“No, no,” said the master, “that is not the reason. You know, don’t you, Smith?” “Yes, sir,” answered that hopeful. “So that what we hear may go in at one ear and out at the other.” SNAPSHOT ARTILLERY. By BERTRAM LEBHAR. (This interesting story was commenced in No. 153 of NICK CARTER STORIES. Back numbers can always be obtained from your news dealer or the publishers.) CHAPTER VIII. MELBA GALE. “Guess I’ll borrow your motor cycle, old man, if you don’t object,” said Hawley to his host. “What! You don’t mean to say you’re going to Oldham again?” the latter protested. “How about your doctor’s orders to keep quiet and avoid all excitement?” “I shall try to avoid excitement as much as possible while I’m in town,” the Camera Chap replied dryly. “But I’ve got to go this time. When duty calls, physician’s orders don’t count, you know. Here’s the telegram, old man. You can see for yourself that it’s really a case of must.” His host perused the telegram and shook his head disapprovingly. “I can’t say I think much of a boss who won’t leave a man alone during his vacation--especially when that man has been ordered by his physician to keep his thoughts away from business. This managing editor of yours must be a peach, Hawley.” The Camera Chap laughed. “Oh, Paxton is all right. There isn’t a whiter man in the newspaper game. The _Sentinel_ must need that picture badly, or you can be sure they wouldn’t have bothered me with it. May I have the motor cycle?” “Of course, if you are determined to go. But if I were in your place, I’d send them back a telegram that they’d have to get another man to do the job. Seems to me that they could have got the picture just as easily by wiring to a local photographer and leaving you alone. Surely anybody can take a picture of a building. No particular skill required for that.” Hawley smiled grimly. “Some buildings are harder to take than others. I’ve a sort of an idea that this snapshot of the city hall is going to be one of my masterpieces. I’m eager to get at it.” His host shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t see why the job should appeal to you so greatly. I thought you liked snapshots which involved risk. Surely there isn’t anything particularly thrilling about taking a picture of a building.” Perhaps it is needless to say that the Camera Chap’s host was not aware of the new anticamera bill which the Oldham council had recently enacted. Hawley did not enlighten him. Five minutes later, just as the Camera Chap was about to start, his friend made an astonishing discovery. “Why, you absent-minded beggar!” he exclaimed laughingly. “You’re actually going off without your camera. Don’t expect to be able to take a picture without it, do you?” The Camera Chap grinned. “I’m leaving it behind purposely,” he said. “No use taking my big camera for this job. I’ve got a kodak in my coat pocket, and that’ll serve the purpose just as well--better, in fact, for this particular snapshot.”