SLAVES/SUCCESS 
 
 ELLIOTT FLOWER
 
 5E52SESESH5252S2SSSB5H5H5H5E5E52
 
 SLAVES OF SUCCESS
 
 WORKS OF 
 
 ELLIOTT FLOWER 
 
 * 
 THE SPOILSMEN . $1.50 
 
 DELIGHTFUL DODD 1.50 
 
 Published by 
 
 L. C. PAGE & COMPANY 
 
 New England Building 
 
 Boston, Mass.
 
 
 of 

 
 
 S L AV E S O F 
 
 e^ O U \^* \^* H/ o o e^ 
 
 By ELLIOTT FLOWER 
 
 Author of " The Spoilsmen," " Delightful Dodd," etc. 
 
 JAY HAMBIDGE 
 
 Boston + L. C. P A G E 
 & COMPANY + Mcmv 

 
 COPYRIGHT, 1904, BY 
 COLLIER'S WEEKLY 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1905, BY 
 
 L. C. PAGE & COMPANY 
 
 (INCORPORATED) 
 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
 
 | PUBLISHED MARCH, 1905 
 
 COLONIAL PRESS 
 
 Electrotyped and Printed by C. ft. Simonds &> Co. 
 Boston, Mass., U.S.A.
 
 FOREWORD 
 
 In presenting this story the author desires to 
 acknowledge the courtesy of the editors of Colliers 
 Weekly and The Saturday Evening Post. Six of 
 the chapters were originally published serially in the 
 Fiction Numbers of Colliers Weekly, and one ap- 
 peared, in somewhat different form, in The Saturday 
 Evening Post. " The Cupidity of Carroll " is now 
 published in its entirety for the first time. E. F. 
 
 2135559
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 I. THE NECESSARY VOTE i 
 
 II. THE REFORMER REFORMED . . . .31 
 
 III. A MORTGAGE ON A MAN .... 62 
 
 IV. THE SLAVERY OF A Boss . . .90 
 V. A STRATEGICAL DEFEAT . . . .119 
 
 VI. A FAVOUR FOR A FRIEND . . . .149 
 
 VII. AZRO CRAIG'S AWAKENING . . . .188 
 
 VIII. THE CUPIDITY OF CARROLL . . . .219
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 SLAVES OF SUCCESS Frontispiece 
 
 " HE . . . PULLED OFF HIS BOOTS TO EASE HIS FEET" 1 6 
 " WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS WISH ME TO DO ? ' ASKED 
 
 MARSHALL" 60 
 
 " ' POLITICS,' SAID HIGBIE, ' is A BUSINESS ' " . 67 
 
 "'YOU GO BACK TO CHICAGO 5 ". . . . -75 
 IF YOU CAN'T CONVINCE HIM, YOU CAN'T CONVINCE 
 
 ME'" . . 104 
 
 " WE DELIVER THAT FOUNDLING TO YOU AS THE 
 
 REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COUNTY,' SHE SAID " . 145 
 
 " ' JACK WADE, YOU'RE GOIN' TO DRAW OUT o' THE 
 
 RACE RIGHT NOW '" 217
 
 >LAVES<*SUCCES 
 
 I 
 THE NECESSARY VOTE 
 
 THE day after Azro Craig was nominated for 
 the Legislature he found himself surprisingly popu- 
 lar; three days later he wondered if people thought 
 he was to be the whole Lower House. For Azro 
 Craig was an unknown quantity politically, and 
 therefore an object of solicitous interest to all 
 those who sought legislative power. He had been 
 nominated as a Republican, but there was little 
 reason to believe that he would consent to wear the 
 party collar. He was a guileless, hard-headed old 
 fellow, with unlimited faith in his friends, but 
 inclined to be obstinate and suspicious where faith 
 was lacking. Consequently, he would not be an 
 easy man to handle. 
 
 The nomination was a surprise to the politicians.
 
 Slaves of Success 
 
 The " machine " had been back of Nagle, but the 
 good people of this country district had wearied of 
 the " machine." The word conveyed only a hazy 
 idea to them, but the newspapers had taught them 
 to attribute all that was evil in State politics to 
 the few men who were popularly supposed to be 
 at the head of it, so they had turned out in unex- 
 pected force at the primaries to put the stamp of 
 their disapproval on Nagle. It naturally followed 
 that they had put up a man who had as fierce a 
 hatred of the " machine " as any of them, and 
 quite as little practical knowledge of it. In this 
 emergency certain prominent politicians began to 
 wonder whether it would not be advisable to elect 
 the Democratic candidate. The district was Repub- 
 lican by only a small majority, and a little quiet 
 treachery would almost certainly change the result. 
 Indeed, if the Democrats made an aggressive fight 
 and the Republicans practically no fight at all, it 
 was more than likely that the Democrats would win. 
 Possibly a " deal " might be made that would be 
 more advantageous than the election of an obstinate 
 old mossback. Thus it happened that Azro Craig 
 received more attention than it was customary to 
 give a nominee in that district. 
 
 The first man to arrive on the scene, after the
 
 The Necessary Vote 
 
 neighbours had extended their congratulations and 
 warned their candidate of the wiles of practical 
 politics, was Tom Higbie, who had been sent by Ben 
 Carroll, and there was an element of treachery here. 
 It had been arranged that John Wade should go, 
 for Wade had once lived in the district and knew 
 the people, but Carroll was afraid that Wade might 
 so arrange matters as to give himself more power, 
 and he had enough already. Wade was politi- 
 cally unscrupulous, but personally honest a 
 combination sometimes found. This means that 
 he was not a boodler himself, but that he was not 
 above helping boodlers in order that he might use 
 them politically. He would not offer a man money, 
 but for a political price he would let him steal it 
 from others or from the State. Carroll, on the other 
 hand, used politics for his pecuniary advantage; 
 with him power had a cash value, in addition to 
 being personally gratifying. He liked to rule, but 
 he played politics principally because it put him in 
 the way of making money. At the present time he 
 could not get along without Wade, and Wade could 
 not get along without him. Their alliance was one 
 of convenience, which either would terminate the 
 moment he felt himself strong enough to do it.
 
 Slaves of Success 
 
 So Carroll had put the case to his lieutenant, 
 Higbie, in this form : 
 
 " Wade is going down there next week to look 
 the ground over, but I don't see why we can't do the 
 job first. The House is going to be pretty close, and 
 I'd rather not have Wade in a position to dictate 
 terms, as he may if he gets that yahoo on his staff. 
 I want to make Mackin Speaker. Mackin is our 
 man, and, with him in the chair, we can organize 
 the House and make Wade keep in line in order 
 to get any favours at all. He'll have to stick to us. 
 But the margin is so small that a very little may 
 upset everything. He has a personal hold on some 
 men now, and control of this yahoo is likely to give 
 him a grip on some others of the same class they 
 stick together pretty closely now and then. If you 
 can pledge Craig to Mackin, we'll take chances on 
 getting him when we need him after that; if you 
 can't, see what you can do with the Democrat, 
 Rowley. We can't use him on strictly party meas- 
 ures, but I'm told he can be reached on pretty 
 nearly everything else, and a ' handy ' Democrat is 
 a whole lot more useful than a balky Republican, 
 and won't be as dangerous to our Speakership plan. 
 And Wade isn't going to like the Mackin idea at all. 
 That's why we've got to see that he doesn't get
 
 The Necessary Vote 
 
 too much power. Do you understand the situa- 
 tion?" 
 
 " Perfectly." 
 
 " Well, make a smooth job of it, and, if Rowley 
 looks like the best man for us, I'll see what kind of 
 a deal can be made at this end of the line. The 
 Democrats ought to be willing to concede us some- 
 thing if we put their man through in a Republican 
 district. I wouldn't wonder if Hatton and Dailey 
 would help us organize the House, in a pinch, just 
 to turn down Wade. They know where our organi- 
 zation will be of advantage later. I'll see them 
 if that seems to be the best thing to do." 
 
 With these instructions, which show how " ma- 
 chine " men of opposite parties can sometimes meet 
 on the common ground of personal or pecuniary 
 benefit, Higbie sought Craig and had a long talk 
 with him. But Higbie was not a good man to 
 handle Craig. There was something in his manner 
 that suggested the schemer. He hinted at things 
 that he did not explain, and he talked too much of 
 being " with the party," and not enough of being 
 conscientious. Perhaps his idea of conscientious- 
 ness was " being with the party." At any rate, his 
 main argument was that they had to pull together or 
 the Democrats would control.
 
 Slaves of Success 
 
 " That ain't worryin' me," retorted Craig. 
 " There's good Democrats an' there's bad Repub- 
 licans. You kin count me ag'in the * machine ' on 
 both sides." 
 
 Then Higbie tried to explain that the " machine " 
 was merely the necessary party organization, which 
 impractical reformers had maligned until they had 
 made an opprobrious term of an innocent word, but 
 Craig was obdurate. He did not believe in the 
 " machine," and he would make no pledges what- 
 ever. 
 
 " All we want," said Higbie, " is to make sure 
 that the House will be organized on a good Republi- 
 can basis." 
 
 " You kin do that easy," returned Craig, " by 
 doin' it right, but I ain't goin' to help organize on 
 no ' machine ' basis. When I git to Springfield I'll 
 see how things is, an' act accordin'." 
 
 " You may not get to Springfield if you don't 
 have the party behind you," suggested Higbie. 
 
 " Goin' to turn me down, are you ? " exclaimed 
 Craig, hotly. " Well, you go plump to thunder! " 
 
 " You misunderstand me," urged Higbie. 
 " We'll support you, of course, but you'll stand 
 better if there's no question as to your party 
 loyalty."
 
 The Necessary Vote 
 
 " The folks here knows what I stand for, an' 
 that's enough," asserted Craig, aggressively. 
 
 " Why not take a run up to Chicago and have 
 a talk with the party leaders ? " asked Higbie, see- 
 ing that he would be able to do nothing with the 
 man alone. " That will give you an idea of the 
 situation and of the need of harmony. Together 
 we can rule, and you will be of real value to your 
 district, but no one of us can do anything alone. 
 We'll be glad to see you, and when you know the 
 men I think you'll take a different view of things." 
 
 Craig said that he might do this, but Higbie 
 already had given him up as an unsatisfactory 
 proposition. It was advisable to treat him as 
 cleverly as possible, so far as outward appearances 
 went; but Rowley, the Democrat, might easily 
 prove to be the better man for their purposes. 
 Rowley had changed his party twice. Beginning 
 as a Democrat, he had switched to the Republicans 
 and then back to the Democrats. He was not a man 
 to let a little matter like political affiliations inter- 
 fere with his own interests, so he had changed 
 whenever it had seemed to be to his advantage. 
 The Democrats, although they had no great love for 
 him, had nominated him as a matter of party expe- 
 diency. He would draw some independent votes,
 
 8 Slaves of Success 
 
 and he could be controlled by those who would 
 need his services. Knowing this much about him, 
 Higbie quietly arranged for a confidential chat. 
 
 Craig, suspicious, but unsophisticated, puzzled 
 his head not a little over the significance of Higbie's 
 visit. He had expected to meet and fight the " ma- 
 chine " at Springfield, but he had not expected that 
 the people in Chicago would take such an immediate 
 interest in him. It looked to him as if he were 
 of more importance than he had supposed. This 
 idea was strengthened by a call from a representa- 
 tive of a political reform organization that sought 
 to do with the Legislature what the Municipal 
 Voters' League had previously attempted, with 
 reasonable success, to do with the Chicago City 
 Council. It investigated the records of candidates 
 and sought to pledge them in advance to certain 
 principles of legislation, and to a line of action that 
 would thwart the plans of the unscrupulous. Let- 
 ters and circulars had come from the Chicago 
 headquarters of this organization, but Craig was 
 suspicious of all pledges, and he had ignored them. 
 Nor did the agent impress him any more favourably 
 than the letters and circulars. The agent seemed to 
 look upon him with tolerant condescension. He 
 was earnest, but there was an aloofness about him
 
 The Necessary Vote 9 
 
 that was aggravating. Somehow he gave the impres- 
 sion quite unintentionally, of course that he 
 was a superior person. And Craig would have none 
 of him. " I ain't signin' pledges nor makin' prom- 
 ises," said Craig. 
 
 " My dear sir," said the reformer, with lofty 
 complacency, " I fear you do not understand. All 
 we desire is to wrest the control of legislation from 
 those who will use it unscrupulously. We realize 
 that it would be folly to attempt to interfere with 
 purely party measures, even though some of them 
 may be questionable, but we hope to put an end 
 to many forms of corruption. This task is more 
 difficult in a State than in a city, for the party 
 is more important, but there is no reason why 
 it can't be done in time. With the aid of the 
 honest independents, we can teach the politicians 
 the importance of putting up good men. The 
 independent voters turn against an objectionable 
 party man every little while, so why not organize 
 and concentrate that independent force with a 
 view to compelling the parties to put up good 
 men? To do that effectively, we must pledge the 
 candidates and study their records. Now, you 
 have no record " 
 
 " You go to thunder! " roared Craig. " I got a
 
 IO Slaves of Success 
 
 record of forty year in this one township, an' all 
 the folks know I'm square. You git out! I ain't 
 goin' to have nobody tellin^ me what it's my duty 
 to do, an' I ain't goin' to make a promise not a 
 darned one." 
 
 The air of the man exasperated Craig, and so 
 it happened that he was labelled " Doubtful," al- 
 though, as Rowley was designated " Bad," this 
 did no particular harm. The reformer did not 
 know how to handle him, but this was also true 
 of all others until Wade came. Wade was a 
 better judge of men, and he had the advantage 
 of knowing both Craig and the district, although 
 it was all of ten years since he had seen either. 
 Moreover, Craig had a sort of sneaking admira- 
 tion for Wade. He had gone to the city and had 
 become a big man, which was proof of his ability. 
 True, he was identified with the " machine," but 
 one could admire his success and still be reason- 
 ably cautious about succumbing to his influence. 
 And Wade urged nothing. He was the same old 
 Jack Wade of years ago. 
 
 " Great guns, Azro ! " he cried, when he met the 
 old man, " how did you do it? " 
 
 "I didn't do it," laughed Azro. "You folks 
 up to Chicago did it by takin' so blamed much in-
 
 The Necessary Vote 1 1 
 
 t'rest in Nagle. You got him so plastered over 
 with ' machine ' tags that the people couldn't stand 
 him. We ain't electin' men down here to repre- 
 sent a lot of you Chicago fellers, you know." 
 
 "That's right, too," Wade declared, heartily. 
 " I told the boys to keep their hands off, but they 
 wouldn't listen to me. Well, I'm glad you got it." 
 
 Much more did Wade say in the same line, and 
 he talked politics with Craig for over an hour, 
 but never once did he even suggest that he had the 
 slightest interest in the old man's course of action. 
 He advised nothing, argued for nothing, and asked 
 no questions that could possibly arouse suspicion. 
 But he learned all that he wished to know, which 
 was that Craig would be " anti-machine " on every- 
 thing. 
 
 " Ever been to Chicago, Azro ? " he asked, finally. 
 
 " Once, twenty year ago," replied Craig. 
 
 " Why don't you run up some day ? You know 
 I'm always glad to see you. Just go right to the 
 house and make yourself at home." 
 
 So far as possible, Wade was clever to every 
 one. ;< You never can tell when you may need 
 a man," was the way he put it, " so the more you 
 have on your staff the better you are fixed for 
 emergencies." He had decided that Craig would
 
 12 Slaves of Success 
 
 be " worse than a Democrat," but that was no reason 
 why he should not hold his friendship, if he could. 
 He had not the same use for Rowley that Carroll 
 had, but a good hold on Rowley would have its 
 advantages, and a strong " anti-machine " Repub- 
 lican would be an absolute menace. Furthermore, 
 it was policy to let Carroll have his way in this 
 matter, and Carroll wanted a spoilsman. Wade 
 could strengthen his own hold on the party ma- 
 chinery by giving this spoilsman to those who had 
 need of him, at the same time escaping a political 
 danger. For he felt that there was danger in this 
 intractable old man, with his intense hatred of " ma- 
 chine " politics. 
 
 A secret conference with Rowley was as im- 
 portant in Wade's case as it had been in Higbie's, 
 for public knowledge of it would create comment 
 and arouse suspicion. But to the suggestion that 
 such a conference be arranged he received a most 
 startling reply. 
 
 " Mr. Rowley says it would be a risk that is 
 unnecessary," the go-between reported. " He al- 
 ready has seen Higbie, and it's all right." 
 
 " Seen Higbie," mused Wade, when he was alone. 
 " Why has Higbie been here when the job was 
 left to me?"
 
 The Necessary Vote 13 
 
 He had no need to ask the question of himself, 
 for the answer was framed in his mind before it was 
 really asked. It was Carroll's work. Carroll 
 wanted this man for himself; he wanted him for 
 certain " jobs " that would follow the organization 
 of the House, and he did not wish to pay a political 
 price for him to any one else. He was strengthening 
 himself preparing, so far as possible, to " go it 
 alone." 
 
 " That means trouble," commented Wade. " If 
 I don't watch out I'll be on a side-track somewhere. 
 I wonder if he saw Craig." 
 
 A delay of a day or two and another casual meet- 
 ing with the old farmer gave him the information 
 he desired on this point. Higbie had seen Craig, 
 had failed to pledge him, and had asked him to 
 come to Chicago. Wade quickly saw that Higbie 
 had made an unfavourable impression, and another 
 man in his place would have told the old man of the 
 contemplated treachery. But Wade deemed it 
 wisdom to let that information come later, and, if 
 possible, through some other source. 
 
 " He's got to be handled carefully," he said. 
 " He'd look to see where I was interested, and 
 he'd find out. Then I'd be losing, instead of gain- 
 ing, his confidence."
 
 14 Slaves of Success 
 
 Wade went back to Chicago and called together 
 a few of his personal followers, with whom he went 
 over the situation carefully. According to indica- 
 tions, he might or might not have considerable 
 strength in the Legislature. Some he might prop- 
 erly call " his men," but there were others whose 
 loyalty would depend largely on the showing he was 
 able to make; they favoured him, but favoured 
 themselves more, and would not hesitate to ally 
 themselves with a stronger combination. If Carroll 
 could get these, he might easily control, and there 
 was no doubt that Carroll was seeking to make 
 himself the absolute dictator. 
 
 " I wish I could get a grip on that hayseed," he 
 muttered. " He may be the key to the situation. 
 How the devil can I make him my friend ? " 
 
 He wrote to him, making certain wise sugges- 
 tions for the campaign, and he exerted his own 
 influence in his behalf. He even sent one of his 
 followers down there to do a little quiet work, for 
 he considered Rowley quite out of the question now. 
 He began to hear talk of Mackin for Speaker, too, 
 and his first impulse was to notify Carroll that this 
 was equivalent to a declaration of war, but he 
 thought better of it. With Mackin in the chair, 
 Carroll would rule, and Carroll must be pretty sure
 
 The Necessary Vote 15 
 
 of his ground or he never would have dared risk 
 the opposition that this plan would arouse. All in 
 all, it was better to meet this trickster on his own 
 ground of strategy and duplicity. 
 
 It was about a week after this a week devoted 
 to investigation and hard work, during which men 
 had been sent to various parts of the State to weld 
 what promised to be a faction of the " machine " 
 more closely together, and to see what could be done 
 to add to its numerical strength that Wade found 
 Craig sitting on his doorstep, and it took all his 
 self-control to withhold an exclamation of astonish- 
 ment and protest. Craig had come to the city as 
 a result of the many invitations to do so some 
 extended as a mere matter of form, and some in 
 the hope that he would really come, for even those 
 contemplating treachery were anxious to keep on 
 the right side of him temporarily. He had pre- 
 pared for the trip by donning " store clothes," 
 which did not fit, and a pair of new boots, which 
 hurt. The city pavements troubled him, and his 
 feet were painfully sore when he appeared at the 
 door of Wade's home. 
 
 "Jack Wade live here? " he asked. 
 
 " Yes," replied Mrs. Wade, who had happened to 
 come to the door herself.
 
 1 6 Slaves of Success 
 
 " I'm Craig Azro Craig," the old man ex- 
 plained. " He told me to come here an' make 
 myself to home." 
 
 Mrs. Wade, being the wife of a politician, had 
 become accustomed to all sorts of queer characters ; 
 so she assured Craig that her husband would return 
 soon, and asked him to come in. 
 
 " Reckon I better wait here," returned Craig. 
 " It's so darned close indoors." 
 
 As he held to this determination, he was left on 
 the steps, where he amused himself by making a 
 careful survey of the exterior of the house. To do 
 this the better he crossed the street and sat on the 
 opposite curb. 
 
 " An' Jack Wade didn't use to have no better 
 home than I got," he muttered. "By gum! he's 
 a smart feller, an' I'm darned if I ain't proud of 
 him." Then, after another survey of the house, 
 " An' that there belongs to Jack Wade, that was my 
 friend down to the farm, an' he acts like he was 
 the same old Jack Wade, too." 
 
 He wandered back to the steps, sat down, and 
 pulled off his boots to ease his feet. The home- 
 made knit socks, with conical toes, stuck out like 
 a pair of submarine boats, and these caught 
 Wade's attention the first thing; but, as recorded,
 
 "HE ... PULLED OFF HIS BOOTS TO EASE HIS FEET"
 
 The Necessary Vote 17 
 
 he restrained the exclamation that sprang to his 
 lips. 
 
 " Tryin' to ease my hoofs," explained the old 
 man, " but I won't do it in the parlour nor at meal 
 times, so don't you worry." 
 
 "Oh, that's all right, Azro," returned Wade, 
 genially. " It's you and not your boots that we're 
 glad to see. Come up to my den and we'll have a 
 talk." 
 
 The old man followed, carrying his boots, much 
 to the astonishment and dismay of Mrs. Wade, and 
 presently was comfortably settled in a big chair 
 in the room that Wade had reserved for his own use, 
 while the boots rested on a table. While this was 
 distressing to Wade, it happened to be, in this in- 
 stance, a minor detail of the game of politics and 
 he is a short-sighted politician who sees only the 
 things that have a direct bearing on the game. The 
 theoretical politician would bring all to his standard 
 of life; the practical makes some concessions to 
 theirs. 
 
 " Say, Jack ! " remarked Craig, when he was 
 comfortably settled, " what's the matter with them 
 reform fellers ? " 
 
 " Why do you ask ? " inquired Wade. 
 
 " Well, I was up to see 'em," explained Craig.
 
 1 8 Slaves of Success 
 
 "They wrote, askin' me to come, so I come; but 
 it looks like they think their brand's the only thing 
 that makes a feller good. The way they talked 
 you'd think there wasn't any virtue anywhere, only 
 what's got their stamp on it. Why, they pretty near 
 had me wild not owin' to what they said so much 
 as the way they said it. Who made them the boss 
 of me, anyhow? Just 'cause they're leanin' away 
 from evil so hard that they're fallin' over back- 
 wards, ain't no sign that they're the only good 
 people there is. They aggravate me, that's what 
 they do. They act like I was a poor sufFrin' sinner, 
 that ought to give thanks for a chance to git in the 
 glory of their smiles." 
 
 " Did you sign their pledge? " asked Wade, quite 
 casually. 
 
 " Sign nothin' ! " exclaimed Craig. " They ain't 
 my kind; they're 'way off somewheres, an' I don't 
 seem to git close to 'em. Looked like they had 
 an idee they was so big an' good an' wise that folks 
 ought to do what they said jest 'cause they said it. 
 A feller can see that they're sort of lookin' down on 
 him, even when they talk nice; they ain't sociable." 
 
 " Oh, they are not so bad," said Wade, magnani- 
 mously. 
 
 " Ain't they ag'in you ? " asked Craig.
 
 The Necessary Vote 19 
 
 " They have opposed me in some ways," ex- 
 plained Wade, " but they mean well." 
 
 " By gum, Jack ! folks has lied about you," 
 asserted Craig, admiringly. " I was lookin' to 
 have you tell me those fellers was the meanest 
 skunks livin', like Higbie did." 
 
 " Have you seen Higbie? " 
 
 " Yep. Went to the headquarters where he hangs 
 out, an' when I told him how these reform folks 
 looked to me, he couldn't talk mean enough said 
 they was all lookin' out for the best of it, an' was 
 reg'lar hypocrites." 
 
 " That's not so," said Wade, promptly. " They're 
 doing the best they know how, according to their 
 ideas, but they're narrow-minded, and they can't 
 get down to the level of the people." 
 
 " Darn me if you ain't better'n all of 'em, Jack ! " 
 cried the old man. " You're the only one that's 
 talked anyways decent about the others. Why, 
 they said you was workin' to be, or to own, a 
 United States Senator, an' didn't give a hang what 
 happened s'long as you could run the * machine ' 
 while you was doin' that." 
 
 " That only shows their egotism and narrow- 
 mindedness," remarked Wade, carelessly, although 
 the statement was dangerously near the truth.
 
