“So he wants to call off the fight, does he?” he chuckled. “I’m mighty glad to hear that, Frank. This is indeed good tidings.” “Why, Fred!” cried Melba in a shocked tone. “Surely you’re not thinking of accepting that offer? I wouldn’t believe----” “Accepting it! I should say not!” was the indignant reply. “What do you take me for? All the money in the world couldn’t make the _Bulletin_ stop fighting Henkle and his gang. But I’m mighty glad to hear the news which Frank has brought. It shows that we’ve got that grafter worried. He must be dead scared, or he wouldn’t have made these overtures of peace.” The Camera Chap nodded. “Yes, it certainly looks as if he has begun to see ‘the writing on the wall.’ He realizes that the power of the _Bulletin_ is growing, and that it means the finish of him and his gang unless he can swing us over to his side.” “By the way, Fred,” he added, with a chuckle. “I’ve launched your boom as candidate for the mayoralty of Oldham.” “Who--what?” exclaimed Carroll in great astonishment. “Yes; I told Henkle that you intend to be his successor in the city hall.” The proprietor of the _Bulletin_ stared at him dazedly. “Well, I’ll be jiggered!” he ejaculated. “What on earth put such an idea into your head?” “I don’t know,” the Camera Chap replied, with a grin. “It came to me like a flash. I wanted to get his goat, and it seemed to me that would be a good way of going about it. I wasn’t wrong, either. He certainly appeared somewhat jarred by my announcement.” “Oh, I see,” said Carroll. “It was merely a joke?” “Not at all,” the Camera Chap rejoined. “Now that I’ve launched your boom, Fred, you’ve got to run. Just think what a fine thing it would be for the _Bulletin_ if its proprietor were the mayor of the town!” “Nonsense!” Carroll protested. “Don’t talk like an idiot, Frank. It’s quite out of the question.” It was at this point that Melba suddenly recollected something. “Oh, that reminds me, Fred, of the other piece of news I have to tell you!” she exclaimed. “You know, I said I had two pieces of news to communicate. My uncle announced at the supper table last night that he expects to be the next mayor of Oldham.” “Your uncle!” cried Hawley and Carroll in a chorus of astonishment. “Yes; he said that Mayor Henkle promised to make him his successor. Mr. Henkle has decided not to be a candidate for reëlection, and he thinks that Uncle Delancey’s faithful services to the party entitle him to the place. My uncle is tickled pink. He has already made plans of what he is going to do when he gets into the city hall.” The Camera Chap looked at Carroll, and chuckled. There was a flash in the latter’s eyes, and his lower jaw was thrust forward aggressively. “Frank,” he cried, “you’re a true prophet! I am going to announce my candidacy in the next issue of the _Bulletin_, in the largest type we’ve got in the shop.” CHAPTER XXX. A MYSTERY SOLVED.