Then we went up in the elevator to the tenth floor and got off, and Mark led us along till we came to a door that said Middle-West Power Company on it, and he turned the knob and walked right in as bold as brass. I went right behind him, though I didn’t want to much, for I sort of figured we’d get thrown out faster than we went in. But we didn’t. There was a young lady at a desk and Mark asked her if the president was in. “President James is in a meeting of the board of directors,” she said, as courteous as could be. “He’ll be busy some time. Can I do anything?” “Board of directors of the P-Power Company?” “Yes.” “Better l-luck than I expected,” says Mark. “We want to see all of that b-board of directors. How kin we m-manage it?” “Why,” says she, “I’m afraid you can’t manage it! They’re pretty busy, you know.” “This is important—to t-t-them,” says Mark. “It’s about their dam and p-p-power-plant to Wicksville. We own the dam and there’s other things we’re mixed up in. We just _got_ to get to see them.” “I wouldn’t dare let you in,” says she. “Suppose you just l-l-look the other way, and we’ll walk in, anyhow,” says Mark. “I couldn’t do that,” she says. “No,” says Mark, “I s’pose it wouldn’t be right.” And just then in walks Wiggamore! He gave one look at us and scowled. Then he marched right over to us and says, as savage as a mean watch-dog, “Git out of here!” “Not to-day,” says Mark. “We’re here on business.” “Git out before I throw you out,” says Wiggamore. He raised his voice so it was pretty loud, and Mark spoke back to him just a little louder, and afterward I found out he did it on purpose. He wanted to be heard, because he figured that was about the only way he would get into the board meeting. “I’m here on b-b-business with President James,” he said, “and I’m going to stay. You won’t t-throw us out, Mr. Wiggamore, and you hadn’t better try. You looked for trouble, and we’re here with it, and we’re goin’ to see President James and don’t you forget it.” He lifted his voice a little louder and almost hollered, “President James is the m-man we got to see, and if he knew about the p-papers I got in my pocket he’d see us mighty quick.” “Hush!” says Wiggamore. “Don’t yell so in here.” Just then a door opened and a great big man with shoulders as broad as a house, and with white hair and a white mustache, and a face that looked like it was carved out of a rock, but that you kind of took a liking to right off, looked out. He looked cross. When I say you took a liking to him, I don’t mean that exactly. I mean you felt a kind of a respect for him. That’s the way he looked. “Here, here!” says he. “What’s all this disturbance?” “These boys,” says Wiggamore. “I can’t get rid of them.” “So it seems, Wiggamore. What ails ’em?” “They want to see you, sir,” said the young woman. “The noise really wasn’t their fault.” “It wasn’t, eh? Did you tell them I was in a board meeting?”