 2O Slaves of Success 
 
 " An' they seemed to think all I wanted was 
 licker an' se-gars an' some fun," Craig went on, with 
 some indignation. " Kept tellin' me to drop in 
 whenever I wanted an' help myself, an' I heard 
 Higbie say to ' take that old billy-goat down an' 
 make him think he was livin' high by openin' a bottle 
 of champagne.' Carroll talked nice, but he was 
 always showin' me how I could git good things 
 on the committees by bein' with the party. ' We 
 take care of our people,' he said. I tell you, Jack, 
 it looked like they thought I was jest graftin', an' 
 I could see some of 'em was laughin' at me, too. 
 They ain't my kind, Jack; they got too much idee 
 of everybody watchin' to gain somethin' for him- 
 self; I wouldn't trust 'em. Fact is, I heard when I 
 was leavin' home that they was dickerin' with the 
 Democrats." 
 
 " It's possible," admitted Wade, non-committally, 
 " but I would hesitate to believe it without some 
 evidence." 
 
 " Jack, you're white," asserted the old man, 
 impulsively leaning forward to take his hand, " an' 
 you're the only white man I've seen in Chicago. 
 All the rest of 'em is doin' dirt an' talkin' dirt one 
 way or another." 
 
 Wade, knowing his man, had got the grip on him
 
 The Necessary Vote 21 
 
 that others had failed to get, and that is the secret of 
 successful practical politics. Some men know how 
 to do it one way and some know how to do it an- 
 other, but the true politician has no hard and fast 
 rule. He gauges his mian, and acts accordingly. 
 For the first time, Craig felt that he had a gener- 
 ous political friend; all others sought to be his 
 political masters, either by purchase or by right of 
 birth and commercial standing. 
 
 Wade saw his advantage, and made the most of 
 it. He insisted that the old man should remain two 
 or three days; he introduced him to his wife and 
 children, who gave him cordial greeting, and 
 treated him as a welcome friend; he invited a few 
 friends in to dinner, expressly stipulating that there 
 should be no dress suits, and the friends were diplo- 
 matic and clever. One among them was a business 
 man of some prominence, and he reciprocated by 
 giving a stag dinner at his club. How Wade ar- 
 ranged for this, it is unnecessary to state; let it be 
 sufficient to say that the man was an intimate friend 
 who would do much for Wade, and who rather 
 enjoyed the old man's breezy comment and rustic 
 simplicity, anyway. 
 
 " But they'll all be wearin' spike-tails there," pro- 
 tested Craig. " Don't believe I better go."
 
 22 Slaves of Success 
 
 " Nonsense," returned Wade, " I won't wear one, 
 so there'll be two of us, anyway." 
 
 That dinner was worth more than weeks of 
 argument and explanation. There were men there 
 whose names Craig had seen in the papers, and they 
 were not politicians, so he felt reasonably sure that 
 friendship and not politics was at the bottom of it. 
 There was a freshness and sincerity about him 
 that made them like him, too, and he was flattered 
 to find himself among such men. Here were suc- 
 cessful men, big men, and he was one of them; he 
 was seeing something of real city life not the 
 features that are provided for every stranger who 
 has the price, but the real thing. He forgot about 
 his clothes, and talked freely. It was an experience 
 that he could and would treasure. 
 
 And all this was part of the game of politics, as 
 played by an astute man. Carroll would have done 
 as much, if he had had the wisdom; but the re- 
 formers would have thought it more than should 
 be expected of them. With them, politics is too 
 often a thing apart, to be taken up during the spare 
 time that they can give to it, and then put aside: 
 they would not take it into their business or their 
 homes. With the practical politicians it is of first 
 importance everywhere, and at all times. And
 
 The Necessary Vote 23 
 
 somehow the practical politicians seem to have the 
 best of it when the test comes. 
 
 Craig returned home, singing the praises of 
 Wade. There was nothing of envy in the old man's 
 heart; he was glad to see a man from his district 
 do so well in the city this was local pride and 
 he was glad to find him so good a man, and so 
 companionable and democratic in his ways. 
 
 " He ain't swelled up a bit," he said. " He's jest 
 as glad to see his old friends as he ever was, an' it 
 ain't politics, either. It's friendship; that's what 
 it is. We talked politics in a friendly way, but that's 
 all, an' there wasn't nothin' but politics to the other 
 fellers; they jest wanted to 'fix' you one way or 
 another, an' then have you mosey along nothin' 
 real, you know. I tell you, folks has lied about 
 Jack Wade." 
 
 Craig learned, too, that his election, which fol- 
 lowed later, was partly due to Wade's efforts 
 Wade saw to it that he should learn this in a round- 
 about way and that there had been treachery in 
 other quarters. He verified, sufficiently for his pur- 
 pose, the story that he had heard before leaving for 
 Chicago. After that he was Wade's man. 
 
 Carroll knew this, and he redoubled his efforts 
 in other quarters, but so did Wade. It was an out-
 
 24 Slaves of Success 
 
 and-out fight for control of the party machinery 
 now; one or the other would have to rule, and 
 the weaker would have to make the best terms he 
 could with the victor when the test came. After 
 all, according to Carroll, Craig was only one man, 
 but there could be no doubt that Wade knew how 
 to make the most of the man. 
 
 Thus matters stood when the scene was trans- 
 ferred to Springfield just previous to the opening 
 of the session. Wade had put forward Henry 
 Wellington as a candidate for Speaker, and Craig 
 had accepted him without question. 
 
 " Perhaps he isn't the very best man," Wade ex- 
 plained, " but he is the most available one for our 
 purpose. He's certainly better than Mackin, who 
 would be the tool of Carroll and Higbie, and 
 would make up the committees in accordance with 
 the wishes of the boodlers. It's a very simple thing 
 for the Speaker to make graft easy or difficult 
 a little juggling with one or two committees will 
 do it. I know how to prevent this, and some of the 
 independents and country members ought to be 
 willing to help me. Talk it up a little, Azro. It's 
 the chance of a lifetime to beat the ' machine.' ' 
 
 Craig did talk it up a little in his blunt way, and 
 his talk was reasonably effective. There is always
 
 The Necessary Vote 25 
 
 an undercurrent of opposition to the " machine," 
 especially among the country members, but it is 
 too often weak and vacillating. Men fear that open 
 opposition will destroy their usefulness to their 
 districts, and many of them fear to be called traitors 
 to the party if they interfere with what seem to be 
 the party plans. But here was a chance to win. 
 True, it was only a split in the " machine," but 
 why not make the most of it? Why not give 
 their strength to the faction that was the least 
 objectionable, if only to overthrow the other? 
 
 Thus Craig argued, and Craig was known to be 
 as fierce an anti-" machine " man as any of them. 
 Thus, also, Wade argued with the leaders of the 
 reform element. It was their chance, he said, to 
 accomplish something not so much as they might 
 wish, perhaps, but still enough to materially im- 
 prove conditions. They were not strong enough 
 to force the selection of a man of their choice on 
 either party, and when the vote came their men 
 would divide on party lines. The Speakership was 
 a party question, with which the pledges they held 
 had nothing to do, but they could exert considerable 
 influence. Their aim was honest legislation, aside 
 from purely political matters, and here was the 
 opportunity to lay an honest foundation that would
 
 26 Slaves of Success 
 
 be of incalculable value later, for the mere knowl- 
 edge that they favoured the defeat of Mackin 
 would turn some Republican votes to Wellington. 
 
 " Give me an interview for publication at the 
 proper time," Wade said to the secretary of the 
 organization, " You may carefully explain that 
 you are speaking personally, and not in your official 
 capacity, that the pledges exacted have nothing to 
 do with purely party questions, but that it seems to 
 you, as an individual, a grievous mistake to give 
 control of the House to the spoilsmen. That's all 
 I ask, and you know how important it is to you 
 that Carroll shall not rule. 
 
 The secretary knew that Wade was a politician, 
 but not a boodler. There could be no doubt that 
 he had his own ends to serve, but he was infinitely 
 preferable to Carroll; so, after some hesitation, he 
 agreed to the plan. 
 
 Still, the battle was far from won. Neither side 
 could be sure of a clear majority in a party caucus, 
 but Wade knew that Carroll's game was blocked, 
 and he decided that the time had come to make the 
 really important move. He sought Carroll, to put 
 the case to him bluntly. 
 
 " Your man can't win in a thousand years," he 
 said. " There is no possible combination of cir-
 
 The Necessary Vote 27 
 
 cumstances that can give him the full Republican 
 vote. The hayseed contingent, that my friend Craig 
 has rounded up, wouldn't vote for Mackin if he 
 was the last man on earth, but you can deliver your 
 votes to Wellington. I can hold mine, but I can't 
 deliver them." 
 
 " A deuce of a nice job you've made of it, haven't 
 you ? " growled Carroll. 
 
 " Just cut that out," retorted Wade, sharply. 
 " You tried to ' do ' me and I had to protect my- 
 self. I've done it, I guess. At any rate, I've got 
 the opposition all under one banner, and they'll fight 
 Mackin to the last ditch. Some of them won't 
 even be bound by caucus rule. I've shown them a 
 chance to win, and they're bitter. If it comes to a 
 fight, they'll force a compromise that won't do you 
 a bit of good. And you're weaker than you think 
 you are. Look here ! " Wade pulled a carbon copy 
 of the interview he had secured from his pocket, and 
 handed it to Carroll. " Will the publication of that 
 help you to organize the House?" he asked. 
 " You're having trouble holding some men in line 
 now. They don't like you, they don't like what 
 you stand for, but in a Speakership fight they want 
 to be with the party. All they want is an excuse 
 to break away just an intimation that you're not
 
 28 Slaves of Success 
 
 so much of the party as you claim to be. I tell 
 you, Carroll, you're up against a stone wall, and I 
 built the wall." 
 
 " But I can beat you ! " exclaimed Carroll. "If 
 I have to turn down Mackin, I can swing to a mian 
 who will suit your highly moral bunch a whole 
 lot better than Wellington does." 
 
 " But you won't," said Wade, with an unpleasant 
 smile. " You won't, because you couldn't make the 
 terms that you can with me. You won't, because 
 such a man wouldn't let you control a single impor- 
 tant committee, and Wellington will. You won't, 
 because I need you, and the reformers and hayseeds 
 don't. If I need you, I've got to look out for you a 
 little." 
 
 "What are you after?" asked Carroll, sus- 
 piciously. 
 
 " Nothing much this session, but," meaningly, 
 " at the next we elect a United States Senator. 
 The wise man looks ahead, and control now can 
 be used to make greater strength then, especially if 
 a fellow has a check on the wise boys who are 
 avaricious. I am looking for power, Carroll ; that's 
 all. If it has to be bought, I know how to buy it. 
 You can name the two best committees any two 
 that you may select, barring only those that I need
 
 The Necessary Vote 29 
 
 for political purposes. I'll concede that much, 
 Carroll, but no more. You see, I can't trust you 
 I need you, but I've got to have a check on you 
 to hold you in line. I may decide to go to the Senate 
 myself." 
 
 Carroll scowled, but he knew that Wade had 
 him in a corner. His man was already beaten, 
 apparently. By making a fight he might drag Wade 
 down to defeat with him and force the selection of 
 a man that neither could control, but he would 
 gain nothing, while there would be excellent " com- 
 mercial " opportunities in the control of two strong 
 committees, especially when he could rely on certain 
 Democrats in all but strictly party questions. Still, 
 he was not prepared to surrender without making 
 one last desperate effort, so he merely agreed to 
 consider the matter. 
 
 " If I could only win that hayseed," he muttered, 
 " I could break him yet. Confound it ! he's as much 
 the ' machine ' as I am. Why can't the yahoo be 
 made to see it? If he broke away, it would split 
 that little bunch of country members, and the whole 
 thing would go to pieces." 
 
 But the yahoo was blind and deaf. Three differ- 
 ent men, Carroll himself being the last, tried to 
 show him that he was being used for " machine "
 
 30 Slaves of Success 
 
 purposes, that he was aiding the worst " machine " 
 ever known in the State a " machine " that was 
 for a man and not for a party. Craig would not 
 argue the question; he simply made a statement 
 in his blunt way. 
 
 " Wade's my friend," he said, simply. " You all 
 been clever to my vote, but he was clever to me. 
 Them reformers took me by the nose an' tried to 
 lead me, but he took me by the arm an' it was jest 
 man an' man goin' together. Why, he left off his 
 spiketail coat at a swell dinner so's to be with me, 
 while you was tryin' to sell me out an' put in a Dem- 
 ocrat. He's my friend, I tell you wy friend, not 
 my vote's friend, an' I know he's all right." 
 
 Then Carroll surrendered. " It's all up," he told 
 Higbie. " Pass the word to Mackin that he's got to 
 draw out at the last minute, but that he's fixed for 
 a committee chairmanship. Wellington is to be 
 Speaker. That hayseed just one vote has done 
 the business." 
 
 Something of this was rumoured in other circles, 
 and many people, knowing nothing of the finer 
 points of practical politics, wondered and speculated. 
 
 " Isn't it marvellous," they said, " the way Wade 
 gets hold of people ? "
 
 II. 
 
 THE REFORMER REFORMED 
 
 THERE could be no doubt that political reforma- 
 tion was needed in many quarters, but it took some 
 time to convince Leroy N. Marshall, of L. N. Mar- 
 shall & Co., that he was personally interested in 
 securing it. Mr. Marshall was very much of a 
 business man. In a Presidential campaign he 
 might sit on the platform with the speakers, but 
 in any campaign of less importance he had time 
 only to be interviewed occasionally. True, these 
 interviews had the right ring to them, and really 
 ought to have made the spoilsmen squirm, but 
 somehow they seemed to be forgotten the day after 
 they were published. Once he wrote a letter on the 
 " Duties of Citizenship " that was a masterly pre- 
 sentation of the facts and a bitter arraignment of the 
 spoils methods. It was published in all the papers, 
 and created a mild sensation, but when the smoke 
 cleared away Mr. Marshall was discovered so busy 
 at his desk that he had really forgotten all about 
 
 3
 
 32 Slaves of Success 
 
 it. And the spoilsmen were quite as busy in their 
 peculiar way. That he contributed regularly to the 
 expense funds of two reform organizations did not 
 in the least worry the practical politicians, so long 
 as he did nothing more. 
 
 But one day Leroy N. Marshall waked up or 
 perhaps it would be better to say that he was 
 awakened and it naturally happened at a most 
 inopportune time. He became interested in a 
 county election. Others besides county officials were 
 to be chosen, but it seemed to him that the country 
 was what most needed saving at that particular 
 moment. This was exceptionally annoying, because 
 he might have dabbled in other branches of politics 
 without doing any particular harm. But it so 
 happened that Ben Carroll and John Wade had 
 unusual need of the county patronage at that time, 
 and Ben Carroll and John Wade always pulled 
 together when they were afraid to pull apart. They 
 always wanted the county patronage, too, but they 
 wanted it more than ever now, for certain plans 
 relating to the Legislature were involved in it. 
 A man who knows how can do much with even a 
 small slice of the county patronage. It may not be 
 as valuable as it was before the days of civil 
 service, but it gives one a grip on the party machin-
 
 The Reformer Reformed 33 
 
 ery and well, it is distinctly worth having. A 
 man may know where there is a picket loose in the 
 civil service fence, or he may control some of the 
 personal appointments of the men he puts on the 
 ticket, or he may merely want the political influence 
 of an office and its incumbent. His ambitions and 
 his direct personal interests may lie beyond the 
 county, and it may still be of prime importance that 
 he shall have some of his own men in the county 
 offices, if only to enable him to " take care of his 
 friends " or to make certain essential " deals." So 
 Carroll and Wade would always want the county, 
 but now they had to have it. 
 
 And Leroy N. Marshall showed a disposition to 
 fight them Marshall, the merchant, the theoreti- 
 cal reformer, the self-satisfied talker, the newspaper 
 prominent citizen, the man who pointed to civic 
 duty and then forgot about it. The politicians 
 thought there must be some mistake and were dis- 
 posed to treat the matter lightly. 
 
 " Probably a dull season in business," one of 
 them remarked, " and he wants something to occupy 
 his mind for a few days." 
 
 But Marshall was very much in earnest. He 
 had seen the error of his ways. In conversation 
 with Paul Stafford and others at the club, he had
 
 34 Slaves of Success 
 
 ventured to preach a little on the duties of citizen- 
 ship, advancing many of the excellent precepts that 
 he had previously incorporated in his letter on the 
 same subject. There could be no doubt that he 
 knew just what a good citizen should do to secure 
 the best results politically. 
 
 "Why don't you do that yourself?" asked 
 Stafford. " Your advice is splendid, but you don't 
 follow it. When you're through talking you go 
 back to your desk, leaving the politicians to run 
 things, and yet you yourself say that nothing can 
 be accomplished that way." 
 
 " But my business," urged Marshall. 
 
 " Of course," laughed Stafford. " That's the old 
 story. Some other fellow can neglect his business 
 to improve political conditions for us all, but you 
 can't." 
 
 " Will you? " asked Marshall, turning on Staf- 
 ford. 
 
 " I'll do as much as you will," was the reply. " I 
 haven't done as much preaching as you have, and I 
 don't pretend to be as well posted on the subject, 
 but I'll follow as long as you'll lead. And you 
 couldn't have a better chance, for the ' machine ' 
 wants its own men on the ticket this fall." 
 
 "I'll think about it," said Marshall.
 
 The Reformer Reformed 35 
 
 He did think about it, and he spoke about it to 
 others. All promised their tacit support to any 
 movement to remedy matters, but none cared to 
 give much personal time to it. This in itself had the 
 effect of stirring his fighting blood. Their very 
 lukewarmness, when it came to a question of 
 individual effort, aroused him, even though he had 
 been guilty of the same offence, and he " read the 
 riot act " to some of them. 
 
 " If I go into this," he said, " you've got to help, 
 and I'm going in. You're as tired of * machine ' 
 rule as I am; you know as well as I do what it 
 means; you have said as harsh things as I have 
 of the men who are slated for office, and you've got 
 to get your coats off and work. I tell you, I'll have 
 you on the platform and at the primaries, and you 
 might as well make up your mind to it." 
 
 That was Marshall! If the men with whom he 
 talked had expressed a readiness to work, he would 
 have passed the leadership over to some one else, 
 if he could have done so gracefully. As it was, he 
 would really lead himself; he would make these 
 men act the part of good citizens. Moreover, he 
 would hold Stafford to his promise. It was Staf- 
 ford's taunt that had awakened him and put him 
 in a position where he had to do something to show
 
 36 Slaves of Success 
 
 his sincerity, and Stafford would have to join him. 
 He had hoped to escape leadership after talking the 
 matter up, but he would not shirk it. The stand 
 taken by the others only made him the more ag- 
 gressive. 
 
 " Stafford," he said, " you might as well get ready 
 to hustle. I didn't want to go into this thing 
 I really can't spare the time but I've got to do 
 it. To speak plainly, it makes me hot to see how 
 easy-going our good citizens are. Every man I've 
 talked to has added to my disgust and made me the 
 more determined to stir things up. I'm going to 
 make them work for good government ; I can do it 
 with your help." 
 
 " I'm with you," said Stafford, briefly. " What's 
 the plan?" 
 
 " Well, the usual mistake of reformers is that 
 they get into the field too late after the ' machine ' 
 has things pretty well arranged. We'll begin early. 
 Another common mistake is that they try to do 
 too much. We'll avoid that. Instead of trying to 
 make the whole ticket conform to our ideas, we'll 
 confine ourselves to one or two offices say County 
 Treasurer and Sheriff. That's where the strength 
 of the ' machine ' lies ; there's where the patronage 
 is. We already know that Wade and Carroll want
 
 The Reformer Reformed 37 
 
 to put Henry Warren in as County Treasurer, and 
 we know why. He's their man honest enough, 
 but their man. They'll designate the banks that are 
 to hold the county funds, and there's an element of 
 influence and strength in that. For Sheriff they 
 want Herman Sieling, who is also their man. The 
 patronage of that office is a big thing. If they get 
 it, they can have things pretty much their own way ; 
 if they don't get it, we will have wrested much of 
 their power from them and will be in a position to 
 do more at the next election. We must fight 
 Warren and Sieling; we must put forward two 
 good men, stir up public sentiment, make a hot 
 campaign at the primaries and a hotter one on the 
 floor of the convention. The Republican party of 
 this city, county, and State, is tired of boss rule, and 
 an aggressive fight will bring to our support the men 
 who usually do little or nothing, but can do a great 
 deal. I'll appoint a committee of men whose names 
 will carry weight, and I'll make them serve on it 
 a committee small enough not to be unwieldy, 
 but big enough to do the work. You will be secre- 
 tary of that committee. Likewise, you will take 
 hold of such of the members as are your personal 
 friends and see that they don't shirk the work." 
 Carroll, Wade, and the other " machine " leaders
 
 38 Slaves of Success 
 
 heard vague rumours of this movement, but gave 
 them little attention at first. 
 
 "It will die out," they said. "There's not 
 enough to it." 
 
 A citizens' meeting was called and there were 
 many forceful speeches, but still they were not 
 worried. 
 
 " A little relief from the ennui of a routine busi- 
 ness life," they said. " Two or three men are 
 doing it all, anyway, and they'll get tired in a day 
 or so." 
 
 But Marshall was not a man to get tired. He had 
 a vast amount of energy wh.pn he was once roused 
 to action, and opposition only added to his deter- 
 mination. He was accustomed to success. So long 
 as it was another man's fight, he might be luke- 
 warm, but he had made this his fight, and victory 
 was necessary to his personal pride. He gave the 
 campaign the same earnest, painstaking attention 
 that he ordinarily gave his private business; he 
 put all his ability and all his influence into the move- 
 ment; he laboured as earnestly with other business 
 men as he would to put through an important busi- 
 ness deal. And the results began to show. 
 
 "I tell you," said Tom Higbie to Carroll, 
 "you've got to look out for this thing. Marshall
 
 The Reformer Reformed 39 
 
 doesn't know much about the game, but he's a 
 worker from the ground up, and he's got the 
 material to work with in this case. There is a 
 lot of unorganized dissatisfaction in the party that 
 only needs to be organized to be dangerous. Do 
 you know what he's done? " 
 
 "What?" asked Carroll. 
 
 " Well, he has arbitrarily put some big men on 
 his committee, and he is making them work men 
 who never have turned a hair in politics before. He 
 has read the riot act to them as no one else could, 
 refused to accept any excuses, and insisted upon 
 having a share of their time for active work. They 
 are reporting at his meetings like so many school- 
 boys who are afraid to play truant." 
 
 "Oh, they'll resent his dictation after a little," 
 returned Carroll. " These reformers always begin 
 to play at cross-purposes in time, for each one usu- 
 ally has his own ideas as to methods and candidates. 
 Marshall will try to put up some particular man 
 and they'll split." 
 
 " Now, see here, Carroll," retorted Higbie, 
 " you're taking this too easy, and you're going to 
 get left. Marshall is no fool. He has gathered 
 in some men who know politics, and who would 
 like nothing better than to turn us down. Don't
 
 4O Slaves of Success 
 
 forget that. In one of his speeches he said : ' When 
 I add a new; department to my business, I get the 
 services of some experts in that particular line, and 
 so do you. We're adding a political department 
 now, and we've got to leave much of the detail to 
 political experts that we can trust.' Now, that's 
 practical business and practical politics, Carroll, and 
 it means trouble for us. Another thing he said 
 was that he did not wish to put forward any par- 
 ticular man or men, but wished the selection made 
 after a full discussion with all that the members 
 of the committee could reach. They're reaching 
 for all the people they can get; they're asking for 
 suggestions and advice; they're discussing the mat- 
 ter generally and getting others to discuss it. That's 
 a new way of doing things, but it's a good way 
 for them. When people talk they get interested; 
 when they feel that they have influence that counts 
 for something they get more deeply interested, and 
 there are a whole lot of people doing some think- 
 ing in this matter who never before believed they 
 had time to think of politics. Don't forget that, 
 Carroll. He is an aggressive force that counts 
 and he has wisdom. He is making these people feel 
 the responsibility of selecting candidates, and that 
 means that he is giving them a personal interest
 
 The Reformer Reformed 41 
 
 in the fight. They're beginning to feel that they're 
 'it.' I tell you, we've got to look out for them, 
 Carroll." 
 
 Higbie was a man who usually acted on orders, 
 leaving Carroll to do most of the thinking, and the 
 fact that he spoke out plainly now was evidence 
 that he considered the situation critical. Carroll 
 realized this. To Higbie had been assigned the 
 duty of following this feature of the campaign, 
 and in consequence he was better posted on it than 
 any one else. Carroll also knew that the conditions 
 were right for serious trouble, capable and ener- 
 getic leadership being all that was necessary to 
 crystallize opposition to the " machine " dictation. 
 His confidence had been based on his belief that this 
 leadership would be lacking, but this report indicated 
 real danger. 
 
 " I tell you," Higbie added, " Marshall's method 
 is something new in politics, but he'll get those 
 people to unite on some strong man or men, and 
 he'll have every one of them personally interested. 
 You've got to reckon with a man of force and in- 
 fluence." 
 
