CHAPTER I That Naughty Word October 8, 2866, was a memorable day for young Riley Ashton. It was his sixth birthday. It was the day he got his first good look at American City. Also he learned a new word, a thrillingly naughty word, and Aunt Betty came to live with the Ashtons. At that time it was the custom all over the world to keep the children secluded in their own homes, or at least in their own neighborhoods, until they were six years old. On his sixth birthday the child, escorted by one or