?" There was no posing here for Bruce's typewriter. The minister's concern was deep and sincere. "About the water-works, as Mr. Kennedy has said," he answered in a voice that trembled with agitation. "There has been some--some crooked work." "Crooked work?" ejaculated the editor, staring at the minister. "Crooked work?" "Yes." "You are certain of what you say?" "Yes." "Then you have evidence?" "I am sorry--but--but I have." The editor was leaning forward, his nostrils dilated, his eyes gleaming sharply behind their thick glasses. "Who's mixed up in it? Who's the man?" The minister's hands were tightly interlocked. For an instant he seemed unable to speak. "Who's the man?" repeated Bruce. The minister swallowed. "Doctor West," he said. Bruce sprang up. "Doctor West?" he cried. "The superintendent of the water-works?" "Yes." If the editor's concern for the city's welfare was merely a political and business pose, if he was merely an actor, at least he acted his part well. "My God!" he breathed, and stood with eyes fixed upon the young minister. Then suddenly he sat down again, his thick brows drew together, and his heavy jaws set. "Let's have the whole story," he snapped out. "From the very beginning." "I cannot tell you how distressed I am by what I have just been forced to do," began the young clergyman. "I have always esteemed Doctor West most highly, and my wife and his daughter have been the closest friends since girlhood. To make my part in this affair clear, I must recall to you that of late the chief attention of the Voters' Union has naturally been devoted to the water-works. I never imagined that anything was wrong. But, speaking frankly, after the event, I must say that Doctor West's position was such as made it a simple matter for him to defraud the city should he so desire." "You mean because the council invested him with so much authority?" demanded Bruce. "Yes. As I have said, I regarded Doctor West above all suspicion. But a short time ago some matters--I need not detail them--aroused in me the fear that Doctor West was using his office for--for----" "For graft?" supplied Bruce. The minister inclined his head.