 "We'll talk it over with Wade," said Carroll. 
 
 Wade was more ingenious and resourceful than 
 either of the other two. Carroll was a man of brute
 
 42 Slaves of Success 
 
 force, Wade of strategy. Carroll could deal with 
 the rougher element of politics, but it took Wade to 
 make the fine points. Carroll understood men of 
 his own. class, and could rule them; Wade under- 
 stood men of all classes, and knew how to reach 
 them. In a word, Carroll was a spoilsman, Wade a 
 politician. 
 
 " The whole thing," said Wade, " hinges on Mar- 
 shall. Without him, the movement would go to 
 pieces. He is the cohesive force. I happen to 
 know that old Hobbins refused to do more than 
 allow the use of his name until Marshall got after 
 him. Then he suddenly lost his indifference, agreed 
 to serve on the committee, speak at the big meeting 
 and stir up his ward, and he's got a whole lot of 
 people in action now. If Marshall did that with 
 Hobbins, it's a dead certainty he did it with most 
 of the others; it's his personality that is making 
 the trouble, and we've got to discourage him." 
 
 "How?" asked Carroll. 
 
 Wade gave a few minutes to thought. 
 
 " Isn't Paul Stafford's nephew on the County 
 Hospital staff ? " he inquired at last. " It seems to 
 me I recollect his getting a position there." 
 
 " That's right ! " cried Carroll, jubilantly.
 
 The Reformer Reformed 43 
 
 " And isn't Mrs. Stafford interested in the Train- 
 ing School for Nurses ? " asked Wade. 
 
 " I believe she is," replied Carroll. 
 
 " And haven't you any influence at the County 
 Hospital?" persisted Wade. 
 
 "That's enough!" exclaimed Carroll. "You 
 have a memory for these things, Wade, that is 
 simply great, but I don't have to be told how to 
 play the game. Stafford is Marshall's right-hand 
 man, and either Stafford or his nephew will have to 
 quit. And that training-school business will put 
 Mrs. Stafford on our side. Wade, we'll show Mar- 
 shall that this fight is just beginning." 
 
 Within two days there came from the County 
 Hospital a report of dissatisfaction with the nurses 
 furnished by the training-school. The Warden said 
 the school interfered with discipline and tried to 
 run the hospital as an adjunct to the training-school. 
 He also asserted that some nurses were put in there 
 who did not know enough to take care of a sick 
 cat, in consequence of which the patient suffered, 
 and the county was practically defrauded. He did 
 not see why a public institution should be made an 
 experiment station for inexperienced girls and 
 women, and he did not believe the public fully 
 understood the situation.
 
 44 Slaves of Success 
 
 Commenting on this, one of the County Commis- 
 sioners said the Warden was quite right, that the 
 hospital was being " used " to bolster up a private 
 school, and that he would give his hearty support to 
 any movement that promised to put an end to such 
 a condition of affairs. And the newspaper that 
 reported these things also called attention to com- 
 plaints that had been made by one or two patients. 
 It is a well-known fact that no hospital escapes 
 complaints from some of its patients, their mental 
 and physical condition frequently making them 
 most unreasonable, but the public does not take this 
 into consideration at such a time. 
 
 Paul Stafford heard from his wife promptly, for 
 she was deeply interested in the training-school. 
 
 " We are giving them better service than they 
 ever had before, at less expense," she said, " but 
 they want to turn us out. I suppose it's politics." 
 
 " I suppose so," he admitted. 
 
 " Can't you do something about it? " she asked. 
 
 "What!" he exclaimed. "Why, if I showed 
 any interest in it, they'd turn you out all the sooner." 
 
 " I believe that's the very reason they're doing 
 it now," she asserted. " I'm going to find out." 
 
 Mrs. Stafford was a wioman of energy and 
 determination, and she had seen something of
 
 The Reformer Reformed 45 
 
 politics in her charitable work. Consequently, she 
 knew enough to go direct to headquarters. 
 
 " Mrs. Stafford," said the President of the 
 County Board, courteously, " the politicians are 
 merely human, and they do favours for their 
 friends. Your husband gives his business to the 
 men who are friendly to him, and the politicians do 
 the same. Now I have no definite knowledge of 
 the motives in the case, but I am able to draw my 
 own conclusions, and I know there are some power- 
 ful men who are very bitter toward your husband. 
 Please don't think I am speaking for them; I am 
 merely explaining the matter to you, for I think 
 you are engaged in a grand work, and I would like 
 to see you succeed. But the County Board will 
 decide, and I am only one member of that." 
 
 " Do you mean to say," demanded Mrs. Stafford, 
 angrily, " that these men are so contemptible that 
 they will turn out the nurses because the husband 
 of one woman interested in the training-school 
 happens to be opposed to them politically? " 
 
 " I am afraid they will," replied the President, 
 " although your statement of the case is hardly 
 fair. It is the vindictiveness of the fight that is 
 being made against them that makes them anxious 
 to retaliate."
 
 46 Slaves of Success 
 
 " I am only one of a dozen or more women inter- 
 ested in the training-school," she urged. 
 
 " True," he admitted, " but your husband's 
 course has made you the most important one at the 
 present moment. I have nothing to do with the 
 movement, you understand, and will gladly do what 
 I can to retain your nurses, but I think I know what 
 lies back of it all. It is unfortunate that there isn't 
 more disinterestedness in political and business life, 
 but you won't find it in either." 
 
 " I suppose," she said, with bitter humour, " I 
 ought to get a divorce." 
 
 " That might help the training-school some," he 
 laughed, " but there may be a better way." 
 
 She was not so unsophisticated that she did not 
 know what this meant, and she knew also that the 
 President was speaking for the others, in spite of the 
 assertion to the contrary. He was very close to 
 the men whose political supremacy was threatened. 
 
 " I don't see," she told her husband, " why some 
 one else can't do the work that you are doing. 
 Your victory will be dearly bought if it wrecks 
 the training-school." 
 
 " It's damnable ! " he exclaimed, angrily. " It's 
 cowardly to strike at a man through his wife's phil- 
 anthropies ! "
 
 The Reformer Reformed 47 
 
 " But that doesn't help matters," she said. 
 " Even with the money we get for County Hos- 
 pital nursing the training-school is not self-sup- 
 porting; without it we will have a big deficiency 
 to make up by private contributions. I doubt if 
 we can do it. In any event, it will be a serious 
 blow to the school." 
 
 Stafford chafed and fretted, but he could not 
 escape the conclusion; the "machine" had suffi- 
 cient power to do this, and there could be no doubt 
 that it would do it. The public mind already was 
 being put in a condition to accept the change by 
 the published criticisms and complaints. He won- 
 dered if he really ought not to take a less prominent 
 part in the movement. Might he not be doing more 
 harm than good? In this mood he received a call 
 from his nephew. 
 
 " Well, you're doing a fine thing for me, uncle," 
 the latter announced. " Another week of this sort 
 of thing and I'll be out." 
 
 "Have they been threatening you, too?" de- 
 manded Stafford. 
 
 " Well, not exactly threatening," was the reply, 
 " but the foundation has been laid for my discharge, 
 and Higbie has been giving me a nice fatherly talk. 
 The Warden sent for me first. He said some com-
 
 48 Slaves of Success 
 
 plaints against me had been filed with him it's 
 no trick at all to get complaints against any one, you 
 know and he advised me to see Higbie. Well, 
 Higbie knew of the complaints, and he was sure 
 he could straighten the matter out, but he didn't 
 see why he should. He also told me about the 
 training-school trouble. There was a feeling, he 
 said, that you ought to be willing to do as much 
 for me and the school as others were expected to 
 do, and that's all he would say. But any one can see 
 what that means." 
 
 " Yes," replied Stafford, thoughtfully, " any one 
 can see what that means." 
 
 Stafford's nephew had given Stafford a good deal 
 of trouble and had cost a good deal of money. He 
 was not a youth who was noted for either his ability 
 or his stability, and it was not until he got the 
 County Hospital position that his uncle had been 
 relieved of the necessity of contributing to his 
 support. 
 
 Stafford got up from his desk and walked nerv- 
 ously back and forth, while his nephew waited and 
 wondered. There was no reason why another 
 coulcl not do his work on the committee ; there were 
 many who could do it without sacrificing so much. 
 It was maddening that he should be " reached " in
 
 The Reformer Reformed 49 
 
 this way, but he had no wish to have his nephew 
 back on his hands, and an injury to the training- 
 school would be a public and a domestic calamity. 
 It was doing splendid work, and in its success his 
 wife's interest was centred. He was angry, but he 
 could look at the matter dispassionately. It was 
 unjust and cowardly to put him in this predicament, 
 but he was confronted by cold, hard facts. 
 
 " I shall not attend the meeting of the committee 
 this afternoon," he told his nephew, finally, " and 
 I shall probably resign the secretaryship before the 
 end of the week. It will depend upon circum- 
 stances." 
 
 The next day a note from his nephew informed 
 him that the Warden had decided to pay no atten- 
 tion to the charges filed, and the day after the Presi- 
 dent of the County Board, in a published interview, 
 predicted that the training-school nurses would be 
 retained. On the third day Stafford mailed his 
 letter of resignation, in which he asserted that busi- 
 ness obligations made it impossible for him to give 
 the necessary time to the work. 
 
 Marshall was startled and annoyed by this 
 desertion, but it did not have the effect that the 
 " machine " had anticipated. He was not discour- 
 aged; on the contrary, he became more combative
 
 50 Slaves of Success 
 
 than ever. He upbraided Stafford, recalling his 
 promise, but Stafford remained firm;, and the effect 
 of his resignation was serious. Others seemed to 
 lose interest and courage. What was the use of 
 trying when defeat was practically certain? Why 
 waste valuable time? But Marshall, by the most 
 strenuous efforts, overcame this pessimism. He 
 pointed out that the movement was already well 
 under way, that public sentiment was aroused and 
 was gathering force, that all lacking was united 
 and energetic action by the members of the com- 
 mittee. He neglected his business shamefully, but 
 he held the committee together and soon had the 
 members working with greater enthusiasm than 
 ever. He stirred up a discussion of available candi- 
 dates in the newspapers, thus creating more wide- 
 spread interest and gradually making the opposition 
 to the " machine " an aggressive unit. In brief, the 
 thing took the form of a popular uprising in the 
 ranks of the party; it was sensational, the subject of 
 general discussion that kept men alert, and the 
 primaries promised startling results. Marshall's 
 spirit of aggressiveness on the one hand and con- 
 cession on the other was contagious; he did not 
 wish to rule or to dictate; he sought only the 
 strongest men. It was immaterial to him who was
 
 The Reformer Reformed 51 
 
 County Treasurer or who was Sheriff, so long as 
 they were honest and fiercely anti-" machine," and 
 others unconsciously took the same position. In 
 these circumstances it was a foregone conclusion 
 that they would go into the convention strong and 
 united. Indeed, a discerning politician could see 
 that they were already " getting together " on two 
 strong men, and that they were daily adding to 
 the list of delegates that they would be able to send 
 to the convention. There was no longer the indif- 
 ference that allowed the " machine " to control in 
 districts where it was numerically weak. 
 
 "If Marshall sticks," announced Wade, after a 
 review of the situation, " we have mighty little 
 chance of winning. Marshall is the keystone of this 
 movement. If we could get him out of the way, 
 it would go to pieces." 
 
 " Suppose he should happen to be ' done up ' by 
 footpads," remarked Higbie, suggestively. 
 
 Carroll looked at Wade, but Wade shook his 
 head. Carroll's idea was that Higbie ought to have 
 looked after this without saying anything to any 
 one, but Wade was of different sort. Carroll 
 would not openly sanction slugging, but he would 
 gladly profit by it; Wade was temperamentally
 
 52 Slaves of Success 
 
 opposed to anything of that nature, except possibly 
 as a last resort. 
 
 " Unsatisfactory and dangerous," said Wade. 
 " When I can't win without slugging, I'll retire 
 from politics." 
 
 Carroll laughed in a disagreeable way. 
 
 " Sounds well," he said, " but there has been 
 slugging that has helped us in times gone by." 
 
 Wade scowled. The responsibility for anything 
 of that sort never had rested with him, and he did 
 not like to have it brought home to him in this way. 
 He distinctly disapproved of such methods, even 
 when he accepted the fruits of them and forgave 
 the offenders. The exigencies of politics made it 
 necessary to overlook many things. 
 
 " Sometimes," he said, " we have to meet force 
 with force, but this is a different matter. There 
 would be more than a suspicion that it was politics 
 and not robbery, even if the man was not caught. 
 We've got to eliminate Marshall in some other 
 way." 
 
 "How?" asked Carroll. 
 
 " Through his pocket," said Wade. 
 
 " He can't be bought," asserted Carroll. " He's 
 too rich for that." 
 
 " I have discovered," said Wade, thoughtfully,
 
 The Reformer Reformed 53 
 
 " that the rich man is the one who is most suscepti- 
 ble to financial influence of the right sort. He 
 can't be bought at least, directly but he is vul- 
 nerable. He considers it his first duty to guard 
 his bank account; attack that, and you can scare 
 him to death. He'll spurn an offer of $100,000 
 and throw a fit at the prospect of losing $10,000 
 worth of business. Now, Marshall is a director 
 of the Traders' Trust Company bank, where the 
 county keeps a good part of its funds. Do you 
 suppose you could get an intimation to the Presi- 
 dent of that bank that those funds are to be trans- 
 ferred to another repository ? " 
 
 " That won't do the business," said Carroll, after 
 a moment of thought. 
 
 " It has been published," continued Wade, " that 
 old Hobbins has promised to contribute $500 to the 
 reform movement. It would be discouraging if 
 Hobbins changed his mind. Hobbins is furnishing 
 coal to some of the county institutions, and a slight 
 change in the specifications would put him out of 
 the running when the new contracts are let." 
 
 " Risky business if we overdo it," commented 
 Carroll. 
 
 " Not so risky as slugging," returned Wade. 
 
 "Anything more?" asked Carroll.
 
 54 Slaves of Success 
 
 " Marshall himself is in the stone business," said 
 Wade. " He expects to furnish the stone for the 
 new wing to the Southern penitentiary, although 
 his bid has not been formally accepted. I think 
 his partner, Pendleton, would be very much worried 
 if he saw this job slipping away from him, and the 
 State administration is very much ours." 
 
 "What are you going to do?" asked Carroll. 
 " Do you expect me to look after everything? " 
 
 " You know how to do these things, Carroll," 
 replied Wade, " and you have the men to use. We 
 are working together for our common good, and 
 I'll do my share by sitting right here until Marshall 
 comes to me. I want him to come here, for the man 
 who is in his own office has an advantage over the 
 man who is in another fellow's office. He won't 
 be long in discovering that he has got to see some- 
 body, and you can see to it that he is referred to me. 
 As it is my plan, and I am posted on all the details, 
 I think I can handle him a little better than you." 
 
 " Sure," replied Carroll, frankly. " You're the 
 man for that job. He's not my kind, and I'd prob- 
 ably have him fighting mad in two minutes." 
 
 Carroll had a better idea of his own diplomatic 
 ability than the facts warranted, but he was wise 
 enough to know that Wade was his superior in
 
 The Reformer Reformed 55 
 
 handling some men. So he was quite ready to act 
 in a subordinate capacity in this instance. Nor was 
 his task so much inferior to Wade's. He had to 
 lay the foundation upon which Wade would build 
 the superstructure, and his work had to be cautious 
 and effective. He had to bring three separate 
 influences to bear on Marshall without appearing 
 personally in the matter at all. But he did it. 
 Marshall heard from the bank first. 
 
 " There seems to be some trouble over these 
 county funds that concerns you," the President 
 told him. " I don't quite understand what they 
 want, but it might be worth while for you to see 
 what's wrong." 
 
 Marshall knew what was wrong, but he took time 
 for reflection before deciding on his course, and 
 during this time he received word that Hobbins had 
 changed his mind about the $500 contribution to 
 the reform fund. 
 
 " Discouraging ! " he muttered. " I sacrifice my 
 own interests and can't even get support from the 
 men who will profit most by my work." 
 
 Then Pendleton told him that they were in a fair 
 way to lose the Southern penitentiary stone contract. 
 
 "Why?" asked Marshall. 
 
 " You'll have to find that out for yourself," re-
 
 56 Slaves of Success 
 
 plied Pendleton. " I was referred to Wade, but 
 I can't do anything with him. Perhaps you can. 
 You're in politics too much in politics." Pendle- 
 ton paused, to see how Marshall would take this, 
 and then blurted out : " Confound it ! I believe 
 you've just about lost us this contract, and some 
 others may follow. I never did believe in this 
 political business, anyway. It takes time and it 
 makes enemies. There's nothing in it except for 
 the thieves; for others it means a loss a real 
 cash loss, as in this case. And it's my loss as well 
 as yours." 
 
 A few weeks before Marshall would have re- 
 sented this hotly, but he had lost some of his bel- 
 ligerency. Furthermore, he was a fair-minded man, 
 and, from a business point of view, his partner had 
 some reason for his anger. He was angry himself, 
 but in a different way angry enough to resign his 
 bank-directorship if that would leave him free to 
 act, but he couldn't very well resign his partner- 
 ship. All in all, it was a costly business, and a 
 thankless one. For what he was doing he would 
 not get even gratitude. Stafford and Hobbins 
 already had deserted, the bank was in a fair way 
 to lose something, his partner was dissatisfied, and 
 he himself could see a personal loss of time and
 
 The Reformer Reformed 57 
 
 money. He began to reason in dollars and cents, 
 and when a successful business man reasons in 
 dollars and cents he ceases to be capable of disin- 
 terested action. 
 
 " I will see what I can do with Wade," he said. 
 
 Now was the situation suited to Wade's purpose ! 
 The aggressive reformer had been forced to come 
 to him; the keystone of the reform movement was 
 loosened. 
 
 Marshall was uncomfortable, and Wade gave 
 him no helping hand, appearing to be ignorant 
 and somewhat mystified as to the occasion for the 
 visit. It was policy to force the reformer to make 
 all the overtures. The man who asks is ever at 
 a disadvantage when confronted with the man in 
 whose power it lies to grant or refuse a request. 
 
 " I have not come on politics," Marshall blurted 
 out, finally. " I have come to see about that South- 
 ern penitentiary stone contract." 
 
 " Then it is politics," returned Wade, blandly. 
 
 " It ought not to be," asserted Marshall. 
 
 " But it is," said Wade. 
 
 " Do you admit," demanded Marshall, " that you 
 pay your political debts with public contracts, that 
 you reward your friends and punish your enemies 
 by deflecting public business, that you use the coffers
 
 58 Slaves of Success 
 
 of the State or county to attain your personal 
 ends?" 
 
 " The question, Mr. Marshall, is an insult," re- 
 turned Wade, with dignity. " I said nothing that 
 could be so interpreted. There are friends in 
 politics as well as in business, and our friends are 
 very true to us. They resent attacks on us as your 
 friends would resent attacks on your business 
 integrity. If a vicious assault were made on your 
 business reputation, Mr. Marshall, would your 
 friends go out of their way to give business or 
 benefit of any kind to the man who had so assailed 
 you?" 
 
 " Certainly not, but " 
 
 " When you go into business you take the neces- 
 sary risks and stand the losses as well as accept the 
 profits, do you not ? " 
 
 " Of course, but " 
 
 " When you go into politics you have got to take 
 the penalties as well as the rewards." 
 
 " But there are no personal rewards for me ; I 
 want none," urged Marshall. 
 
 " Then you get only the losses, the penalties," 
 retorted Wade. " I don't think I should go into 
 a game where my only chance is to lose." 
 
 " It's outrageous ! " declared Marshall.
 
 The Reformer Reformed 59 
 
 " It may seem so," returned Wade, " but it is 
 only human nature, business nature. Frankly, Mr. 
 Marshall, what you tell me is the first information 
 I have had of this, but I have very good friends in 
 influential places, and so have Carroll and some of 
 the others. My friends naturally feel very bitter 
 toward you, and they are doing just what your 
 friends would do in similar circumstances. I can't 
 very well upbraid them for their loyalty, can I ? " 
 
 " If you knew nothing about it, why was I 
 directed to come to you?" asked Marshall. 
 
 " It is possible," said Wade, with gentle signifi- 
 cance, " that this was intended as a hint to you 
 to make friends with me. If, as I suppose, loyalty 
 to me and my associates is what lies back of it 
 all, this is a plausible explanation." 
 
 Marshall looked fixedly at Wade for several 
 minutes, but Wade only smiled pleasantly back at 
 him. The business instinct in Marshall triumphed 
 after a bitter struggle. It was humiliating, but 
 what other course lay open to him? 
 
 "How can I do this?" he asked, finally. 
 
 " I am in the hands of my friends," smiled Wade. 
 " I am satisfied when they are." 
 
 An angry retort came to Marshall's lips, but he 
 smothered it. He was reasoning in figures again.
 
 60 Slaves of Success 
 
 A paper was lying on Wade's desk. It had been 
 carelessly pushed aside, and now lay almost in front 
 of Marshall. He could not help seeing the line, 
 " Copy of the specifications for the new indus- 
 trial school." What was Wade doing with it? 
 Marshall's plan contemplated furnishing the stone 
 for that structure, but the specifications might be 
 so drawn as to exclude his stone. Why should the 
 thing be submitted to Wade before the bids were 
 asked ? 
 
 " What do your friends wish me to do? " asked 
 Marshall. 
 
 " Nothing," replied Wade. 
 
 It was cleverly put. He was asked to do noth- 
 ing. It had an innocent sound, this answer to his 
 question, but Marshall knew what it meant. The 
 man who does nothing is not dangerous. 
 
 Marshall hated himself as he left the office; he 
 despised himself when he told Pendleton that the 
 stone contract was all right; he felt contemptible 
 while he was informing the bank president that he 
 need not worry about the county funds; but he 
 continued to reason in figures, and tried to convince 
 himself that he had done all that could be expected 
 of him. Surely he could not be expected to carry 
 the whole burden of the reform movement.
 
 The Reformer Reformed 6 1 
 
 Meanwhile Wade waited and watched the papers, 
 and a day or so later he was rewarded by seeing a 
 society item to the effect that Mr. Leroy N. Mar- 
 shall, whose wife had been in California for several 
 months, would join her there, and together they 
 would visit a number of Pacific Coast points of 
 interest, returning by way of the Canadian Rockies. 
 Thereupon Wade called up Carroll on the telephone. 
 
 " The reform movement has collapsed," he an- 
 nounced. 
 
 And so far as effective and cohesive action was 
 concerned, it had collapsed, although its actual 
 demise was gradual.
 
 III. 
 
 A MORTGAGE ON A MAN 
 
 DAVID CLOW was poor and honest when he was 
 sent to the Legislature, and he withstood many 
 temptations. He was unsophisticated without being 
 entirely ignorant. He had heard a great deal about 
 trickery and corruption in a general way, but he 
 had no idea as to the form it would take. Conse- 
 quently, he watched himself and others closely. 
 
 In time the edge of his suspicions wore off. 
 There was a good deal of politics in the organization 
 of the House, and he heard rumours of trading and 
 treachery, but he saw nothing of the inside manipu- 
 lation, and he simply " went with his party," as he 
 had expected to do. Azro Craig puzzled him a 
 little. Craig had such strong likes and dislikes and 
 seemed determined upon upsetting some of the 
 party plans. But Craig was honest and knew no 
 more of practical politics than he did, so a friend- 
 ship gradually developed between the two. Even if 
 
 62
 
 A Mortgage on a Man 63 
 
 Craig were aggressive in some ways that Clow 
 could not quite understand, they could meet on the 
 common ground of admiration for and loyalty to 
 Wade, although they differed with regard to Car- 
 roll. Clow, as a party man, accepted both the 
 leaders, while Craig considered Carroll the repre- 
 sentative of all that was objectionable in the party 
 organization. Clow accepted the " machine " as a 
 necessary feature of politics: in strictly party 
 matters he was with it, but he did not purpose to 
 let it dictate his course in other details of legislation. 
 Still, he could not forget that the " machine " leaders 
 were men of experience, who understood things 
 that puzzled him, and he was ready to advise with 
 them on all topics. This was after his suspicions 
 had been lulled to sleep by personal intercourse with 
 the men. They were frank and clever; they asked 
 nothing, except in the name of the party, and to 
 the party he wished to be faithful. If they erred 
 occasionally, he could see that it was through 
 enthusiasm for party success. At any rate, no one 
 made any improper proposals to him not even 
 the corporation agents that he had expected to find 
 in large numbers at Springfield. 
 
