“A very sensible idea,” said Hodgins. “But now, Mr. Gale, to get down to my business. I’m a little rushed for time, so you’ll excuse me for bein’ brief. Have you--ahem!--seen to-day’s issue of the _Bulletin_?” “Of course,” replied the elder Gale, with a deprecating smile. “I presume you are referring to those disgraceful pictures? They are an outrage!” “They certainly are that,” growled Hodgins. “What would you advise me to do about them, Mr. Gale--to set myself right in the eyes of the public, I mean?” Again Mr. Gale smiled deprecatingly. “I scarcely think there is any need to worry about that, chief. It isn’t likely that the public will pay any attention to anything that appears in our disreputable contemporary, the _Bulletin_.” “They wouldn’t if they had any sense,” said the chief, scowling as he recalled his recent painful experience on the street. “But--ahem!--the public seems inclined to pay more attention to those confounded snapshots than you’d think, and I’ve got to do something to set myself right. That’s what I’ve come to see you about, Mr. Gale.” “I guess that can be easily fixed,” said the editor, “I’ll run an editorial on the front page of to-morrow’s _Chronicle_, denouncing the _Bulletin_ for publishing those pictures. I shall refer to it as a pictorial outrage against decency and a disgrace to journalism.” “That’s what it is, all right,” muttered the chief, with an approving nod; “but will the public look at it that way?” “They will when they read in to-morrow’s _Chronicle_ why it was that you were asleep at your desk,” replied the editor, with a sly smile. “We’ll explain that our worthy chief of police, after being up all night for three successive nights in the pursuit of his official duties, was so tired out that he was unable to keep up any longer. Tired nature asserted itself, and he fell back in his chair in a state of collapse. And while he was in this condition--brought about solely by his devotion to duty and zeal to serve the public--the miscreant photographer of the _Bulletin_ sneaked in and made capital of the incident. “I rather think that will do the trick, chief,” the elder Gale remarked. “When they read the _Chronicle_ to-morrow morning, the people of Oldham, instead of smiling at those pictures, will look upon you as a martyr.” Chief Hodgins’ face lighted up. “The very thing!” he exclaimed enthusiastically. “It looks to me as if you’d hit the right idea, Mr. Gale, and I don’t mind telling you that if you print all that you’ll come pretty near telling the truth, too.” “Have you caught the fellow who took the pictures yet, chief?” the editor inquired. “No; the rascal got away,” Hodgins answered, with a scowl. “My men learned that he got out of town on a motor cycle, but they can’t find out where he’s gone. I guess he won’t dare set foot in this town again. He was certainly the nerviest camera fiend I’ve seen or heard of.”