 When Wade and Carroll, the " machine " leaders, 
 split on the organization of the House, Clow was
 
 64 Slaves of Success 
 
 in a quandary. He liked John Wade the better, 
 but Ben Carroll certainly had as good a right to 
 party leadership. In this emergency he stuck to 
 Craig. He knew very little of what lay behind the 
 fight, and he could not understand Craig's pre- 
 sumption in making a decided stand, but Craig was 
 a good man and an honest one. Furthermore, 
 Craig was one of the outsiders like himself. So 
 without knowing it, Clow was used as a puppet by 
 Wade through the influence of Craig; he became 
 one of the little band that forced Carroll to let 
 Wade put Henry Wellington in the chair. And, 
 ignorant of the part he had unconsciously played, 
 he was gratified when the two factions again united. 
 Meanwhile, Clow himself was under close 
 scrutiny. Carroll was watching him, and so was 
 Wade; but, as usual, for very different purposes. 
 Carroll was figuring on the two committees that 
 had been given him as the price of withdrawing 
 Mackin from the Speakership contest. For reasons 
 of his own he had selected the Committee on Rail- 
 roads as one of these, and Mackin was to have the 
 chairmanship of this as a reward for his ready 
 obedience to the order to withdraw. But it was 
 no easy task to select a committee that would appear 
 to conform to custom in the method of selection
 
 A Mortgage on a Man 65 
 
 and still answer his purpose. His power here must 
 not be too apparent, if he would escape a great 
 public outcry; there must be a minority element 
 that would satisfy the people, but, as a matter of 
 safety, there must be some tractable men in this 
 minority men who were not publicly identified 
 with him, but who would be subservient to his inter- 
 ests later. Would Clow be tractable? 
 
 Wade was asking himself the same question, but 
 in his case it related to politics and not to finance. 
 He wished to control personally. So long as he 
 and Carroll had identical interests they would pull 
 together, but he knew that he could not rely on 
 Carroll one minute longer than it was to the latter's 
 personal advantage to aid him. He had a higher 
 aim than Carroll a political aim that he did not 
 confide even to his closest friends and he wished 
 to be in a position to compel acquiescence when 
 the time came: he wished to have the power that 
 would prevent any one from laughing when he 
 mentioned the United States Senate. He could 
 always " dicker " with Carroll for anything he 
 wanted, provided he had the men or votes where- 
 with to dicker, but that was unsatisfactory and 
 uncertain. He wished to rule; he wished to be in 
 a position to "block" Carroll whenever it might
 
 66 Slaves of Success 
 
 be necessary, and thus to dictate terms. To do this 
 every possible vote was of importance. He had 
 captured Craig when all others had failed; how 
 could he capture Clow ? 
 
 Both men were cautious, and both investigated. 
 They found that Clow was a poor man, to whom 
 ready money would be a great boon. He had 
 debts, among them an overdue note for $500, on 
 which $100 had been paid, and, while the holder 
 of the note had no wish to press matters, he was 
 quite willing to sell it. 
 
 " Shall I get it? " asked Tom Higbie. 
 
 " Wait," replied Carroll. " I want to have a 
 talk with him first." 
 
 " Better let me do the talking," suggested Higbie. 
 " You're too strenuous and excitable when things 
 don't go right." 
 
 " Perhaps that's wise," admitted Carroll ; for he 
 knew his own shortcomings and the abilities of his 
 lieutenant. " I want to know how to place him ; I 
 want to get some idea of the man. Is he going to 
 be easy, difficult, or impossible ? That's the question, 
 Higbie, and some idea as to how much this indebted- 
 ness is worrying him will help to answer it. But 
 you'll have to be careful. He may be another 
 Craig."
 
 "'POLITICS,' SAID HIGBIE, 'IS A BUSINESS'"
 
 A Mortgage on a Man 67 
 
 Of course Higbie made no direct overtures to 
 Clow, but he sounded him cautiously. Although 
 the time for decision was short, he succeeded in 
 getting reasonably close to his man, and in having 
 some confidential talks with him. Clow was glad 
 to have some one who could give him information 
 on puzzling points of politics, so he talked quite 
 freely. He could not understand some of the moves 
 made, and these Higbie explained in the way that 
 best suited his purpose, 
 
 " Politics," said Higbie, " is a business, and no 
 man does business solely for his health. His aim 
 is Success, whatever his standard of success may 
 be. He makes alliances with that end in view, 
 he seeks to gain advantages over his competitors, 
 he confers favours for that purpose. They are 
 always talking about doing public business on a 
 strictly business basis. That is the basis of it now. 
 We do in politics precisely what the business men 
 do in business: we put forward the men who can 
 and will help us." 
 
 " That sounds all right," said Clow, dubiously. 
 
 "And it is all right," asserted Higbie. "The 
 man of large corporate interests picks out a man 
 that he knows to represent him on a board of di- 
 rectors, and the man of large political interests
 
 68 Slaves of Success 
 
 uses the same caution in putting men on commit- 
 tees. In both cases men are wanted who will be 
 faithful ; in both cases faithful men are rewarded in 
 one way or another. There is not a great financier 
 or business man who has not made success for one 
 or more that he can trust, and there is not a great 
 politician who has not done the same thing. It is 
 cooperation, and nowhere is cooperation more neces- 
 sary than in politics, for no man can accomplish 
 anything alone. He must have help, and to have 
 help he must give it. Now you have the secret of 
 success in public life." 
 
 Clow considered this thoughtfully for a few min- 
 utes. Then he saw where the fault lay. 
 
 " You are assuming," he said, " that the politi- 
 cian has a proprietary interest in the work of the 
 committee. I am a party man, but I was not sent 
 here to represent you or Carroll or Wade. The 
 voters of my district elected me." 
 
 " But they can't put .you on a good committee/* 
 asserted Higbie. 
 
 " Well, I don't much care," returned Clow. " If 
 I'm going to let other people decide what I ought 
 to do there's no use of my being here at all. It 
 seems to me that my business is to do what 7 think 
 is right, and that's what I'll do."
 
 A Mortgage on a Man 69 
 
 Higbie had been careful to make this a discus- 
 sion of general legislative methods, without even 
 an intimation of a direct proposition from him, and 
 he now decided that it was useless to pursue the 
 subject. Clow would think for himself on all but 
 straight party questions, and he would think and 
 act with resolute honesty. His manner and tone, 
 more than his words, gave this impression. And 
 the quickness with which he found the flaw in the 
 comparison of directors and committeemen was evi- 
 dence that he could not be easily befuddled or led. 
 Possibly, in a desperate financial predicament, he 
 might prove vulnerable, but even that was unlikely. 
 Indeed, Clow himself presently destroyed all hope 
 of that. 
 
 " I'll tell you a few things," he said, after a pause, 
 " that will prove my sincerity. I am a merchant 
 in a small town, with an old father and mother 
 dependent upon me. A good education was all 
 that my father was able to give me before illness 
 compelled him to retire from business life. I took 
 charge of his business, and for twenty years or 
 more I have been a country merchant with a dwin- 
 dling trade. There has been occasional improve- 
 ment in it, but most of the time it has been a serious 
 task to get even a moderate living out of it, es-
 
 yo Slaves of Success 
 
 pecially for one with an invalid father who requires 
 considerable attention. Very likely another could 
 have done better, but I am not a good business man, 
 and had planned to study for a profession. Some- 
 thing over a year ago I borrowed five hundred dol- 
 lars, and I had almost despaired of ever being able 
 to pay it when I was offered this nomination and 
 accepted it. I hesitated at first, I tell you frankly 
 I was afraid of myself under the circumstances, for 
 I had heard a great deal about the temptations, and 
 I knew, with my necessities, that money would have 
 a fearful fascination for me, but the salary was 
 a great inducement. It seemed to me that, by liv- 
 ing cheaply, I could save half of the one thousand 
 dollars I get for the session, and pay the balance 
 still due on that note, while the store, in charge 
 of a trustworthy clerk, would defray the expenses 
 of the rest of the family. You know how I am 
 living here, Mr. Higbie; you have seen enough to 
 know that I am saving the money as I planned. If 
 I am doing that, do you think there is any man on 
 God's earth who can buy my independence as a 
 legislator and a man with either favours or cash? 
 I am not suspecting you of trying to buy it, although 
 I have been pretty suspicious since I got here; but 
 you have been telling me how things are done, and
 
 A Mortgage on a Man 71 
 
 I am giving you proof that I won't do them that 
 way. I am ignorant of methods here, I have lived 
 among simple people, but I know there is money to 
 be had by the unscrupulous, and yet I am getting 
 what I need by rigid economy. Is it necessary to 
 say more ? " 
 
 Higbie reached forward and grasped his hand 
 impulsively. 
 
 " Not one word," he said. " You have a higher 
 sense of honour and a stronger will than any other 
 man in this Legislature, and I honour you for it." 
 
 Then Higbie went to see Carroll. 
 
 " You're on a dead card," he told the latter. 
 " You'll have to shuffle the pack again." 
 
 " Can't do anything with him ? " asked Carroll. 
 
 " Not a thing," said Higbie. " He hasn't even 
 political ambition and doesn't care whether he's on 
 one committee or another. He's going back to his 
 store after this one term, but while he's here he's 
 going to do his own thinking, and it's going to be 
 the kind of thinking that his constituents expect. 
 You've got only one hold on him." 
 
 "What's that?" 
 
 " He's a Republican from the ground up, but 
 that won't help you just now."
 
 72 Slaves of Success 
 
 " No," said Carroll, thoughtfully ; " I want more 
 than that." 
 
 Then Higbie went over the conversation in detail. 
 
 " There can be no doubt," he said, in conclusion, 
 " that a demand for the payment of that note at 
 this time would make a devilish lot of trouble for 
 him, and a threat to begin suit would put him face to 
 face with probable ruin. He must have other 
 creditors who would come down on his store like a 
 thousand of brick. No one can say positively what 
 he would do to save himself, but he has the manner 
 of a man who would be fool enough to accept ruin. 
 Still, there would be no risk, for the note will be 
 paid in time, if you don't have to use it. His one 
 ambition is to get that out of the way. It may be 
 worth trying." 
 
 "What's the use?" returned Carroll, after a 
 moment of thought. " I haven't any four hundred 
 dollars that I want to tie up on an uncertainty. Just 
 tell Wade that Clow is out of the running so far as 
 I am concerned." 
 
 " It's funny what fools some of these country 
 members can be," commented Higbie. 
 
 When Wade received the message he pondered 
 deeply. Speaker Wellington was his man, and 
 Speaker Wellington was taking care of various
 
 A Mortgage on a Man 73 
 
 members in whom he had an interest. Indeed, the 
 committee announcements, with a few necessary 
 exceptions, had been held up from day to day to 
 permit him and Carroll to do a little preliminary 
 dickering. He wondered whether it would be worth 
 while to " take care of " Clow or would be advis- 
 able to " side-track " him. He would have very 
 little personal use for Clow if the latter stuck to 
 his determination to be satisfied with one term, for 
 the culmination of his plans was due at the next 
 session, but he had little confidence in single-term 
 declarations. He recalled others who had been 
 quite as modest and who had been found working 
 strenuously for a reelection a little later. No doubt 
 Clow was honest in his assertion, but a little political 
 experience had a way of changing men's views. 
 In any event, the stronger he could show himself 
 to be in this Legislature, the better his chances 
 would be in the next. Power begets power, and no 
 one can tell when a certain man may be useful. 
 That had been Wade's theory from the beginning. 
 The man who is master to-day may so lay his 
 plans that he can dictate nominations to-morrow, 
 and thus rule again when it may be more important 
 to his individual interests. 
 
 In this emergency Wade made the mistake of
 
 74 Slaves of Success 
 
 going to Craig. He knew it was unwise, but there 
 seemed to be no other course open. Craig was 
 closer to Clow than any one else, and Wade flattered 
 himself that he could make use of Craig without 
 letting the old man discover his real purpose. He 
 put it on the ground that he wished to get as inti- 
 mate a knowledge as possible of the man in order 
 that he might be put on the committees where he 
 would prove most valuable. But it had begun to 
 dawn on Craig that these men from Chicago were 
 taking too deep an interest in the Legislature. 
 
 "What's the committees to you?" he asked, 
 pointedly. "You ain't the Speaker; you ain't 
 even a member of the Legislature." 
 
 "Quite right, Azro," admitted Wade; "but 
 my experience in politics makes me of some value 
 to Wellington, and he has asked me to advise with 
 him. You know I had something to do with 
 naming him." 
 
 The old man shook his head doubtfully. 
 
 " I s'pose it's all right," he said, " but I'm darned 
 if it don't seem to me like you an' Carroll is takin' 
 too blamed much on yourselves down here." 
 
 " I thought you were my friend, Azro, and had 
 confidence in me," argued Wade. 
 
 " Oh, you're white, Jack, an' I like you," returned
 
 " ' YOU GO BACK TO CHICAGO '
 
 A Mortgage on a Man 75 
 
 Craig, " but I'd feel a lot more comf'table if you'd 
 go back to Chicago an' look after your own busi- 
 ness. I ain't sayin' you wasn't right in mixin' in 
 on the Speakership, so's to knock out Carroll's man, 
 but that's over now, an' I don't see why you got to 
 keep on mixin' in. An' I'll tell you another thing, 
 Jack: I ain't never felt jest right about the way 
 you patched it up with Carroll." 
 
 " I got our man for Speaker by doing it, didn't 
 I?" asked Wade. 
 
 " Oh, yes," admitted Craig, " but it ain't my way 
 to make terms with the devil. You're my friend, 
 Jack you showed you was a real friend up to 
 Chicago when all the rest was pertendin' to be my 
 friends while they was guyin' me an' so I'm 
 talkin' to you straight, like man to man. You go 
 back to Chicago. Folks is sayin' things, an' the 
 papers is sayin' things, an' it looks like they had 
 reason." 
 
 " I'm going back just as soon as these committees 
 are out of the way," said Wade, with great appar- 
 ent frankness. " There's a lot of hard sense in 
 what you say, Azro, but I promised to give Welling- 
 ton the benefit of my advice, and we don't know 
 where Clow will fit in." 
 
 " No more do I," replied Craig, " only that he'll
 
 y6 Slaves of Success 
 
 fit his fist in the face of any feller that asks him to 
 do what he don't think is right. He ain't sayin' 
 much, but he's got his mind made up, an' he's been 
 scared to death for fear he'd have to hit somebody. 
 Only jest beginnin' to feel easy an' decent, owin' to 
 bein' let alone. But there's a note that's worryin' 
 him a good deal." 
 
 " I've heard about it," said Wade, incautiously. 
 
 " You hear too much, Jack Wade," retorted 
 Craig. 
 
 " Carroll told me," said Wade, lying cheerfully 
 in an effort to rectify his error. 
 
 " It didn't seem like you to be diggin' into a man's 
 private affairs," returned Craig, with evident relief, 
 " an' it won't do Carroll no good. You kin tell him 
 that from me." 
 
 " I'm not carrying messages to Carroll," laughed 
 Wade. " I'm trying to help Wellington with the 
 committees, and all this is of no earthly impor- 
 tance." 
 
 But, as a matter of fact, it was of supreme impor- 
 tance, and Wellington was informed that he could 
 do as he pleased in the matter of placing Clow. 
 Neither Wade nor Carroll had any further imme- 
 diate interest in the matter. In consequence Clow 
 found himself where he would have little or nothing
 
 A Mortgage on a Man 77 
 
 to do with important legislation, except on the 
 floor of the House., 
 
 Wade knew that he had made a mistake in going 
 to Craig. He saw that the old man was becoming 
 uneasy, and, in spite of the plausible explanation 
 made, the visit had added to his disquietude. 
 Later a second mistake was made, but it was not 
 Wade who made it this time; on the contrary, 
 Wade profited by it. He was not infallible, but 
 he seldom made two mistakes in succession. In 
 this case an innocent-looking bill appeared in the 
 House, and none of the " wise ones " seemed to 
 see the significance of it. It related to the licensing 
 of express companies, and required that any cor- 
 poration, firm, or individual, doing an interurban 
 express business, should take out a State license. 
 In terms it was very sweeping, but there was noth- 
 ing to indicate that the regular express companies 
 were at all alarmed by it, and no one else seemed 
 to be interested. Wade heard of it in time to sug- 
 gest that it be sent to the Committee on Commerce, 
 and it was so referred. 
 
 The Committee on Commerce was not an im- 
 portant one from either a boodler's or a practical 
 politician's point of view. Indeed, it seemed to 
 have been devised largely for the purpose of taking
 
 78 Slaves of Success 
 
 care of men who were not wanted on other com- 
 mittees, for somehow the Committee on Railroads 
 usually got everything in the commerce line that 
 was worth having. Azro Craig and David Clow 
 were members of the Committee on Commerce. 
 
 " Perhaps," mused Wade, " I can reach Clow 
 with this. It is worth trying. But I don't see how 
 Carroll overlooked it." 
 
 Wade had gone to Chicago after the committees 
 had been made up, thereby raising himself some- 
 what in Craig's estimation, but he kept in close 
 touch with certain legislators, and a word or two 
 of advance information about this bill had brought 
 him back. He seldom overlooked an opportunity, 
 and he never lost sight of a man who could be made 
 useful to him. Clow had had to be eliminated from 
 his plans temporarily, but he never had been wholly 
 abandoned : there was always a chance of a com- 
 bination of circumstances that would put any man 
 he wanted within reach. So Wade, in his clever, 
 careless way, as if it were a matter of no impor- 
 tance, had this bill sent to the Committee on Com- 
 merce, and he laughed inwardly as he did it. 
 
 " Carroll will have a fit when he wakes up," he 
 said. 
 
 While Carroll did not go through many contor-
 
 A Mortgage on a Man 79 
 
 tions and foam at the mouth, he swore mightily 
 when he discovered what had escaped him, 
 
 " Why, say ! " he cried, " that bill is in the interest 
 of the big express companies." 
 
 " Surely," returned Wade, pleasantly. " There 
 are a whole lot of people in the towns surrounding 
 Chicago who make a living by doing the city shop- 
 ping for residents of their districts. They make 
 one or two trips a week, bringing the parcels back 
 with them. It has annoyed the express companies 
 and the railroads a good deal. Didn't you know 
 that, Carroll?" 
 
 " Why, under the terms of that bill," exclaimed 
 Carroll, ignoring the question, " the one-horse ex- 
 pressman can't carry a package a foot beyond the 
 limits of his own town without paying a license 
 fee, and the interurban trolley that carries a basket 
 of eggs to market will find itself in all kinds of 
 trouble." 
 
 " Of course," admitted Wade, with aggravating 
 good-humour. " The trolley people have been so 
 obliging that they have hurt the express business. 
 And there are men and boys who make regular 
 trips to take charge of parcels." 
 
 " But there's money in that bill ! " cried Carroll. 
 
 "There was," corrected Wade. "The right
 
 8o Slaves of Success 
 
 kind of a committee could have made a good thing 
 out of it, but I don't think the Committee on Com- 
 merce will." 
 
 Extraordinary interest now centred in a commit- 
 tee previously considered unimportant. The bill 
 in its custody might be reported favourably or un- 
 favourably, or it might be held up indefinitely. A 
 great deal depended on the committee's action, for 
 it was rumoured that success in one State would 
 encourage the express companies to try similar 
 legislation in other States, and the report of this 
 first committee would give a basis for speculation 
 as to the future. Success promised a large increase 
 of business for the express companies. The stock 
 market, responsive to the most trifling influences, 
 was unsteady so far as express stocks were con- 
 cerned. They went up when the true import of the 
 bill first became known, and then rumours of un- 
 favourable action sent them down. 
 
 Wade watched and waited, while conflicting re- 
 ports came from the committee. But he managed 
 to see a good deal of Clow, and Clow talked of 
 the bill. 
 
 "There is some underhanded work going on," 
 he said one day. " If that bill had been reported 
 back the day it came to us, it would have
 
 A Mortgage on a Man 81 
 
 been reported unfavourably, but it is practically 
 certain now that it will go back with a favourable 
 report. I tell you, it doesn't look right." 
 
 " Why not ? " asked Wade, carelessly. 
 
 " It's a bad bill," asserted Clow, earnestly. " It's 
 going to put friends and neighbours of some of 
 these men out of business, it's going to incon- 
 venience a lot of people, it's going to hurt some 
 hard-working expressmen, it's going to be a good 
 thing for a few corporations, and for no one else. 
 The voters of the districts from which most of 
 these committeemen come are dead against it, but 
 it will be reported favourably. That's what doesn't 
 look right." 
 
 " The information you are giving me," said 
 Wade, slowly, " is worth a lot of money." 
 
 "How?" asked Clow. 
 
 " A favourable report will put up the stocks of 
 the companies affected," explained Wade. " So 
 far nearly all the rumours have been unfavourable, 
 which has had a depressing effect. A man who 
 knows what that committee will do can make a 
 very tidy little sum." 
 
 " It wouldn't be honest," asserted Clow. 
 
 " Why not ? " returned Wade, argumentatively. 
 " If he let the thing affect his individual action, it
 
 82 Slaves of Success 
 
 would not be honest, of course, but why should he 
 not trade on his information? Why would it be 
 any more dishonest in him than in some outside 
 broker, so long as he votes honestly? If I choose 
 to act on the information you have given me, am 
 I dishonest?" 
 
 " No-o." 
 
 " Then why should it be dishonest for you or 
 any one else to use the information the same way? 
 I tell you frankly, Clow, that I shall buy express 
 stock on the strength of this information, and I 
 don't see why you shouldn't do the same thing. 
 But it's nothing to me one way or another. I'll 
 buy for you at the same time, if you wish, but I 
 certainly don't want to urge you to do anything 
 that is going to worry your conscience." 
 
 "I don't think I'll do it," said Clow, slowly. 
 " I haven't the money anyway." 
 
 "Oh, that's all right," returned Wade. "I'd 
 telegraph my own broker and have him buy it all 
 for my account. Your I O U would be all the 
 protection I'd want, for there'd be no money to 
 put up unless the deal went wrong, and it couldn't 
 go wrong if your information is correct. How- 
 ever, suit yourself."
 
 A Mortgage on a Man 83 
 
 "I don't think I'll do it," Clow repeated very 
 slowly, and Wade did not press the matter. 
 
 But the idea took possession of Clow, as he re- 
 turned to his shabby little boarding-house. He did 
 not doubt Wade's disinterestedness in this matter, 
 for Wade had not wished to influence his vote and 
 apparently had not cared what action the com- 
 mittee took. It was merely a fine question of ethics. 
 After all, he reflected, it was the way he voted that 
 counted; but could he trust himself to vote con- 
 scientiously if the result happened to rest on his 
 vote? It was a preposterous supposition, in view 
 of the circumstances, but he could not help asking 
 himself the question. And would he support his 
 convictions as earnestly if his financial interests were 
 opposed to them? He thought he would. He had 
 schooled himself to ignore financial considerations 
 when he came to the Legislature, and, so far as the 
 committee was concerned, the matter was practically 
 settled now, anyway. Still, it was better to avoid 
 temptation. 
 
 Carroll found him in this uncertain mood. Car- 
 roll had been having a strenuous time, trying to 
 remedy his oversight in not having the express bill 
 sent to the Committee on Railroads. At first he had 
 thought of " holding it up " in the House until he
 
 84 Slaves of Success 
 
 could make a satisfactory " deal," but to do that 
 would require a large and loyal following that 
 could be swung first one way and then the other. 
 He might get his chance in the House or he might 
 not. There was reason to believe that things al- 
 ready had been pretty well " greased " in the House 
 without his intervention. In that case the lines 
 would be closely drawn at the start, and he would 
 have little with which to work. His best chance 
 was with the committee. If he could merely give 
 the appearance of control there he might be able 
 to dictate terms. But the men who had the bill in 
 charge had been working while he was sleeping in 
 Chicago before he realized what there was in 
 it, and rushed back to Springfield in the wake of 
 Wade and they laughed at his threats. Thus, 
 prestige, as well as more material advantages, was 
 in question. If he could postpone the presentation 
 of the report for twenty-four hours it would give 
 the promoters a fright and make them tractable. 
 
 " Clow," he said, " when's that report going in? " 
 
 " To-morrow," replied Clow. 
 
 " I want it held forty-eight hours. It's impor- 
 tant" 
 
 "Why don't you see the chairman?" asked 
 Clow.
 
 A Mortgage on a Man 85 
 
 " Oh, he's bought up by the express people," 
 exclaimed Carroll, angrily, " but he won't force an 
 immediate report in the face of objections in the 
 committee. I've got two men who will stand with 
 you." 
 
 "Not with me," returned Clow. "If you'll 
 show me how to get the report changed, I might." 
 
 " But I don't want it changed." 
 
 " Then it goes in, for all of me," said Clow. 
 " I've heard of you in connection with this matter, 
 Carroll, and I don't trust you. You've been too 
 anxious to get mixed up in it. It's not a party ques- 
 tion." 
 
 " Confound it! " cried Carroll, " I'll break you if 
 you try to turn me down. I bought up your note 
 before I came to you." Clow became suddenly very 
 white, but he said nothing. Carroll misinterpreted 
 his paleness. 
 
 " It rests with you," said Carroll, still threaten- 
 ingly, "whether I sue on that note to-morrow or 
 tear it up to-day. I want that report held back for 
 at least twenty-four hours forty-eight hours, if 
 possible. I don't want to tinker with it or change 
 it, but I want it held back. It's a small matter, but 
 it's worth four hundred dollars to me and to you." 
 
 " I've been looking for you," said Clow, with
 
 86 Slaves of Success 
 
 forced calmness. " I decided what I would do to 
 men of your kind before I came here, and I'm glad 
 of a chance to test the strength of my resolution." 
 
 Then, before Carroll had time to grasp the mean- 
 ing of this, Clow sprang at him with the fierceness 
 of a tiger, and they went through the door of 
 Clow's room into the hall together, where they 
 tripped and fell. Clow was on his feet first, and 
 he deliberately kicked Carroll. " Get out, you 
 dog ! " he said. 
 
 " I'll break you for this ! " roared Carroll, regain- 
 ing his feet, and rapidly retreating. " I'll put you 
 out of business ! " 
 
 " But you'll never try to buy me again," retorted 
 Clow, as he returned to his room, there to remain 
 when he should have gone to the Capitol for the 
 daily session of the House. He was in no humour 
 for public business. Suit would be begun on that 
 note, and he felt sure that the sheriff would be in 
 possession of his store before the close of another 
 day. He had creditors among the Chicago and 
 St. Louis wholesale houses who would be alarmed 
 by court proceedings. They had shown some 
 evidences of uneasiness before. He wondered how 
 soon suit would be begun. It was still compara- 
 tively early in the day, but Carroll had said "to-
 
 A Mortgage on a Man 87 
 
 morrow." To-morrow the committee report would 
 go in and express stocks would go up. The ques- 
 tion was already settled, and his record was clear; 
 he had voted against a favourable report, but he 
 had been almost alone. 
 
 " Mr. Clow? " said a man at his door, inquiringly. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " My name is Lang, of the legal firm of Pettus 
 & Lang." 
 
 " He hasn't wasted any time," said Clow, grimly. 
 
 " I have an overdue note of yours," explained 
 Lang, " and I am instructed to sue if it is not paid." 
 
 "How much time will you give me?" asked 
 Clow. 
 
 " None," replied Lang. 
 
 " Surely you will give me time to write home and 
 get an answer," urged Clow. 
 
 " Can you pay it then ? " asked Lang, doubtfully. 
 
 " If I can't," said Clow, " I will confess judgment 
 on it and so save you trouble and expense." 
 
 Lang hesitated. Evidently he was surprised. 
 
 ' That's a fair proposition," he said at last. " I 
 presume I would be justified in accepting it although 
 my client apparently contemplated immediate 
 action." 
 
 " There is nothing to be gained by suit," argued
 
 88 Slaves of Success 
 
 Clow. " I will pay you in full not later than to- 
 morrow evening, or confess judgment the first thing 
 the following morning." 
 
 " I'll do it," said Lang. " I'm sure my client 
 didn't expect this when he instructed me to sue." 
 
 Clow hunted up the chairman of the Committee 
 on Commerce after the lawyer had departed. Noth- 
 ing, he was told, could keep that report back a single 
 hour, a rumour that something of that sort was to 
 be attempted having alarmed those who were inter- 
 ested in the measure. Then Clow searched for and 
 found Wade. 
 
 " The committee report on that bill will be public 
 property after the opening of the session to-mor- 
 row," he said. " If I buy express stock to-day 
 and sell to-morrow, can I have the profit on the deal 
 telegraphed me to-morrow afternoon ? " 
 
 " Give me a written order to buy, as a matter of 
 protection in case the thing goes wrong," returned 
 Wade, with a triumphant smile that Clow was too 
 worried to detect, " and I will have the stock bought 
 for my own account and personally pay you the 
 profit on a telegraphic report of the price at which 
 it is sold." 
 
 " I don't feel quite right about it," Cow ex- 
 plained, as he wrote the order, " but I can't see just
 
 A Mortgage on a Man 89 
 
 what's wrong, and I've got to do something. I 
 have just had the pleasure of knocking Carroll 
 down, and he's going to sue on a note of mine that 
 he holds unless I am able to pay it to-morrow after- 
 noon." 
 
 " Carroll is a good friend of mine," said Wade 
 to himself, " but he doesn't happen to know it this 
 time." 
 
 The following afternoon Azro Craig came upon 
 John Wade in the act of putting two folded sheets 
 of paper in an envelope. One was an order to buy 
 express stock, and the other was a receipt for the 
 profits of the deal, and both were signed by a man 
 who had acted on the bill in committee. To a man 
 who understood all the circumstances they might 
 seem innocent, but by a suspicious public they 
 would not be so regarded. 
 
 "What you got?" asked Craig. 
 
 "A mortgage on a man," replied Wade, with 
 thoughtless jocularity. 
 
 "When you goin' to foreclose?" asked Craig. 
 
 " When I need the man," replied Wade. 
 
 Craig knitted his brow. There was a coldblood- 
 edness in politics that was making him, suspicious 
 even of the friends to whom he wished to be most 
 loyal.
 
 IV. 
 THE SLAVERY OF A BOSS 
 
 IT was no new thing for Dick Haggin to be in 
 trouble, and he was not in the least worried by his 
 arrest. 
 
 " You've had me before," he told the desk ser- 
 geant, " but you couldn't never keep me. You'll 
 hear from the main squeeze before long." 
 
 But somehow conditions seemed to be different 
 this time. 
 
 " You'll have to give a real bond," the sergeant 
 told him. " We've quit dealing in straw bail." 
 
 There was an element of grim humour in this, 
 for there had been some recent scandals that had 
 hit the justice courts and the police, and they were 
 still squirming under the censure of the public. 
 There was no evidence of direct connivance with 
 malefactors, but there was evidence of a strong 
 desire to oblige men of political influence, at least 
 to the extent of being careless and lax in the inter- 
 go
 
 The Slavery of a Boss 91 
 
 pretation and enforcement of the law. But Haggin 
 did not know that an investigation was then under 
 way that promised to make a lot of trouble for 
 complaisant officials, and it was with the utmost 
 confidence that he sent word of his predicament to 
 Alderman Bogan. 
 
 The alderman responded promptly. 
 
 " What's the matter? " he asked. 
 
 " Nabbed me while I was doing a jay," replied 
 Haggin, 
 
 " You make more trouble than any other ten 
 men," retorted the alderman, disgustedly. " Why 
 don't you cut that sort of thing out ? " 
 
 " I didn't want to do it honest, I didn't but 
 it was too easy," pleaded Haggin. " There ought to 
 be a law against lettin' these yahoos come to town 
 with big bunches of money. I can stand a good 
 deal, but I ain't no angel, an' it worries me to see 
 folks with money that they don't know how to take 
 care of. Anyhow, I ain't no use to nobody while I'm 
 locked up." 
 
 " I'll see what I can do," said the alderman. 
 
 Politicians of a certain class look upon some male- 
 factors much as an indulgent parent looks on a way- 
 ward child. They may scold and threaten, but they 
 will do what they can to protect the offender from
 
 92 Slaves of Success 
 
 the penalty of the offence. They do not condone 
 it in words, but they do in deeds, and they find 
 political advantage and personal gratification in the 
 ascendency they thus gain over men that the good 
 citizen fears. It has happened before this that the 
 victim of a robbery has had all the stolen things 
 returned to him after it became known that he was 
 the personal friend of some unscrupulous local 
 politician. 
 
 So Alderman Bogan had a talk with the captain. 
 
 " It's all right," he said. " I'll answer for him. 
 It's nothing but a ' disorderly ' case, anyway." 
 
 " He's ' booked ' for robbery," replied the cap- 
 tain. 
 
 " A mistake," asserted the alderman. " I'll speak 
 to the justice about it myself, and you know well 
 enough the yahoo won't appear against him." 
 
 " He's got to appear against him," returned the 
 captain, " in order to get his watch and money back. 
 They're held as evidence. Since the last roast we 
 got, alderman, we're taking no chances, and I don't 
 think the justice is, either." 
 
 The alderman began to see that this thing was 
 going to be more difficult than usual, but he had par- 
 ticular reasons for wanting to take care of Haggin, 
 so he went in search of a Democratic colleague,
 
 The Slavery of a Boss 93 
 
 Alderman Bradley. While of opposite political 
 parties, they had found many ways in which they 
 could be useful to each other. It was an alliance of 
 convenience with which politics had nothing ta do. 
 They might be as antagonistic as they pleased on 
 party questions, but each would rather have the 
 other in the Council than another man of his own 
 political party. In brief, they were of the number 
 that a protracted " reform " campaign had failed 
 to reach. The Council had been improved, but it 
 was still far from perfect. 
 
 " One of the boys is in trouble," announced Alder- 
 man Bogan. 
 
 " It's a bad time," said Alderman Bradley. 
 " You'd better let him slide if you can." 
 
 " But I can't," returned Bogan. " He isn't the 
 common run, and he can do a lot of harm. I tried 
 to talk to the captain, but he wouldn't listen. The 
 administration is Democratic, you know." 
 
 Bradley nodded. Minor officials were disposed 
 to oblige an alderman regardless of his politics, 
 but in a case like this, all else being equal, a Demo- 
 crat might be able to do more than a Republican. 
 
 "I'll talk to him," said Bradley. 
 
 The captain remained obdurate, however. The 
 man had been " booked," and that settled it. He
 
 94 Slaves of Success 
 
 would not be released until bail bonds had been 
 furnished and approved by a police magistrate. 
 And the justices had suddenly become very particu- 
 lar about bail bonds. 
 
 " As I understand it," said the alderman, care- 
 lessly, " it's a trifling affair, and he'll be discharged 
 by the justice to-morrow, anyway." 
 
 " It's not a trifling affair to me," asserted the 
 captain. " I'd like to oblige you, but I don't see 
 how I can do it." 
 
 " Perhaps you're right," admitted the alderman. 
 " They have been raising a good deal of a rumpus 
 over police stations and police courts lately, and I 
 don't want to get you into trouble." 
 
 Bradley could not afford to show too deep a 
 personal interest in the case; if he made it appear 
 important his hope of success was thereby lessened, 
 for the captain would have greater fear of conse- 
 quences. Perhaps it would be better to try to get 
 results through the City Hall, although it was 
 rather late for that. 
 
 As he left the police station he was accosted by 
 a man who plainly showed that he was from the 
 country. 
 
 " Be you an alderman ? " asked the farmer. 
 " The constable said you was."
 
 The Slavery of a Boss 95 
 
 " Yes," replied Bradley, " what can I do for 
 you?" 
 
 " I ain't jest sure," said the farmer, " but mebbe 
 you kin get my watch an' money for me." 
 
 "Who's got them?" asked Bradley. 
 
 " The fellers in there," said the farmer, indicating 
 the police station. " They took 'em from the man 
 that robbed me, an' they won't give 'em back." 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 " They say if I got 'em I'd go back home without 
 appearin' ag'in' the man that did it." 
 
 "Would you?" 
 
 " You bet I would ! " exclaimed the farmer, and 
 then he seemed to regret his words and began to 
 apologize. 
 
 " The folks'll be worried 'bout me," he ex- 
 plained, " an' it costs money to stay here, an' a 
 feller I was talkin' to said they'd most likely tie me 
 up fer a week or more an' make me come back four 
 or five times, an' I can't afford it. Seems like the 
 easiest thing is jest to light out for home if I git 
 a good chance. That's what the feller told me." 
 
 The alderman did not ask who " the feller " was, 
 but he had no doubt in his own mind that the friends 
 of Haggin were at work trying to spoil the case by 
 getting the prosecuting witness out of the way. If
 
 96 Slaves of Success 
 
 he could help them, he would be helping Bogan. 
 So he led the farmer back into the police station. 
 
 " Captain," he said, with the air of one right- 
 eously championing the weak, " can't you give this 
 man his watch and money ? " 
 
 The captain looked at the alderman with a shrewd 
 smile. " Certainly," he answered. 
 
 There was the light of victory in the alderman's 
 eye. 
 
 " But," added the captain, " if I do, I'll have to 
 lock him up as a witness." 
 
 "Oh, that's a confounded outrage!" cried the 
 alderman, excitedly, and then he added, " What's 
 the matter with you, anyway? You seem to have 
 got ugly all of a sudden." 
 
 " I'm looking out for my job," returned the cap- 
 tain. " So many prosecuting witnesses have dis- 
 appeared lately that it will take only one more case 
 to have me before the trial board for wilful neglect 
 of duty. I've been too obliging." 
 
 Alderman Bradley was angry, but he could not 
 blame the captain. The latter had suffered in popu- 
 lar estimation for his complaisance in heeding the 
 requests of men of local influence, and it certainly 
 was a bad time to give grounds for any further 
 criticism. While never directly accused of " graft-
 
 The Slavery of a Boss 97 
 
 ing," the captain unquestionably had been " accom- 
 modating " in the way of accepting personal assur- 
 ances that " it's all right " in minor cases, and many 
 had escaped punishment in consequence. Occasion- 
 ally, through some slip, a prosecuting witness had 
 appeared in court the next day, and the absence of 
 the prisoner had created unfavourable comment. 
 
 So Dick Haggin, handy man politically and 
 criminally, remained in his cell and wondered 
 where the hitch was, while Alderman Bradley was 
 reporting to Alderman Bogan that there was 
 " nothing doing " with the police, and the matter 
 would have to be arranged some other way. 
 
 " He's got to stay there to-night," said Bradley. 
 " If it was plain * disorderly ' it might be different, 
 but he was caught with the goods on him. It's a 
 nasty business, Bogan. I don't like it myself." 
 
 "A little slip," said Bogan, indulgently. "I 
 roasted him for it, but some of these yaps ought to 
 have their money taken away from them so that 
 they can't tempt good men to do wrong." 
 
 " That's right, too," admitted Bradley, who kept 
 a saloon where men were parted from their money 
 with great cleverness, " but that doesn't help things 
 now. There are only three men who can turn him 
 loose to-night, the mayor, the chief of police, and
 
 98 Slaves of Success 
 
 the justice, and you know what kind of a show 
 there'd be with any one of them in a case like 
 this." 
 
 " None," said Bogan. " There isn't money 
 enough in Chicago to get them to interfere with 
 a case of a stray dog just now, unless you can show 
 a real reason for it. A hard-luck story, with the 
 right kind of backing, might have got action from 
 one of them awhile ago, but " 
 
 " Not in a case of robbery," put in Bradley. " It 
 has done the business for a ' plain drunk ' or an 
 ' innocent spectator ' caught in a raid now and then, 
 but not for a man caught with the goods on him 
 that is, not if they knew it. I thought of the 
 City Hall end myself. It's no use, Bogan; you've 
 got to leave him there to-night, and you'd better 
 keep your hands off to-morrow." 
 
 "I can't," protested Bogan. "If I turn him 
 down, I might just as well pass up the ward and 
 get ready for trouble. I tell you, he's been a handy 
 man, and he has friends. He knows things. It's 
 up to me to do the best I know how, and he's not 
 the only one watching me, either. I'll have to fix 
 it for him in the morning, sure." 
 
 " Well, you don't have to be told how," laughed 
 Bradley.
 
 The Slavery of a Boss 99 
 
 There were several methods of procedure known 
 to such experienced local politicians as Bogan and 
 Bradley. In the ordinary course of events Haggin 
 would be held to the grand jury, but the justice 
 could change the charge to " disorderly conduct " 
 and let him go under a suspended fine. If he re- 
 fused to suspend the fine, it could be paid. But 
 there was every reason to believe that the justice 
 would be as difficult to handle as the captain. If 
 the suggestion came from the city prosecuting 
 attorney or one of his assistants, however, it would 
 relieve the justice of much of the responsibility. It 
 was not an uncommon thing for the city prosecutor 
 to suggest such a course when the evidence did not 
 seem strong enough to convict of the more serious 
 charge. But here again there had been criticism, 
 and, furthermore, the presence of the prosecuting 
 witness would make the scheme too transparent. 
 
 In these unusual circumstances it seemed unwise 
 to Bogan to trust entirely to his own influence. If 
 he tried it and failed, it would make the task so 
 much the more difficult for another. The assistant 
 city prosecutor in that particular court was a man 
 who owed his position to John Wade, one of the 
 big men of the Republican " machine." So to John 
 Wade Alderman Bogan went
 
 ioo Slaves of Success 
 
 " No," said Wade, when the case was stated to 
 him. 
 
 " Why not ? " asked Bogan, bewildered ; for he 
 had not expected such an uncompromising refusal, 
 that seemed to leave no room for argument. 
 
 " For several reasons," replied Wade. " For 
 one thing, the man is a Republican under a Demo- 
 cratic city administration, and the influence that put 
 him there isn't strong enough to hold him in the face 
 of any kind of a scandal. I know, because I had 
 something to do with the deal." 
 
 " There won't be any scandal," urged Bogan. 
 " Who's going to care what's done with Haggin ? " 
 
 " That brings me to the second reason," said 
 Wade. " There's a lot of attention being given to 
 these matters just now, and a thing like that is 
 likely to raise the devil." 
 
 " It won't hurt you," persisted Bogan. 
 
 " That brings me to my third reason," said Wade. 
 " It's nasty, dirty politics, and I'll have nothing to 
 do with it. If you want to use hold-up men and 
 thugs, it's your business, but I won't. When I 
 have to mix up in criminal cases to win, I'll quit. 
 I've got a little self-respect left." 
 
 " That's all you will have left if you get up out of 
 reach of the common people," retorted Bogan.
 
 The Slavery of a Boss 101 
 
 " I'll take my chances," returned Wade. 
 
 Bogan hesitated. There seemed to be little hope 
 of success here, but a great deal was at stake, so 
 he repressed his anger. 
 
 " If the watch and money are returned," he said, 
 insinuatingly, " there will be no prosecuting wit- 
 ness on hand to-morrow, but the captain won't 
 assume the entire responsibility of returning them. 
 If the assistant city prosecutor should advise it " 
 
 " He won't," broke in Wade, angrily. 
 
 " The yahoo needs the money," argued Bogan. 
 " At the most, it would be considered no more than 
 an evidence of unwise sympathy, a wish to save 
 him unnecessary hardship " 
 
 " If you use criminals," exclaimed Wade, " you've 
 got to look out for them yourself! I won't raise a 
 finger to save a man from the consequences of 
 crime that is, real crime." Wade made a dis- 
 tinction between " real crime " and " political of- 
 fences; " for at times he had exerted himself quietly 
 and unostentatiously to save men from the penalties 
 incurred by too great " enthusiasm " for the success 
 of the party, and he had not hesitated to profit by 
 practices that he never sanctioned. But there was 
 great consolation for him in the fact that he never 
 allied himself, even indirectly, with " real crime."
 
 IO2 Slaves of Success 
 
 That there were some depths of practical politics 
 to which he would not go, gave him a gratifying 
 sensation of being " clean," and he had a certain 
 amount of contempt for those of the slum wards 
 who found it necessary to interest themselves in 
 " dirty cases." Still, he was not unmindful of the 
 value of their friendship. 
 
 Carroll, who shared with Wade the responsibili- 
 ties of directing the destinies of the " machine," 
 was not so particular. His education had been in 
 a lower stratum of politics, anyway, and he lacked 
 -Wade's " fine discrimination." So he was readily 
 converted to Bogan's view of the case the more 
 readily, perhaps, because he had better reason to 
 know the importance of getting Haggin out of 
 the clutches of the law. 
 
 " I know the justice," he said. " I don't know 
 what I can do with him, but I'll try. You get 
 some one to throw a ' scare ' into the yahoo, so 
 that he won't say any more than he has to, if we 
 don't succeed in getting him out of the way." 
 
 " That's easy," returned Bogan. " All he wants 
 is a chance to get home with his watch and money." 
 
 " And see Haggin," added Carroll. " Tell him 
 to keep his mouth shut, and he'll come out all 
 right."
 
 The Slavery of a Boss 103 
 
 Then Ben Carroll visited the justice at his house. 
 The justice was a Republican and something of a 
 politician, although not a very active one. Still, 
 he knew something of the exigencies of politics, and 
 he wished to be " accommodating " so long as it 
 required no serious dereliction of duty. He was 
 assured that it was a small matter, that the prose- 
 cuting witness had no wish to press the case, and 
 that a suspended fine on a charge of disorderly con- 
 duct would answer all the requirements. 
 
 " Why wasn't he arraigned to-day ? " asked the 
 justice. 
 
 " Well, it was rather late when he was arrested," 
 replied Carroll, " and the case seemed to require 
 some investigation. Bogan was looking after it. 
 He thought of asking to have the man admitted to 
 bail, but he didn't want to go on the bond hin> 
 self" 
 
 " And bonds have to be good these days," 
 laughed the justice, with the air of one who quite 
 understood the situation. It was not a matter of 
 temporary liberty, but of complete freedom. 
 " Well, if it's really a trifling affair, and no objec- 
 tion is raised," he went on, " I'll change the charge 
 to disorderly conduct and impose a small fine, pro-
 
 104 Slaves of Success 
 
 vided the suggestion is made by the city prosecutor. 
 There ought not to be any trouble about that." 
 
 Carroll tried to explain that the prosecutor for 
 that court was in an awkward position ; that it was 
 a matter of political expediency alone, but he could 
 not venture to make such a recommendation. The 
 justice was instantly suspicious. 
 
 " If you can't convince him, you can't convince 
 me," he announced. " I don't like the looks of the 
 thing. You're trying to mislead me." 
 
 Carroll protested that he had no thought of ask- 
 ing anything that was wrong or unreasonable, but 
 the justice held to his decision : he would do noth- 
 ing without the recommendation of the city prose- 
 cutor. Even if his own judgment dictated the 
 action he was asked to take, after he became con- 
 versant with all the facts, he would hesitate, for 
 the public had become suspicious of all such things, 
 and every public official was under scrutiny. He 
 had been criticized in cases where his course was 
 absolutely justified, and, no matter what his personal 
 opinions or personal inclinations might be, he would 
 not assume the responsibility for changing a charge 
 except on the motion of the proper law officer. 
 
 " That means the grand jury for Haggin," 
 growled Carroll, as he left the justice's house,
 
 The Slavery of a Boss 105 
 
 " and the grand jury for Haggin means the grand 
 jury for other people. Confound it! Wade has 
 got to come down to earth and do something ! " 
 
 It was getting late now. Many hours had many 
 people spent working earnestly in behalf of Dick 
 Haggin, handy man, and he was still behind the 
 bars. Was it possible that a spasmodic reform 
 agitation had made the strongest " pull " valueless ? 
 Never before had it been so difficult to get " a good 
 man " out of trouble, especially when the prosecut- 
 ing witness was inclined to be so reasonable. 
 
 Wade was reading in his library when Carroll 
 arrived in a cab, and Wade instantly surmised what 
 was wanted. Except during a campaign, evening 
 calls from Carroll were infrequent, and the earlier 
 conference with Bogan was still fresh in his mem- 
 ory. He had expected Bogan to go to Carroll. 
 Evidently Carroll had been unable to adjust matters. 
 
 "Wade," said Carroll, "we've got to get that 
 man Haggin out, and I've done my share," 
 
 " You'll have to do it all," said Wade. 
 
 ' The justice is all right," persisted Carroll, " but 
 he's afraid to act alone just now. All he asks is 
 that certain forms shall be observed. If the city 
 prosecutor will " 
 
 " The city prosecutor won't," interrupted Wade.
 
 io6 Slaves of Success 
 
 " I told Bogan that, and I mean it. I'm no angel, 
 Carroll, but I draw the line at standing between 
 the law and the thug." 
 
 " You've done worse," said Carroll, and Wade 
 winced. He was an adept in the deceit and subter- 
 fuge and trickery of politics, and some of his 
 methods of gaining power over others were not 
 compatible with a high sense of honour, but this 
 was quite another matter. To refuse to interfere 
 with the administration of justice, when others did 
 not hesitate, gave him a feeling of righteousness 
 and made other offences seem insignificant. It was 
 one thing to " play politics " and quite another to 
 protect crime. 
 
 " Do you know who Haggin is ? " asked Carroll, 
 when he found that Wade did not intend to answer 
 his last thrust. 
 
 " No, and I don't care." 
 
 " Perhaps you do," said Carroll, and his voice 
 had a sinister tone. " Haggin is Dan Nally to 
 some people." 
 
 Wade was startled. Dan Nally had been mixed 
 up in some election frauds. 
 
 " The police never caught him because they 
 never had a good description of him by that name," 
 Carroll explained. " They know Dick Haggin, but
 
 The Slavery of a Boss 107 
 
 they don't know Dan Nally. Do you see now why 
 Bogan is so worried? If Dan Nally talks, it's all 
 day with Bogan and some others that you and I 
 need." 
 
 "Let Bogan take care of himself!" exclaimed 
 Wade. " Do you know what it means if you and I 
 mix up in this case and the public ever finds out 
 who the man is ? " 
 
 " I know what it means if we don't," retorted 
 Carroll. " It means that he'll talk the moment he 
 finds he's deserted, that he'll bring in others. He 
 won't reach you, Wade, but his friends will, and 
 the friends of the others will. They'll know how 
 he was sacrificed and they won't forget it. They'll 
 know who could have saved him and them, and you 
 won't be ace-high to a yellow dog in a district that 
 you and I rule now." 
 
 Wade got up and walked back and forth. He 
 had had nothing to do, even indirectly, with the 
 frauds in question, but the district was one where 
 men " stood by one another " and regarded inac- 
 tivity as treachery. The local leaders were influ- 
 ential. If any one failed to be loyal to them, ac- 
 cording to their understanding of loyalty, he would 
 be put down as an enemy. On the other hand, 
 the very thing that made it important to get his
 
 io8 Slaves of Success 
 
 man out made it dangerous to interfere. If the facts 
 ever became known, Wade would be regarded as 
 a party to the original fraud, and he prided himself 
 on having " clean hands " in this respect, as he not 
 infrequently asserted. Political expediency might 
 point to one course, but personal inclination and 
 safety pointed to another. The lower associations 
 of politics were repugnant to him, anyway. 
 
 " I said before, and I say again," he announced 
 at last, " that I won't lift a finger to protect a conv 
 mon thug." 
 
 " My God ! Wade, can't you see the conse- 
 quences ? " cried Carroll. 
 
 " I don't care a rap for the consequences," re- 
 torted Wade, angrily. Then he added, more 
 quietly : " You and I are supposed to be bosses, 
 Carroll, but we're slaves. To hold our power we 
 have to do' a whole lot of things that we don't 
 want to do, and that we know we ought not to do. 
 We're slaves to the men we think we boss. We have 
 to watch out for them, protect them, and do their 
 bidding in most of the affairs of life, or we can't 
 rule them in politics. That's philosophizing, Car- 
 roll, and you may not understand it, but you'll 
 understand this: I've reached the limit; I've 
 monkeyed with my little warped conscience all that
 
 The Slavery of a Boss 109 
 
 I dare. Bogan will have to handle his own crime 
 business. Is that plain enough?" 
 
 " I think you're a fool," was Carroll's reply ; but 
 both men spoke bluntly in the course of their occa- 
 sional disagreements, and their alliance did not 
 suffer thereby. They could not afford to let it 
 suffer. 
 
 Carroll abandoned active work for that night, but 
 he did a good deal of thinking. It was a desperate 
 situation. While he was no more implicated in the 
 actual frauds than Wade, he had a deeper interest 
 in the men who were implicated, and he had no 
 scruples against interfering with the law so long 
 as he incurred no penalty. Bogan was his kind of 
 a man a man whom he could use and there 
 were others like Bogan who were in danger. They 
 represented a considerable element of his political 
 strength in one district. 
 
 In consequence Carroll was astir earlier than 
 usual the next morning, and had a brief conference 
 with Bogan before the time for the opening of the 
 police court. Bogan plainly showed his anxiety. 
 The affair was beginning to look very serious, for 
 no one could say when Dick Haggin might be recog- 
 nized as Dan Nally, which would end all possibility 
 of escape. And Haggin was in no pleasant frame
 
 no Slaves of Success 
 
 of mind. He could not understand why his release 
 was so long delayed. 
 
 Bogan went from Carroll to the police court and 
 drew the assistant city prosecutor to one side. 
 Court had not yet opened, but the presecutor was 
 looking over the docket. 
 
 " That case against Haggin," said Bogan, " is 
 a mistake. I've explained it to the judge, and on 
 your motion to change the charge to disorderly 
 he'll let him go with a fine." 
 
 " It's robbery here," said the lawyer, looking at 
 the docket, " and there's a witness against him 
 besides the police." 
 
 " The witness won't object," asserted Bogan. 
 " The man ought never to have been booked on 
 that charge." 
 
 " In that case, let the justice change it," returned 
 the lawyer. 
 
 " As a matter of form, he wants the motion to 
 come from the prosecution," Bogan explained. 
 
 " I'm not making motions of that kind," said 
 the lawyer. 
 
 " Wade told me to tell you it's all right," was 
 Bogan's next cheerful lie. 
 
 The lawyer looked up at him sharply. He was 
 grateful to Wade, and he had confidence in him.
 
 The Slavery of a Boss ill 
 
 Wade would not ask him to do anything that would 
 get him into trouble, for he knew how small an 
 excuse would be required to separate him from his 
 job. And such changes were frequently justifiable. 
 But the docket showed that the victim would appear 
 against this man. 
 
 " Have you a note from Wade ? " asked the 
 lawyer. 
 
 " Do you think he'd put such a request in writ- 
 ing?" retorted Bogan, thus making a grievous 
 mistake; for the lawyer immediately decided that 
 the favour asked was not such an innocent one as 
 Bogan would have it appear. 
 
 " I don't believe Wade knows anything about 
 it," he said. " If he does, he can telephone me." 
 
 " I'll have you out of this job," threatened Bogan, 
 losing his temper. An alderman is not accustomed 
 to such hard knocks as this one had been receiving 
 since the previous evening. 
 
 " For refusing to change a felony to a misde- 
 meanour ? " asked the lawyer, coolly. " In the 
 present state of public feeling you couldn't do me a 
 greater favour than to make the facts public." 
 
 A month before, Bogan reflected, as he hurried to 
 Haggin's cell, the influence already brought to bear 
 would have given freedom to half a dozen men
 
 112 Slaves of Success 
 
 without the public being any the wiser for it; and 
 now, when it was most important to secure results, 
 a reform scare had everything tied up tight. But 
 he spoke confidently to Haggin. The right people 
 had taken the matter up, he said, but circumstances 
 made it necessary to act with caution. They might 
 have to wait until the case got out of the police 
 court before acting. Then he took the risk of 
 calling Wade up on the telephone. 
 
 " It's all up to you," he told him. " Everything 
 is arranged, and a word to the prosecutor will settle 
 the business. Shall I call him to the 'phone ? " 
 
 " No," replied Wade. 
 
 Bogan tried to argue, but Wade rang off. Then 
 Bogan swore volubly and forcefully, and the tenor 
 of his remarks was to the effect that, no matter what 
 happened, John Wade should have reason to regret 
 his refusal to help out a good man. A drink in a 
 near-by refectory served to calm the excited alder- 
 man sufficiently to enable him to return to the court- 
 room without exciting comment. 
 
 Even as he entered, Dick Haggin, handy man, 
 was being held to the grand jury. 
 
 Wade breathed more easily when he heard the 
 news. Whatever the sacrifice, he had held stead- 
 fastly to his principles, and it was somewhat pleasing
 
 The Slavery of a Boss 113 
 
 to find that he still had principles. Furthermore, he 
 did not believe they would impose any real loss upon 
 him. The scandal, if it came, would not touch 
 him personally, and those most imbittered by his 
 course were not likely to have much time for 
 schemes of revenge. Carroll might sulk a little, 
 merely for effect, but Carroll was a practical man 
 who looked out for his own interests, and their 
 alliance was not one of sentiment. Nor would 
 the rank and file of the party in the district affected 
 remain true very long to lost leaders of a lost cause. 
 All in all, he could see where there was a chance of 
 gaining, instead of losing, prestige. But Wade, the 
 astute, overlooked one little thing: the game was 
 not finished. Haggin was in the county jail, await- 
 ing trial, but he was still only Haggin. Until he 
 became Dan Nally there was hope, and hope meant 
 earnest effort. His friends were true to him. They 
 had been told that Wade had proved false, and 
 Wade had felt the effect, for the local leaders, who 
 had the deepest interest in the man's escape, were 
 still in power. Somehow he had expected that 
 little detail of the " machine " to crumble and give 
 him a chance to reconstruct. If it did not, his princi- 
 ples were likely to weaken him more than he had 
 anticipated. But he was sure the crash would come
 
 114 Slaves of Success 
 
 in time, for Haggin would never go to the peni- 
 tentiary without taking others with him. Wade 
 had nothing personally against these men, but the 
 view they took of his course made their political 
 destruction necessary for his preservation. And 
 he was surprised to find himself criticized in 
 quarters where he had least expected it. As a 
 matter of political expediency many of those on 
 the inside held that Haggin should have been 
 rescued at any cost. Of course, these were friends 
 of others in jeopardy, but Wade did not know that 
 the latter had friends in so many places. In brief, 
 he began to worry. 
 
 Then came Senator Abbey post-haste from 
 Springfield. Senator Abbey was from the district 
 where the trouble was brewing, and he was a man 
 of some influence in the Legislature. He worked 
 with the " machine," but he was in a position to 
 exercise independent judgment, and neither Car- 
 roll nor Wade could claim him as " his man." 
 Therefore he was a man to be propitiated in any 
 reasonable way. 
 
 Senator Abbey was white-hot when he found 
 Wade so hot that he did not greet him with the 
 deference due to his party power. 
 
 " You've played hell ! " he announced, shortly.
 
 The Slavery of a Boss 115 
 
 " Here's this man held to the grand jury, indicted, 
 and his case coming to trial in a day or so, and I 
 never heard of it until now." 
 
 " Why should you hear of it ? " asked Wade. 
 
 " Why should I hear of it ! " cried the Senator. 
 " It's in my Senatorial district, isn't it? Do you 
 think I want that torn wide open ? This thing has 
 got to be fixed ! " 
 
 " Well, fix it," retorted Wade. " Some of you 
 people seem to think you can do anything, flirt 
 with any kind of lawlessness or crime, and then 
 call on me. Where did you get the idea that I was 
 under the orders of every fool who wants to make 
 a convenience of me ? " 
 
 " You're a nice kind of a man to be asking favours 
 of the party ! " exclaimed the Senator, sarcastically. 
 " What kind of a chance do you think you've got 
 of going to the United States Senate? Why, a 
 turtle could make a better run than you after 
 this!" 
 
 " Who said I wanted to go to the Senate ? " de- 
 manded Wade. 
 
 " Oh, it isn't generally known, but there are a few 
 wise ones at Springfield who can see things when 
 their eyes are open," returned the Senator. " You 
 haven't been framing things up for the mere joy
 
 1 1 6 Slaves of Success 
 
 of doing it. But there's one thing sure: you can 
 straighten this tangle or consider eight or ten votes 
 lost to you at the very least. You know me! " 
 
 Senator Abbey quiescent would count for only 
 one vote, but Senator Abbey active could ring up 
 several votes one way or the other. He was strong 
 in the State Senate, and the members of the Lower 
 House from the same district would feel much as 
 he did, and be guided largely by his course. An- 
 other election would intervene before the culmina- 
 tion of Wade's plan; but some, and possibly all, 
 of these men would be returned. Abbey would be 
 reflected almost to a certainty, even if the power 
 of some of the district leaders crumbled. 
 
 Wade thought of all this as he looked dreamily 
 out of the window. He had not expected Spring- 
 field to take so deep an interest in the matter, and 
 it made his " principles " look more costly than he 
 had believed possible. The one great ambition of 
 his life might rest on the decision of that mo- 
 ment. 
 
 " Are you with me? " he asked at last. 
 
 " Conditionally," replied the Senator, and Wade 
 nodded. He knew what it meant. Politics is like 
 speculation on a board of trade ; it does not take a 
 spoken or a written word to make a bargain. " You
 
 The Slavery of a Boss 117 
 
 will be stronger in the Legislature and in my district 
 than you ever were before," the Senator added. 
 
 " The case will come to trial before Judge Lam- 
 son," Wade mused. " Lamson is one of the few 
 politicians on the bench. Lamson is ambitious. 
 Lamson is always grateful for favours yet to come. 
 Lamson knows how he happens to be a jud^e. I 
 shall lunch with Lamson to-morrow, Senator, and 
 I shall be glad to see you a little later." 
 
 The Senator was on hand promptly, and he found 
 Wade in a reflective mood. 
 
 " I am a boss," said Wade, with whimsical bit- 
 terness. " The newspapers say so and the people 
 say so. I rule, but there is no man among those 
 I rule who has not more independence than I. The 
 one little principle that I had nurtured for my own 
 gratification is taken from me by a common thug. 
 I bow supinely to him; he is my master." 
 
 " What becomes of him? " broke in the Senator. 
 
 " Oh, as to that," replied Wade, " he has been 
 wise to keep his mouth shut so long. Bogan and 
 Bradley can work a pardon from the House of 
 Correction, and that's where he will be sent. Some- 
 how the judge does not seem to think him a proper 
 candidate for the penitentiary. The judge is a
 
 1 1 8 Slaves of Success 
 
 warm-hearted and sympathetic man, Senator, and 
 he knows how to change the necessary switch to 
 run a fellow off the penitentiary track. He has done 
 it before."
 
 V. 
 A STRATEGICAL DEFEAT 
 
 BEN CARROLL was a warrior, John Wade was a 
 strategist, and Helen R. Trumbull was a very clever 
 woman. It naturally followed that there was 
 trouble when their interests clashed. 
 
 Secure in his own strength, Carroll was rough 
 and aggressive. He had no use for women in 
 politics, and he had no hesitation in saying so. 
 Wade took much the same view of the matter, but 
 he did not say so. When there were enemies to be 
 made, Wade was quite willing to permit Carroll to 
 do the making. It was not that Wade could not be 
 forceful and uncompromising when there was 
 occasion, for he had tamed many strong men, but 
 he chose to avoid the necessity as far as possible. 
 Carroll said they didn't want any petticoats mixed 
 up in State politics, while Wade used more diplo- 
 matic language. 
 
 " In politics," said Wade, " women may be 
 119
 
 I2O Slaves of Success 
 
 divided into three classes. First, there is the politi- 
 cian, and there is no more unscrupulous politician 
 living than an ambitious woman. Second, there 
 is the impressionable dame who acts on impulse, 
 and no living man can tell what she will do in any 
 situation. Third, there is the aggressively independ- 
 ent creature who believes in herself absolutely, and 
 you might as well talk to a stone wall as to talk to 
 her after her mind is made up. The first is treacher- 
 ous, the second is unreliable, and the third is un- 
 certain." 
 
 " To which class does this Mrs. Trumbull be- 
 long? " asked Carroll. 
 
 " The third, I think," replied Wade. " I do not 
 understand that she has any wish to rival man in 
 politics, so you won't find her scheming for personal 
 or party advantage, and she is not the kind of a 
 woman who will judge of a measure by the smile 
 or the moustache or the deferential manner of the 
 man who introduces it. So she must come in the 
 third classification. She has been quite active in 
 charitable matters, and is on the boards of several 
 institutions. She is not going to be easy to con- 
 vince." 
 
 " Why nominate her? " asked Carroll. 
 
 " Her husband," said Wade, " is John N. Trum-
 
 A Strategical Defeat 121 
 
 bull, and you don't have to be told that John N. 
 Trumbull is a man of considerable influence. John 
 is very proud of his wife. Some men prefer to 
 keep their wives out of public life, but John doesn't. 
 A few years ago he might have taken a different 
 view of the thing, but she has gained an enviable 
 reputation as a woman of sense, practical sympa- 
 thies, and executive ability. It cannot be denied 
 that she has done a great deal of good in educational 
 and charitable lines, and he has come to think that 
 her election as a trustee of the State University 
 would be no more than a fitting recognition of her 
 services. It is an honour that he wishes her to have. 
 Now, you may think it wise to offend John, but I 
 don't. Besides, we have no great use for the Board 
 of Trustees of the State University." 
 
 " There is something doing there once in awhile," 
 grumbled Carroll. 
 
 " Nothing of any great importance," returned 
 Wade. " And you ought to be the last man to 
 create any disturbance at this time, Carroll. It is 
 your plan to nominate Tim Mather for Clerk of the 
 State Supreme Court, and there is going to be the 
 devil of a row over that. Tim is no man for the 
 place. He hasn't the kind of a record that will 
 make the judges trust him, for the clerk of that
 
 122 Slaves of Success 
 
 court has the custody of decisions, and advance 
 knowledge of them that can be used advantageously 
 in some instances. There will be a great roar about 
 that. I have an idea that nothing but the presence 
 of Trumbull's wife on the same ticket will keep 
 Trumbull's mouth shut. He will hesitate to be very 
 aggressive when success depends so largely on 
 you." 
 
 " You have a great head, Wade," Carroll asserted, 
 admiringly. 
 
 So Helen R. Trumbull became a trustee of the 
 State University, and Tim Mather became Clerk 
 of the State Supreme Court, but in both cases there 
 was dissatisfaction. The outcry against Mather 
 was long and loud, but Trumbull's voice was not 
 heard in public, although privately he was very 
 bitter. As he was a lawyer, he had a deeper interest 
 in the matter than many others who did not hesitate 
 to make themselves heard. 
 
 " Why don't you speak out ? " some one asked 
 him during the campaign. 
 
 "What's the use?" he replied, weakly, "the 
 nomination is made. Of course I shall vote against 
 him." 
 
 " Will you authorize me to make that fact 
 public?"
 
 A Strategical Defeat 123 
 
 " Noo. It wouldn't do any good. He'll run 
 behind the ticket, but he can't fail to be elected." 
 
 In the case of Mrs. Trumbull, there could be no 
 doubt of the dissatisfaction of Carroll. He permitted 
 her to be nominated as a matter of political expe- 
 diency, but the permission was not given graciously. 
 He was not a successful dissembler, even when he 
 saw the wisdom of trying to dissemble, and he was 
 in no sense a ladies' man. In his effort to hide the 
 fact that he was not at ease in the society of ladies 
 he was brusque almost to the point of discourtesy, 
 thinking that he thereby gave an impression of 
 independence and strength. Mrs. Trumbull saw 
 little of him, and she was not favourably impressed 
 by the little she saw. There was nothing personal 
 in his ill-concealed feeling of antagonism, for she 
 had heard him excuse another's affront to a woman 
 then serving on the board, by asking, roughly, 
 "Well, what's she doing in politics, anyway?" 
 By nature and training he was opposed to the whole 
 idea, but he had to be quiescent. Trustees were 
 elected for a term of six years, a third of the full 
 board of nine being named at each biennial election, 
 and a precedent had been established for putting up 
 one woman and two men each time. Carroll felt 
 that this " fool precedent," as he termed it, robbed
 
 124 Slaves of Success 
 
 him of some of the fruits of political success, but 
 Wade had made it plain that Mrs. Trumbull would 
 have to be accepted in this instance. So Carroll 
 remained passive, although his resentment was not 
 unobserved by those most interested. 
 
 Wade, on the other hand, made the best of the 
 situation. He also preferred men to women in 
 politics, and he also feared that Mrs. Trumbull 
 would prove a very difficult proposition, but the 
 office was politically unimportant, and there was 
 no reason to believe that any of his plans ever 
 would depend upon her influence or vote. The 
 custody and investment of the funds of the univer- 
 sity involved some business favours that it was 
 within the power of the board to grant or with- 
 hold, and there was a trifling amount of patronage 
 connected with the business administration of the 
 institution, but for the practical politician there was 
 little to be expected. So, when Wade discovered 
 that John Trumbull was ambitious for his wife, he 
 readily saw that greater advantage lay in champion- 
 ing her cause than in opposing it. The nomination 
 would be a popular one so popular, in fact, that 
 it would require considerable work to defeat it, and 
 the man responsible for defeat would incur the 
 enmity of many women, and of at least one man
 
 A Strategical Defeat 125 
 
 with influence. While Wade was opposed to woman 
 in politics, he knew the advantage of having the 
 championship of the woman who passes her senti- 
 ments to her husband with his breakfast coffee. 
 She does not care much about voting, but whenever 
 she feels deeply, her views are very likely to be re- 
 flected by some one who does vote. Wade wanted 
 to stand well in her estimation, and he wanted to 
 stand well in the estimation of John Trumbull. 
 He saw the course events were taking some time 
 before he had his conversation with Carroll, and 
 he straightway made arrangements to be the first at 
 the goal. In other words, having learned how Mr. 
 Trumbull felt about it before any definite plans were 
 made, he hastened to suggest Mrs. Trumbull's can- 
 didacy. 
 
 " To be a trustee of the State University," he 
 told Trumbull, " is an honour of which any woman 
 may well be proud. There has been some incidental 
 mention of your wife in that connection, but nothing 
 definite as yet." 
 
 " I believe there has been some talk of it at the 
 Woman's Qub," admitted Trumbull, beaming with 
 gratification. 
 
 " An indorsement by the Woman's Club would be 
 an excellent thing," returned Wade, "but it isn't
 
 126 Slaves of Success 
 
 really necessary. Your wife is so widely and 
 favourably known as a result of her charitable work, 
 that she practically has the indorsement of the whole 
 public. If I have your assurance that she will ac- 
 cept the nomination, I think that I can promise you 
 positively that it will be given to her. At any rate, 
 I shall be glad to interest myself actively in the 
 matter, for I am one of her sincere admirers." 
 
 With years of training Carroll would not have 
 been equal to this bit of diplomacy, and Wade had 
 not deemed it necessary to tell him about it when 
 explaining why the nomination would have to be 
 made. There were other and better ways of in- 
 ducing Carroll to take the right view of the matter. 
 But Wade had made his point; he had earned the 
 gratitude of a valuable man simply by making the 
 best of an unsatisfactory situation, and he followed 
 this up by making a favourable impression upon 
 the valuable man's wife. It was a comparatively 
 small matter; there were other nominations in 
 which both he and Carroll had a much deeper 
 interest; but Wade had gained many advantages 
 by giving attention to the minor details of a cam- 
 paign. So far as outward bearing went, he was a 
 gentleman. The exigencies of practical politics 
 might lead him to do a great many ungentlemanly
 
 A Strategical Defeat 127 
 
 things, but he knew how to be deferential and 
 courteous, and he exerted himself to the utmost to 
 be " clever " to Mrs. Trumbull in the little inter- 
 course he had with her during and after the cam- 
 paign. He made helpful suggestions, he exerted 
 himself to be obliging, he was the first to congratu- 
 late her on her nomination, and the first to send 
 her definite news of her election, he adjourned a com- 
 mittee meeting when he learned that she was wait- 
 ing to see him, he arranged for an informal 
 conference with other members of the Board of 
 Trustees. 
 
 " I have heard such disagreeable things about 
 him," she told her husband, " that it is a delightful 
 surprise to find him so much of a gentleman. He 
 is totally unlike that uncouth Carroll." 
 
 But Mrs. Trumbull could be gracious without 
 being weak. She showed her appreciation of courte- 
 sies extended without being blind to the duties of 
 her position. She had been elected to office to use 
 her own judgment, and she would not accept any 
 one's assurance that " it's all right." She wanted to 
 know for herself the reason for this or that action ; 
 she had to be convinced, and she was not easy to 
 convince. Those who had dealings with the board 
 found her as coldly practical as a man, and she had
 
 128 Slaves of Success 
 
 the advantage of being able to give her whole time 
 to her duties, while the men had other interests 
 to claim the greater share of their attention. They 
 did not think they were careless, but they were, for 
 they did not seek to remedy the unbusinesslike 
 conditions that they found to exist. Why should 
 they? No one was complaining, and it was much 
 easier to accept things as they were. 
 
 To attempt any radical change would be a thank- 
 less task, calling for time and labour on the part of 
 some individual member of the board, and there 
 was no feeling of individual responsibility. An 
 impersonal board was responsible. An impersonal 
 board can follow the methods of other impersonal 
 boards when an individual would not dare to do so. 
 And some members of this board had been slightly 
 inoculated with the germ of politics. 
 
 But Mrs. Trumbull cared nothing at all about 
 politics, and she did care about investigating every- 
 thing that was to be investigated. The university 
 trusteeship was no minor consideration with her; 
 it was all-important. She worried the men. 
 
 " I would like to know more about the finances 
 of the institution," she announced one day. 
 
 " We have the treasurer's report," explained one 
 of the other trustees.
 
 A Strategical Defeat 129 
 
 " The treasurer is a private banker," she re- 
 turned. " He is supposed to have in his possession 
 valuable negotiable securities belonging to the uni- 
 versity. Has he got them ? " 
 
 " Why, of course." 
 
 " I'd like to see them." Some of the other trus- 
 tees looked disgusted and weary. 
 
 " As near as I can make out," Mrs. Trumbull 
 went on, " the auditing of the treasurer's reports 
 has been no more than a formality for several years. 
 We are informed that he has made certain invest- 
 ments, that he holds various securities, but what 
 proof is there of it? " 
 
 " Interest and dividends have been paid 
 promptly." 
 
 " Well, I'd like to see something that represents 
 the principal," she asserted. 
 
 " I have no doubt," said Trustee Atkinson, sarcas- 
 tically, " that if Mrs. Trumbull will go to Mr. 
 Hackley at his Chicago bank, he will be pleased to 
 give her all the evidence necessary to reassure her. 
 But I am willing to rely on his business reputation, 
 backed by his bond as treasurer." 
 
 Mrs. Trumbull looked to see whether she had 
 the support of any other trustee, but one only was
 
 130 Slaves of Success 
 
 nodding gravely and thoughtfully, and even he did 
 not speak. 
 
 " Very well," she said at last. " I shall object 
 to accepting the treasurer's report until this board 
 knows of its own knowledge that the securities are 
 where they are supposed to be, and I shall make 
 public the reasons for my action." 
 
 There was a mild sensation when a rumour of 
 what had happened at the university reached 
 Chicago. Action on the treasurer's report had been 
 deferred for two weeks, and an effort was made 
 to hush the matter up temporarily, but a hint was 
 given to some of those interested. Wade only 
 laughed, but Carroll swore. Carroll received his 
 first information from Treasurer Hackley, and 
 Treasurer Hackley was very excited. 
 
 " It will bust the bank," he said. 
 
 " What ! " cried Carroll, " haven't you got those 
 securities ? " 
 
 "Not all of them," replied Hackley, "but I'll 
 have them within sixty days. I used them to secure 
 a claim that was making trouble for me just to 
 tide over, you know. It's been a pretty hard time 
 for the small banks, and I had some losses, but 
 I'm coming out all right now. Just keep her away 
 for sixty days. You can do it."
 
 A Strategical Defeat 131 
 
 "Not for me!" retorted Carroll. "You don't 
 catch me in any banking scandals. It's risky enough 
 for me in politics." 
 
 " You're on my bond, Carroll," suggested 
 Hackley. 
 
 " I'd like to break your neck ! " roared Carroll. 
 
 " I gave you a little stock for your good offices 
 in that and some other matters," persisted Hackley. 
 " If I go up now, you're caught two ways as 
 a stockholder in the bank and as one of my bonds- 
 men. You'd better see what you can do." 
 
 Carroll said many harsh things, but he went to 
 the bank with Hackley and investigated the situa- 
 tion. He didn't know much about banking, but 
 there seemed to be a fair chance for Hackley to pull 
 through, and Carroll promised to see what could be 
 done. A little delay, he told himself, might enable 
 him to get rid of his interest in the bank, and pos- 
 sibly would give him a chance to get off the bond. 
 But it would not do for him to appear in the matter 
 personally. 
 
 Carroll went to Wade first, for he fully appre- 
 ciated the fact that Wade was the strategist and 
 possessed the ingenious resourcefulness necessary 
 in such a situation. He stated frankly that he 
 wanted the proposed investigation postponed. Wade
 
 132 Slaves of Success 
 
 did not ask why ; he could make a good guess, and 
 it occurred to him that his time had come to speak 
 out plainly. He knew inferentially that what was 
 asked of him was not honest, but he could easily 
 console what was left of his conscience with the 
 thought that it might save the bank and the bank's 
 depositors. Besides, he was ready to sacrifice some- 
 thing in playing for a big stake. 
 
 " There are three ways that it might be done, 
 but none of them is sure," he said. 
 
 " What are they? " asked Carroll. " I can think 
 of only one." 
 
 Wade waited a moment, and then asked, " What 
 do I get out of it, Carroll ? " 
 
 " You know you can count on me for anything," 
 replied Carroll. 
 
 " I know that I can count on you for anything 
 that you can't dodge," retorted Wade. " I haven't 
 forgotten how you tried to turn me down in that 
 Craig matter." 
 
 " Ancient history," asserted Carroll. " What do 
 you want ? " 
 
 " I want to be United States Senator," said Wade, 
 deliberately. " You know that." 
 
 " I've seen some indications of it," admitted 
 Carroll. " A fellow who's watching politics gets
 
 A Strategical Defeat 133 
 
 to know things without being told. But that's for 
 the next Legislature to settle." 
 
 " No, it isn't," returned Wade. " It's for you and 
 me to settle right now. I've got things pretty well 
 framed up, Carroll, better than you know, and 
 I think I can make it. But I want you to take off 
 your coat and work for me ; I want your men in the 
 next Legislature to be my men." 
 
 Carroll scowled and hesitated, for certain of his 
 personal plans were affected. 
 
 " I'm pretty friendly to the man who wants to 
 succeed himself," he said, finally. 
 
 " No, you're not," retorted Wade, decisively. 
 " You're pretty friendly to Ben Carroll, and you 
 don't want to commit yourself until you see where 
 you can make the best deal. You think it's a little 
 early to tie yourself up, Carroll, but you've got to 
 do it." 
 
 The two men looked at each other as if each 
 would penetrate the inmost thoughts of the other. 
 Perhaps they did. At any rate, the moment of 
 silence seemed to clear the situation. 
 
 " Fix this thing up," said Carroll, " and I'll be 
 with you. What are the three ways ? " 
 
 " First, get a majority of the board on your side," 
 explained Wade. " Most of the members are satis-
 
 134 Slaves of Success 
 
 fied and do not want to be bothered, but the easiest 
 way to settle a disagreeable matter is to agree with 
 Mrs. Trumbull. Still, if one of them suggested a 
 specific date for an annual examination of the 
 finances of the institution, it may not be difficult to 
 compromise on that basis, and the date could be put 
 far enough ahead to suit your purpose. Second, 
 discourage Mrs. Trumbull. If she should drop the 
 matter, no one else would press it. Third, get 
 Hackley out of the way before any demand can be 
 made on him. The third is a last resort, for it 
 would create disagreeable comment, but it would 
 be temporarily effective. The securities and ac- 
 counts are in his personal custody and not in the 
 custody of the bank." 
 
 " I don't like that plan," said Carroll, for he 
 feared that, although there was no suspicion as 
 yet, Hackley's absence might create one. Besides, 
 Hackley's presence might be necessary to adjust 
 matters at his bank. " How would you discourage 
 Mrs. Trumbull?" 
 
 " She is more interested in her charities than in 
 anything else," said Wade. Then he added, sig- 
 nificantly : " A county board member was com- 
 plaining the other day of the number of waifs the 
 Home for Women has been delivering to the county.
 
 A Strategical Defeat 135 
 
 The Home for Women has a children's ward that 
 is overcrowded, but the county has nothing to do 
 with that. The doorstep of the Home for Women 
 seems to be a favourite place for those who wish to 
 desert babies. Why should the county take them? 
 Mrs. Trumbull would do almost anything rather 
 than have her pet institution and the babies suffer." 
 
 " That ought to bring her to time, if she under- 
 stood it," admitted Carroll, " and she could be made 
 to understand it through her husband. Higbie could 
 see to that. And she can't expect us to be clever 
 to her if she makes trouble for us. But well, I'd 
 rather do it some other way." 
 
 " I'm advising nothing," said Wade. " It's an 
 ugly situation for you, and I'm telling you what 
 can be done. The better way, of course, is to work 
 it through the Board of Trustees, for I can help you 
 personally in that plan." 
 
 As a result of the details Wade then gave various 
 things happened. Carroll had an unsatisfactory talk 
 with Trustee Atkinson. 
 
 " It's foolishness, of course," said Atkinson, " but 
 she has made such a rumpus about it that I don't 
 care to take the lead in any plan to postpone an 
 investigation, but you can count on my vote." 
 
 Higbie, acting under Carroll's instructions, had
 
 136 Slaves of Success 
 
 even less success with Trustee Jarvis, the man who 
 had given Mrs. Trumbull slight encouragement by 
 the grave and thoughtful way he had listened to 
 her at the previous meeting of the board. 
 
 " Mrs. Trumbull asked me," said Jarvis, " if I 
 would be satisfied with such methods in my own 
 business, and I had to admit that I would not. In 
 view of the circumstances I have decided that I 
 will vote for an immediate and thorough auditing 
 by the full board. It is a good idea to make it an 
 annual affair, but I shall be with Mrs. Trumbull in 
 her present demand." 
 
 Higbie also went to see Mr. Trumbull, but the 
 latter seemed to be only amused. 
 
 " If you think my wife is acting under my advice," 
 he said, " you are mistaken. I have given her cer- 
 tain information in relation to business methods, 
 when she has asked for it, but that is all. She is 
 running this thing herself, and she's a pretty smart 
 woman. I may say that I admire her myself," and 
 Mr. Trumbull chuckled pleasantly. It was a good 
 joke to him, but not to the others. 
 
 " Good Lord ! " cried Carroll, " is one woman 
 better and stronger than three men? Doesn't our 
 experience count for anything? Are we to be 
 crowded off the political earth by a bunch of petti-
 
 A Strategical Defeat 137 
 
 coats that doesn't know a ward meeting from a 
 charity board? Well, it's up to you, Wade." 
 
 So Wade went to see his country legislative 
 friend, Azro Craig, who happened to be very close 
 to Trustee Breen. But Craig had become suspi- 
 cious. 
 
 " You're all right, Jack," he said, " but you got 
 your fingers in too many pies. Why don't you let 
 folks look after their own business? " 
 
 Wade made a feeble explanation to the effect that 
 Mrs. Trumbull was unreasonable and that she would 
 have to be tamed in this instance or she would keep 
 the university board in a turmoil all the time. 
 
 " I ain't never got so foolish as to go into the 
 business of tamin' women," retorted Craig. 
 
 Wade persisted. There was nothing at stake, 
 he said, except a question of precedent and policy, 
 and all that was necessary was to get some one like 
 Breen to take the initiative. If Mrs. Trumbull won 
 now, it never would be possible to hold her down 
 to systematic procedure ; she would follow an erratic 
 fancy in everything and become a disturbing ele- 
 ment. 
 
 " When a lot of men are ag'in one woman," said 
 Craig, " I'm with the woman, an' I'm ashamed o' 
 you for bein' with the men. You ain't honest,
 
 138 Slaves of Success 
 
 either. You got reasons you ain't tellin' for mixin' 
 up here, an' I won't have nothin' to do with it." 
 
 It was a crestfallen trio that assembled in Chicago 
 when Wade made his report. Carroll kept mutter- 
 ing : " Three men against one woman, and the 
 men are powerless! Three wise politicians turned 
 down by a bunch of skirts ! " Then he insisted 
 desperately that something had to be done imme- 
 diately, for the next meeting of the trustees was to 
 be held in Chicago, instead of at the university, 
 within three days, and there was a chance that they 
 might go in a body to the bank. That was unlikely, 
 but they would almost certainly make some arrange- 
 ment for the examination of the securities. 
 
 " Tell Hackley to pack his grip," said Wade, 
 taking command, as he usually did at a critical 
 moment; "get immediate action on your waif 
 proposition, and I will see Mrs. Trumbull. It's a 
 risk, but I may be able to do something." 
 
 Wade had so successfully concealed his own 
 machinations that he was still on the most friendly 
 terms with Mrs. Trumbull, and he went to her 
 ostensibly as a friend. 
 
 " I may seem presumptuous, Mrs. Trumbull," 
 he told her, " but I can't help giving you a word of 
 warning. Frankly, there is a feeling that you are
 
 A Strategical Defeat 139 
 
 making a great deal of unnecessary trouble. In 
 your main contention you are quite right, but you 
 must have seen that even the trustees were disturbed 
 by your aggressiveness." 
 
 " I don't want to be unreasonable," she replied, 
 " but why should there be any objection to a proper 
 auditing of accounts?" 
 
 " There is none," he explained. " I have been at 
 some pains to investigate the matter, and I think 
 I understand it. By a little conciliation you can get 
 just what you wish without stirring up a spirit of 
 antagonism. Men don't like to be forced, especially 
 by one of less practical experience than themselves. 
 These are not my sentiments, Mrs. Trumbull ; I am 
 merely explaining the situation. Now, if you will 
 drop this matter temporarily, there will be no 
 objection to an arrangement for a thorough annual 
 auditing a little later. All can join in such a move- 
 ment a little more gracefully then. I admit that 
 your position is impregnable, and you can easily 
 force action at the next meeting, for the public might 
 misinterpret a refusal, but you will surely create a 
 bitterness that will be hurtful. The trustees won't 
 like it, and Mr. Hackley's many friends will believe 
 you are deliberately assailing his integrity. You 
 will find them retaliating in unexpected ways."
 
 140 Slaves of Success 
 
 " I don't want to be unreasonable," Mrs. Trum- 
 bull said again, " and I don't see why this matter 
 should make such a stir. But, if the dignity of my 
 masculine friends on the board demands it, I will 
 let the matter go over temporarily, provided Mr. 
 Hackley gives a new and suitable bond immediately." 
 
 A smile of satisfaction faded quickly from Wade's 
 face at the conclusion of this statement, and he 
 hastily asked what was the matter with the bond. 
 
 " It isn't large enough," replied Mrs. Trumbull. 
 " The amount was fixed when the funds and securi- 
 ties in his custody were far less than they are now. 
 And it isn't good enough, either. No bank or trust 
 company would accept it for half the amount, for 
 it would be a difficult matter to collect on it. The 
 only surety who really has anything is Carroll, and 
 he's too tricky to be safe. Oh, I know about that 
 bond ; I asked my husband a few questions, and then 
 I had it looked up." 
 
 " I don't think there will be any trouble about 
 the bond," said Wade. " You might suggest it at 
 the next meeting of the trustees, and no doubt it will 
 be easily arranged, if the other matter is dropped." 
 
 Mrs. Trumbull turned suddenly on Wade. 
 
 " Are you representing Mr. Hackley ? " she 
 asked.
 
 A Strategical Defeat 141 
 
 " Not at all," he answered. " I merely thought 
 that my practical experience in public matters might 
 be of some value to you." 
 
 " It is," she said, " and I am grateful to you for 
 your advice, although I don't understand the reason 
 for some of it. But this thing is sure : Mr. Hackley 
 will have to furnish a new and larger bond at the 
 next meeting of the trustees, or I shall stick to my 
 original demand. I shall see that he is notified of 
 my intention in time to have the bond ready. I 
 don't like some things about this at all, Mr. Wade." 
 
 " I don't blame you," replied Wade, promptly. 
 " It is making a big thing out of a trifle in which 
 you are technically right but diplomatically wrong." 
 
 Wade knew enough to say no more than that. 
 It would do no good, and he had no wish to lose 
 Mrs. Trumbull's friendship. But he told Carroll 
 and Higbie that three experienced politicians were 
 dangerously near to defeat by one comparatively 
 inexperienced woman. 
 
 " I'd rather tackle six men than one woman," he 
 said. 
 
 " Make it twenty men," growled Carroll. " Why, 
 just look at it. On that board there are six men and 
 three women. One of the women takes the bit in 
 her teeth, and the six men can't hold her. There
 
 142 Slaves of Success 
 
 are three more men right here, and they can't hold 
 her. Enough influences have been at work to swing 
 a Legislature, and she's dragging the whole bunch 
 like so much tissue-paper. No one wants to do 
 what she says, but every one is going to do it 
 except the other women, perhaps. We ought to 
 have got after the other women, Wade. We tried 
 all the men that we dared." 
 
 " Well, it's too late now," returned Wade. 
 "How about the waifs?" 
 
 "That's fixed," replied Carroll. "She'll have 
 enough to worry her pretty soon so that she may be 
 willing to forget about Hackley." 
 
 In truth, Mrs. Trumbull did have her hands full 
 the next day. Before she had finished breakfast 
 she had a telephone call from the Home for Women, 
 and was informed that the county had refused to 
 accept a waif that had been left on the doorstep 
 the preceding evening. 
 
 " What do you suppose is the reason of that ? " 
 she asked her husband. 
 
 " It looks to me like a bit of practical politics," 
 he replied. " I believe you've been rather unaccom- 
 modating, haven't you ? " 
 
 " Are they mean enough to retaliate on the 
 babies ? " she cried.
 
 A Strategical Defeat 143 
 
 " They may take the view that they are letting the 
 fate of the babies rest on you," he suggested. 
 
 " Oh, they are ! " she cried, with flashing eyes. 
 " Well, it's a despicable, mean, cowardly thing to 
 do, and I won't stand it for a minute ! " 
 
 " Don't," he advised, laughing ; for her aggres- 
 sive resourcefulness was a source of both amusement 
 and pride to him. His best advice was always at 
 her service, but he insisted upon taking a facetious 
 view of most of her problems. " Go after them ! " 
 he added. " My ! but I'd hate to be the President 
 of the County Board to-day ! " 
 
 Mrs. Trumbull went straight to the Home for 
 Women, where she learned that the police, to whom 
 it was customary to deliver waifs thus left, had 
 refused to take this one. Then, accompanied by 
 various other members of the board, she went to 
 the police station, where she was informed that the 
 police had no place for them, and the county would 
 no longer take them. The police were thereupon 
 absolved from all blame. They were willing to 
 send for them whenever the county would take them. 
 
 There were many indignant women at the con- 
 ference that followed, but none was more indig- 
 nant than Mrs. Trumbull, the chairman of the Board 
 of Directors for the Home for Women, for she felt
 
 144 Slaves of Success 
 
 a sense of personal responsibility. She could not 
 get rid of the idea of " retaliation," although she 
 could not see just what influences were at work. 
 She thought she knew, but she could not trace the 
 connection. She was full of determination, how- 
 ever; she positively would not be defeated by any 
 such trifling trick. When Mrs. Trumbull was full 
 of determination she was capable of strikingly 
 original and effective action, and the other women 
 laughed until the tears rolled down their cheeks 
 when she outlined her plan. 
 
 The County Board had a meeting that afternoon. 
 It had just been called to order when word was 
 brought in that some ladies wished to see the 
 President. Would they come in ? No ; there were 
 a number of them, and they would consider it a 
 favour if he would step to the door. He went, 
 followed by various curious members, and found 
 a group of women in the corridor, but he did not 
 see that they cleverly concealed a nurse with a 
 baby. 
 
 " Have you refused to accept any more found- 
 lings from the Home for Women ? " asked Mrs. 
 Trumbull. 
 
 "Yes," he replied. 
 
 "Why?"
 
 A Strategical Defeat 145 
 
 " Well, the county institutions are already pretty 
 full." 
 
 " But it is the duty of the county to take charge 
 of the waifs." 
 
 He laughed uneasily. 
 
 " Theoretically, that may be true," he admitted, 
 " but I do not see why we should take them from 
 such an institution as yours." 
 
 " We have very limited accommodations for 
 babies and children," she explained. " It is a 
 private charity that does the very best it can, but 
 there are five times as many foundlings left there 
 as we can possibly provide for." 
 
 " Well," he said, " if the county won't take them, 
 I don't see what you are going to do about it." 
 
 Mrs. Trumbull turned, took the baby from the 
 nurse and handed it to the President of the County 
 Board. The action was so sudden that he had the 
 little one in his arms before he realized what had 
 happened. 
 
 " We deliver that foundling to you as the repre- 
 sentative of the county," she said. 
 
 He tried to give it back, but every woman had 
 her hands behind her. And the men laughed. 
 
 " Take it," he pleaded. " I don't know what to 
 do with it."
 
 146 Slaves of Success 
 
 " The county does," said Mrs. Trumbull. 
 
 " But what can I do with it now ? " he argued, 
 plaintively. 
 
 " That's your affair," Mrs. Trumbull replied, 
 and the women turned to leave. 
 
 "Wait!" he cried, following them, while his 
 colleagues almost collapsed with laughter, and the 
 child began to cry. " Take it only take it now, 
 and the county will send for it." 
 
 "How about others in the future?" demanded 
 Mrs. Trumbull. 
 
 " The county will take them all, every one," he 
 promised. " We'll send chariots for them, if you 
 say so." 
 
 The nurse took the baby at a sign from Mrs. 
 Trumbull, and the women retired, but the news of 
 their exploit travelled rapidly. Wade simply had 
 to laugh when the story came to him, although he 
 appreciated the gravity of the situation. He was 
 in conference with Carroll and Hackley at the time. 
 Hackley should have left town the night before, but 
 he had delayed, and in consequence Mrs. Trumbull's 
 notice in relation to the demand for a new bond 
 had reached him. It would never do to leave now. 
 
 " It's just as well, anyway," he was saying, 
 bitterly. " I've got to stay here to avoid a wreck.
 
 A Strategical Defeat 147 
 
 I tell you, less than sixty days will make me all 
 right, but I've got to manage things myself. I've 
 got one investment that will pull me out as soon as 
 the deal goes through. You know what it is, 
 Carroll, for you " 
 
 Then it was that Higbie entered with the news. 
 
 " When it comes to strategy," commented Wade, 
 " give me a woman every time. You're beaten, 
 Carroll." 
 
 " How about you? " demanded Carroll. 
 
 " Oh, my skirts are clear of scandal," replied 
 Wade. " I'm not in the bank." But he knew he 
 was hurt in another way. 
 
 Then Hackley pulled himself together and spoke 
 almost fiercely. 
 
 " You've got to see me through, Carroll ! " he 
 said. " You're in the bank, and you're on my 
 bond. You'll be hit politically and financially if I 
 go down. It isn't much of an interest that you have 
 in the bank, but the books show that you got it with- 
 out the payment of a cent of cash. A new bond is 
 out of the question just now; I have got to produce 
 the securities, and you have got to redeem them for 
 me." 
 
 "Havel?" fumed Carroll. 
 
 " I think you have," put in Wade.
 
 148 Slaves of Success 
 
 " Then I can resign with dignity," added Hack- 
 ley. " You've got the cash, or can raise it, Carroll, 
 and you know on what I rely to pay " 
 
 " A speculation ! " interrupted Carroll. " It looks 
 good, but " 
 
 " But you've got to take the risk," interrupted 
 Wade. " Hackley is quite right about that." 
 
 Carroll gave Wade an angry look, but he sur- 
 rendered to the inevitable and the details were 
 settled. 
 
 " Woman in politics is an expensive luxury," he 
 growled, when the matter had been arranged. 
 
 " She is," admitted Wade; for had not Wade 
 lost a grip on some votes just when he thought he 
 was sure of them?
 
 VI. 
 
 A FAVOUR FOR A FRIEND 
 
 BEN CARROLL was worried. When anything of 
 a political or legislative nature worried Ben Carroll, 
 he usually sought out John Wade. Wade could do 
 things that Carroll could not, but he would not 
 always do them. Carroll feared that this might be 
 one of the things at which Wade would balk, for 
 the fact that there was boodle in it could not be con- 
 cealed from so experienced a politician. Wade, 
 financially honest himself, shut his eyes to boodling 
 frequently, but his influence and advice could be 
 secured only when it was very much to his political 
 advantage. Carroll could not see how the thing 
 he had in mind was going to be to Wade's advantage 
 in any way. 
 
 " I'll have to put up a strong bluff," said Carroll 
 to himself. " I can threaten to break with him and 
 rip open some of his schemes. But he's got to help 
 me. He's the only man who can put up the right 
 kind of a game for this job." 
 
 149
 
 150 Slaves of Success 
 
 So Carroll went to Wade. 
 
 " I've got to get Duncan's vote," he said. 
 
 " A hard job, if the measure isn't straight," 
 commented Wade. 
 
 " I know it," admitted Carroll, " but you can 
 land it, if you try." 
 
 " What's the scheme? " asked Wade. 
 
 Carroll explained it fully, and Wade gave him 
 a shrewd look. " You ought to get enough out of 
 that to retire, if you put it through," remarked 
 Wade. 
 
 " Oh, I'm doing it for a friend," explained 
 Carroll. 
 
 " Your pocketbook is your friend," returned 
 Wade. 
 
 Carroll knew that a denial would be wasted, so he 
 said nothing. He was holding himself for what 
 he termed " a strong talk," when that became 
 necessary, and he fully expected that it would be 
 necessary. In fact, he was rather surprised that 
 Wade would even make a pretence of considering 
 the matter. Still, Wade was always cautious, seek- 
 ing to understand a question thoroughly before 
 reaching a decision. But this seemed to be some- 
 thing that he ought to understand promptly. 
 
 " Why do you particularly need Duncan's vote? "
 
 A Favour for a Friend 151 
 
 asked Wade, after a moment of silence. " Why will 
 not some other do just as well ? " 
 
 " We do not need Duncan's vote so much as we 
 do an assurance that he won't antagonize us," was 
 Carroll's reply. " Duncan is a dangerous man, a 
 vicious fighter." 
 
 " No doubt about that," admitted Wade. 
 
 " We want him for us because we don't want 
 him against us, and he's sure to be one or the other. 
 He might bust the whole thing." 
 
 " He might," admitted Wade. " Possibly some 
 of your men would not stand well under fire." 
 
 Carroll nodded, to indicate that this was the 
 situation. Wade was silent for awhile, consider- 
 ing the matter. 
 
 " Well, Carroll," he said at last, with a significant 
 smile, " as you're doing this for a friend, I suppose 
 I ought to be willing to do as much. As a favour to 
 a friend I'll try to get your man for you." 
 
 Carroll was surprised at this ready acquiescence, 
 and not wholly untroubled by it. He had anticipated 
 difficulty in securing Wade's cooperation. 
 
 " I wonder," he soliloquized, " what his game 
 is. There is surely something in it for him some- 
 where." 
 
 Meanwhile, Wade was buried in thought and
 
 152 Slaves of Success 
 
 cigar smoke. The task he had undertaken was a 
 difficult one, requiring careful planning and skil- 
 ful execution. In a little time, however, he per- 
 fected a scheme that seemed to promise well. 
 
 His first act was to make, through Carroll, certain 
 preliminary arrangements with the men who were 
 behind Carroll; and, to do this, he had to take 
 Carroll partly into his confidence. He regretted the 
 necessity, for Carroll was not a discreet man, to be 
 trusted in a matter requiring such delicate han- 
 dling as this; but it could not be helped. Carroll, 
 strong politically in many ways, was a bungler 
 when it came to the clever manipulation of intelli- 
 gent men. However, in this case, he promised to 
 say and do nothing. 
 
 Next, Wade sought a certain middle-aged, sedate 
 man, with whom he had had dealings in the past. 
 
 " It is just the job for you," explained Wade. 
 " You're not known, and no one else can play the 
 part. Here's where your book-knowledge comes 
 into play." 
 
 " It would be interesting," admitted the man, 
 " but I don't like it. Duncan is too fine a man." 
 
 " That's what makes it interesting," urged 
 Wade. " The job requires cleverness. Still, the 
 ethical points of the scheme need not worry you, for
 
 A Favour for a Friend 153 
 
 all you've got to do is to sell him some land. Will 
 you do it, Denton? I've been a pretty good friend 
 to you, haven't I ? " 
 
 " It certainly would be interesting," repeated 
 Denton. 
 
 " And there's money in it," added Wade. 
 
 Denton was always hard up. He was naturally 
 a student, delighted in odd researches, but he never 
 had been able to make learning pay. His quick 
 brain, however, had been of use to Wade on several 
 occasions he knew how to find, absorb, and ar- 
 range anything that ever had been in print and 
 the campaign material he had occasionally provided 
 had been of immense value. He could get the 
 salient points in legislation for a period of years, 
 or in a man's record, and serve them up as a scath- 
 ing arraignment or a flattering eulogy. People 
 often wondered at the force and strength with 
 which Wade was able to express himself in an 
 emergency. At other times he seemed to lack this 
 brilliancy entirely. But Wade was asking service 
 of an entirely different nature now. 
 
 " A lot of money in it," said Wade, after waiting 
 for Denton to speak. 
 
 " Well, I'll try it," Denton decided. 
 
 " And remember," said Wade, " I want this man.
 
 154 Slaves of Success 
 
 The fact that he votes for this measure is not 
 enough: I shall want to use him later. Do you 
 see the point?" 
 
 " I think so." 
 
 " With reasonably clever management, you ought 
 to be able to turn over to me evidence of the con- 
 ditions under which you get him." 
 
 Denton looked up, troubled. 
 
 " You know I'm honest," declared Wade, de- 
 fensively. Financial honesty was all that Wade 
 ever considered. "I shall need his vote later; 
 that's all," he added. " You recollect, you got the 
 facts that enabled me to force Niedler into line 
 once. This is really the same kind of a case, only 
 it requires a little more work and a little more 
 caution." 
 
 This was sophistical and fallacious, and Denton 
 knew it. The two cases were entirely dissimilar, 
 for Niedler had been controlled by unearthing cer- 
 tain previous acts, while Duncan's past life was un- 
 assailable. Nevertheless, Denton decided that he 
 was not called upon to pass upon the ethical 
 features of the affair, but only to do the work and 
 earn the money. With the results of this work 
 he was not concerned. 
 
 " It will be most interesting," he said for the
 
 A Favour for a Friend 155 
 
 third time; "really quite exciting in a mild way. 
 I always did like games of cleverness." 
 
 Professor Ernest Gushing was writing a book. 
 Professor Ernest Gushing somewhat resembled 
 a certain Ernest Denton of Chicago, but that, of 
 course, is a matter of no importance. The exact 
 nature of the book Professor Gushing did not 
 divulge, but he intimated that some considerable 
 research was required to get the necessary material, 
 and he devoted a great deal of time to poring over 
 dusty volumes in the library at the State capital. 
 Occasionally he sought advice. He desired light 
 on some obscure point in the political history of 
 the State, and he turned to any one who happened 
 to be near for information. Where could he find a 
 record of the desired facts? He seemed to think 
 that every one at the capital, except himself, must 
 be familiar with the library and all the departments. 
 
 " I don't know much about politics," he would 
 explain, " but perhaps it is just as well. The expert 
 in any line writes only for the experts : no other 
 can understand him, for he cannot appreciate the 
 ignorance of the general public. One must not be 
 too far removed from the people he wishes to 
 address. Now, I have a fair general knowledge
 
 156 Slaves of Success 
 
 of my purpose, possibly an expert knowledge of 
 some features of it, but the difficulties I experi- 
 ence in mastering many details should put me in 
 sympathy with the unposted reader and enable me 
 to write a popular book." 
 
 It was evident from this that his work had some- 
 thing to do with State political history, but other 
 questions indicated researches in other directions 
 also. However, there was nothing in this to dis- 
 turb the legislators, or, in fact, any one with whom 
 he came in contact, so they accepted him as a kindly, 
 unsophisticated and interesting man, with a hobby. 
 
 And interesting he proved to be. He could talk 
 entertainingly on many subjects, while his dreamy, 
 unsuspicious nature made him a refreshing com- 
 panion in a city where nearly all others were sus- 
 picious and severely practical. 
 
 In time Senator Horace Duncan came to regard 
 him as a sort of protege. The Senator rather en- 
 joyed explaining the practical features of politics 
 and statesmanship to him, for he was a modest and 
 delightful listener, and his expressions of surprise 
 and admiration at the extent of the Senator's 
 knowledge in these directions were gratifying to 
 the vanity of even a prominent man in State and 
 party councils. The Professor's modesty and con-
 
 A Favour for a Friend 157 
 
 sideration for others would not permit him to seek 
 the Senator out, but he plainly showed his pleasure 
 when the Senator came to him in the library, and he 
 frequently asked his advice about knotty points in 
 his investigations. The Senator was a man of 
 learning himself, and was in the habit of using the 
 library more than any of his colleagues. Conse- 
 quently, there was a bond of sympathy between the 
 two. 
 
 One day the Senator found the Professor study- 
 ing a map of the State, and he asked, jokingly, if 
 geography was to be a feature of the book also. 
 
 " Not exactly a feature," replied the Professor, 
 " but one must be familiar with the geography of 
 the State that he writes about, and, besides, I have 
 been about all over it in my researches. Ichthyology 
 is one of my hobbies. I presume I have visited 
 every fish-stream in this State at one time or an- 
 other. It is most interesting." 
 
 The Professor let his pencil run idly over the 
 map, and finally made a dot near one corner of it. 
 
 " I spent two or three weeks there not long ago," 
 he said, " and I was sorry I didn't have some money 
 to invest. However, it's just as well. I probably 
 should have lost it."
 
 158 Slaves of Success 
 
 "Somebody try to sell you some land?" asked 
 the Senator. 
 
 " Oh, no ; but there is land to be had there, and 
 it's sure to be worth a lot of money later, if one 
 can afford to wait I've been waiting all my life, 
 so it would be easy for me if I had the money. 
 The thing to do is just to buy the land and forget 
 about it for a few years. That's what a man I met 
 up there told me. He was a most interesting 
 fellow." 
 
 " A land-shark, probably." 
 
 " Perhaps; but he was very convincing. Even 
 an ignoramus like myself could grasp the situation. 
 You see where the fork of the river comes." The 
 Professor indicated with his pencil. " Well, there 
 isn't anything but a little blacksmith's shop there 
 now, but there's sure to be a city there some day. 
 It's the best site for one anywhere in that vicinity, 
 and proper development of the surrounding country 
 is all that is needed." 
 
 "Any railroad?" 
 
 " No. That's the trouble. The character of the 
 country makes it rather difficult of access, but they 
 say a road is sure to come. It will go through that 
 territory to reach the district beyond. And the 
 people who make the big profits on such invest-
 
 A Favour for a Friend 159 
 
 merits, are the ones who get into the districts before 
 the railroads." 
 
 " That sounds like a real estate prospectus," 
 laughed the Senator. " The man you met there 
 must have told you that." 
 
 " Perhaps he did," replied the Professor, 
 thoughtfully. " I don't remember." 
 
 " Railroads don't always go where you expect 
 them to," continued the Senator, " and somehow 
 cities do not always seek the best sites." 
 
 " I suppose .you're right," admitted the Profes- 
 sor, " but I took an option on the land. I had 
 reason to expect I should have quite a sum of ready 
 money later, and it looked like a good chance to 
 me." 
 
 " If you're after a get-rich-quick scheme," said 
 the Senator, " you ought to be a member of the 
 Legislature right now. There's a hen on." 
 
 "On what?" asked the Professor, innocently. 
 
 " I mean," laughed the Senator, " that there's 
 a measure to be put through, if possible, on golden 
 wings." 
 
 " Oh ! " cried the Professor, his eyes brighten- 
 ing with excitement. "Bribery!" 
 
 " Yes," said the Senator, " although we don't 
 always call it that."
 
 160 Slaves of Success 
 
 " Tell me about it," urged the Professor. " I 
 am most interested in that subject. What's the 
 measure? And how do they do it? " 
 
 " Bribery is indirect, rather than direct, in these 
 days," explained the Senator. " They often reach 
 a man through his financial, personal, or political 
 interests : there is only an implied bargain and no 
 direct cash transaction. Of course it amounts to 
 the same thing, but it's easier on a man's conscience, 
 and more difficult to detect." 
 
 " But this particular case," persisted the Profes- 
 sor. "What is it?" 
 
 " I don't know," replied the Senator, his brow 
 clouding. " If I did, I might find some way to block 
 the game. Perhaps you've heard that lobbyists and 
 schemers are just a little afraid of me." 
 
 " Oh, I'm so utterly ignorant and out of the 
 world that people seldom take the trouble to tell 
 me anything," explained the Professor, " but I 
 think I have heard the phrase ' aggressively honest ' 
 used to describe you." 
 
 " Possibly, possibly," returned the gratified Sena- 
 tor. " At any rate, the corruptionists fight shy of 
 me, but I have been here long enough to know the 
 signs of a job. When anything big is on hand, it 
 is in the air, in the atmosphere. You know it with-
 
 A Favour for a Friend 161 
 
 out knowing it that is, you become morally 
 certain that ' something- is doing,' to use the popu- 
 lar phrase, without knowing just what it is. Activ- 
 ity in certain quarters is in itself a pretty good 
 indication, and you feel the suppressed excitement 
 of those who are in the secret." 
 
 " I hope it comes to light while I am here," said 
 the Professor. " I should like to have an insight 
 into the devious ways of politics and legislation." 
 
 " You'll get it when the measure is sprung," 
 asserted the Senator, aggressively. " I shall tear the 
 scheme wide open the moment I get the facts." 
 
 Before the Professor could ask any further 
 questions, one of the library attendants entered with 
 a note that had been left for him. After a glance 
 at it, the Professor gave evidence of some excite- 
 ment, and hastily excused himself. He had over- 
 looked an appointment, he said, but his face and 
 actions, when he had left the library, did not 
 indicate that he was pleased at being reminded of 
 the fact. 
 
 When he reached his modest boarding-house 
 quarters, the gentle, kindly, easy-going Professor 
 had been transformed into a man of energy and 
 some passion.
 
 1 62 Slaves of Success 
 
 "What are .you doing here?" he demanded of 
 the man he found awaiting him. 
 
 "Why why," stammered Carroll (for it was 
 Carroll), disconcerted by this unexpected aggres- 
 siveness, " we were getting a little uneasy. Your 
 reports weren't very satisfactory, so Wade and I 
 thought " 
 
 " Leave Wade out," interrupted the Professor. 
 " He has too much sense to let you show up here." 
 Which was true. Carroll was simply incapable of 
 understanding a " fine " piece of work, and his 
 anxiety and impatience had led him to make this 
 grievous mistake, in spite of the promise Wade had 
 exacted. He wanted to see for himself what the 
 Professor, whom he had met for the first time when 
 this task was undertaken, was doing. But he was 
 seriously disconcerted by this greeting. 
 
 " Well, we're only waiting for your man to put 
 the thing through," he said, defensively, " and some 
 of the boys are getting impatient. I've got people 
 behind me that are anxious, too. So we thought 
 I'd better show up here and see if things can't be 
 hurried a little." 
 
 " See if things can't be ruined!" ejaculated the 
 Professor. " If it gets out that you've seen me,
 
 A Favour for a Friend 163 
 
 it's all ended. The least little suspicion of me will 
 settle it. And you're pretty well known here." 
 
 " I'm down on other business," said Carroll. 
 " I slipped over to this house on the quiet, and 
 nobody saw me. But," recovering some of his 
 self-assertiveness, " we've reached every one neces- 
 sary, except your man. Why in thunder should 
 it take so long to get him ? " 
 
 " Well, now, I ought not to be telling you your 
 business," answered the Professor, " but Wade 
 gave me a little insight into the affair. The men 
 you've already got are of minor importance. There 
 isn't one of them who is good for anything except 
 his own vote, and some of them aren't good for 
 even that, if you fail to get Duncan. They're afraid 
 of him. If he turns loose, they'll hunt cover like 
 scared rabbits; if he is with you, it will allay sus- 
 picion in other quarters and enable you to get other 
 votes. That's why you've got to have him ; that's 
 why I'm here. I didn't like the job, but I'm begin- 
 ning to get interested in it, and I'll see it through 
 if you let me alone. Go back to Wade and tell him 
 if he lets you or any one else come" near me again, 
 I'll throw the whole thing up." 
 
 The Professor was angry. Even Wade would 
 have been surprised to know that the Professor
 
 164 Slaves of Success 
 
 could show so much spirit; but Wade never had 
 seen him when a fool's action jeopardized the suc- 
 cess of an enterprise that had taken him away from 
 his books and into the real life of the world. Still, 
 Wade knew that, in spite of his customary dreami- 
 ness, he had the wit and the resourcefulness to 
 accomplish almost anything he undertook. Other- 
 wise it would have been folly to entrust him with 
 this mission. As a matter of fact, it had aroused 
 in him the sensations and interest of a closely con- 
 tested game that he was particularly anxious to 
 have the satisfaction of winning; it had taken him 
 back a good many years in his life. Besides, he 
 needed the money. 
 
 The Professor did not return to the library that 
 day; but the following day he was there as usual, 
 and he again gave some attention to the map. 
 
 " I don't believe I am going to lose anything on 
 that option, after all," he told the Senator. " I 
 paid two hundred dollars for it, and the man who 
 sent for me yesterday offered me three hundred 
 dollars to transfer it to him." 
 
 " Did you let him have it?" asked the Senator, 
 interestedly. 
 
 " No," replied the Professor ; " he was too 
 anxious. Even I could see that. And, if there's
 
 A Favour for a Friend 165 
 
 money in it for him, why not for me? I have only 
 a little myself, but, if it's really good, I ought to 
 be able to borrow some." 
 
 The Senator sat down beside him and examined 
 the map closely, tracing out the railroads and 
 streams with his pencil. Then he got a map of the 
 county that was made on a larger scale. 
 
 " What land is covered by your option ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 The Professor drew a line around it. 
 
 " That's a good bit of land," commented the 
 Senator. " What's the price ?" 
 
 " Ten thousand dollars, and I've got about two 
 thousand dollars of it." 
 
 " I didn't know you scientists ever had so much 
 ready cash," remarked the Senator. 
 
 " A little legacy," explained the Professor. " I 
 expected it would be considerably more, but it 
 wasn't. I had that in mind when I got the option, 
 but it isn't enough, and I got frightened besides. 
 I don't know much about business, and I'd hate to 
 lose it." 
 
 " What's the price of other land in the vicinity ? " 
 asked the Senator. 
 
 " Really, I don't know," replied the Professor, 
 reddening a little at this confession. " It seemed
 
 1 66 Slaves of Success 
 
 to me cheap, and Well, frankly, I got the 
 option and then forgot about it in my researches 
 here until a letter reminded me of it." 
 
 " You have just about as much business sense 
 as most people in your line," laughed the Senator, 
 " but perhaps I can be of some assistance to .you. 
 I'll look into the matter, and, if it's all right, I may 
 go into the deal with you if you'll let me in." 
 
 " I wish you would," said the Professor, sincerely. 
 
 The result of the Senator's investigations rather 
 surprised him. There was no land in that vicinity 
 on the market. It was held by a few individuals 
 that he never had heard of before, in rather 
 large tracts, and they did not seem disposed to 
 sell. He failed to get even a satisfactory quotation. 
 
 " I believe there's some talk of putting a rail- 
 road through there," one real estate man told him. 
 " At any rate, there are some people who seem 
 mighty anxious for that land just now, and no one 
 wants to sell." 
 
 The Senator looked up the last recorded sale, 
 and found that the price quoted by the Professor 
 was reasonable. He did not see how the purchase 
 could fail to prove a fair investment in time, even 
 if there should be nothing in it in the immediate 
 future, and, though the situation was rather con-
 
 A Favour for a Friend 167 
 
 fusing, there was a possibility of a big profit at 
 an early day. It would be a kindness to assist the 
 good old Professor in protecting his option money, 
 and there was reason to believe the kindness would 
 be rewarded in the end. 
 
 " I'll put up half the money to buy that land 
 for half the profits," he told the Professor. 
 
 " Good," was the reply. " Your five thousand 
 dollars and my two thousand dollars will make all 
 but three thousand dollars of the necessary sum, 
 and I guess I can borrow that. I can use my half- 
 interest as security, can't I ? " 
 
 " When you get it," said the Senator. " You 
 can't very well use a thing for security until you 
 have title to it." 
 
 " I suppose not," returned the Professor, thought- 
 fully, " but I guess I can arrange it." 
 
 However, a few days later he came to the Senator 
 with another proposition. He had been unable to 
 secure the loan, for he knew little of business, and 
 had no friends who were able to spare such a sum. 
 
 " If I had the ready cash, I'd let you have it 
 myself," said the Senator, " but five thousand dol- 
 lars is my limit just now. I suppose I might borrow 
 it for you." 
 
 " Oh, that wouldn't be fair," asserted the Profes-
 
 1 68 Slaves of Success 
 
 sor. " If you furnish the money you ought to get 
 the profit. Why not do that?" as if the idea had 
 just occurred to him. " My own two thousand 
 dollars is a pretty big investment for me." 
 
 The Senator demurred, the scheme was the 
 Professor's, and he ought to have a half-interest in 
 it, if that were a possible thing, but the Professor 
 convinced him that a fifth interest would be ample 
 and just, under the circumstances; it would be more 
 to him than the four-fifths would be to the Senator. 
 
 The matter was finally arranged on this basis. 
 As a matter of fact, the investment looked very 
 enticing to the Senator. It was evident to him that 
 some one was anxious to secure that land. In his 
 investigations he had learned that he could make 
 a few hundred dollars himself by getting the Pro- 
 fessor's option for some unknown parties who were 
 dealing through one of the real estate men. So, 
 having made sure that the Professor's option was 
 valid, he borrowed three thousand dollars to com- 
 plete the needed sum, and the Professor bought the 
 land, the necessary contract to protect the Senator's 
 interests having been executed. The Senator did 
 not appear in the transaction, so far as any third 
 party was concerned. There was no reason why 
 he should not, but it was simpler and easier to let
 
 A Favour for a Friend 169 
 
 the Professor complete the bargain. Still, the 
 Senator might have been worried, if he had known 
 that the Professor had that contract photographed. 
 
 " There seems to be something good in it," 
 remarked the Professor, when the purchase had 
 been made and the deed to the Senator's part of the 
 land surrendered to him. " I've been offered five 
 hundred dollars for a fifteen thousand dollar option 
 on it- for ninety days." 
 
 " What's that? " cried the Senator. " Five hun- 
 dred dollars for a ninety-day option at fifteen 
 thousand dollars. If it were not for the lack of 
 transportation facilities, I'd think some big manu- 
 facturing concern wanted to locate there. Was 
 the offer put in writing? " 
 
 The Professor produced a letter verifying his 
 statement. 
 
 "But why the option?" mused the Senator. 
 " Why not an outright purchase now ? I guess we'd 
 better let things stand as they are until we see 
 what's up, and then we can divide under the con- 
 tract. We can't split up the land fairly until we 
 know more, so I'll just keep the deed without 
 recording it." 
 
 When, a little later, five hundred dollars was 
 offered for a ninety-day option at twenty thousand
 
 170 Slaves of Success 
 
 dollars, the Senator's curiosity and cupidity were 
 both aroused. This would mean one hundred per 
 cent, profit on the investment, and a man who would 
 put up five hundred dollars for an option must 
 necessarily expect to take the property. All in 
 all, it was a most extraordinary affair. He made 
 some inquiries, but the offer came through a real 
 estate man who was not at liberty to reveal the 
 identity of his principals. All he knew was that 
 they would pay almost any price for that property 
 under certain circumstances, and they felt sure 
 enough that the circumstances would be favourable 
 to risk five hundred dollars on an option. 
 
 It was only a few days after this that the Senator 
 came to the Professor in great excitement. 
 
 " It's out ! " he cried. " I know now why options 
 on that land were in such demand. They want to 
 put a railroad through. The bill has just been 
 introduced in the House." 
 
 The Professor looked pleased. 
 
 " That will mean a lot of money for us, won't 
 it?" he said. 
 
 The Senator looked at the Professor sharply, 
 but it was impossible to suspect such a guileless 
 fellow.
 
 A Favour for a Friend 171 
 
 " Come with me," he said at last. " I want to 
 talk with you." 
 
 " Is it so very important ? " asked the Professor, 
 closing his book, regretfully. The Senator assured 
 him that it was, and took him to his committee- 
 room. 
 
 " If you were any one else," he explained, " I 
 should think you were on the inside in this busi- 
 ness, for you've put me in a mighty mean position." 
 
 " I'm sorry," asserted the Professor. 
 
 " I believe you," said the Senator, " but it doesn't 
 alter the facts. If this bill goes through it means 
 a lot of money to me on an investment that you 
 know I went into innocently." 
 
 " Is there any reason why it shouldn't go 
 through ? " asked the Professor. 
 
 " It involves land-grants and special privileges 
 that will be worth close to a million dollars to the 
 people back of the scheme," explained the Senator, 
 " and for these the State will get nothing." 
 
 " Oh ! " said the Professor, dismally ; " then you 
 can't vote for it." 
 
 " Not as I understand it now," said the Senator. 
 He was pacing back and forth nervously, and he 
 stopped to add : " But it's mighty hard to let a 
 hundred per cent, profit get away."
 
 172 Slaves of Success 
 
 " Is your vote necessary ? " asked the Professor. 
 
 Again the Senator looked at the Professor 
 sharply, but the latter seemed as innocent and guile- 
 less as before; and the question was only a natural 
 one. The profit depended upon the passage of the 
 bill, whether he voted for it or not. Silence alone 
 might be effective. 
 
 When the Senator was sought out by a reporter 
 he had nothing to say. As he had been looked to 
 for a scathing arraignment of the measure, this 
 was surprising. 
 
 " It has been very vigorously assailed in some 
 quarters," suggested the reporter. 
 
 " I know, I know," replied the Senator, " but I 
 am not sufficiently acquainted with the details of 
 the measure to discuss it now. I may have some- 
 thing to say later." 
 
 This being quoted in the papers, gave joy to 
 many people. Senator Duncan, the aggressive 
 opponent of all jobbery, was silent. The news- 
 papers and some legislators said harsh things, but 
 Senator Duncan refused to commit himself one 
 way or another, and this gave courage to the timor- 
 ous ones and almost convinced those who did not 
 fully understand what the^ measure meant. Then 
 some of the papers changed their tone: the devel-
 
 A Favour for a Friend 173 
 
 opment of that region would be of benefit to the 
 State, and, in view of the conditions, encourage- 
 ment and assistance might be proper. Perhaps the 
 railroad people were asking too much, but there 
 was no reason why something should not be con- 
 ceded to them. Thus the issue became clouded. 
 There was room for argument, and, when there 
 is room for argument, an excuse can be found for 
 almost any course by the man who cares to hunt 
 for it. There were many people hunting. 
 
 Just about this time the Professor wrote a letter 
 to John Wade. 
 
 " My share of the work is about done," he said. 
 " Send on your lobby. I'll stay here and watch 
 things, but it's time for some one who is supposed 
 to have some practical knowledge to show up and 
 do a little talking. He must keep away from me, 
 however." 
 
 Wade sent for Carroll. 
 
 " We're ready for this man Tuttle that your 
 people think so highly of," he told him. " Send 
 him to me." 
 
 Carroll had been careful to say nothing of his 
 own trip to the capital, and Wade did not know how 
 near they had come to "failure as a result of it, or
 
 174 Slaves of Success 
 
 he might have made some caustic comment on his 
 associate's " coarse " methods. 
 
 The " lobby " that appeared consisted of one man 
 Tuttle and this man worked openly, and 
 spoke with apparent frankness. He professed to 
 see nothing but merit in the bill, and he argued 
 cleverly and legitimately; but his letters explained 
 more than his published interviews or his public 
 arguments. " The outlook is bright," he wrote. 
 " Duncan's ' I have nothing to say ' is worth more 
 to us than another man's vote. If he continues 
 silent there will be no trouble in the House, and 
 probably not much in the Senate. His course so 
 far has amply justified our assurances that there 
 was nothing to fear from him, and our stock is 
 high in this town. The boys are satisfied we know 
 what we're talking about, and the doubtful ones are 
 so sure now that the thing is going through any- 
 how that they are getting anxious for seats in the 
 wagon. You know how it is. So long as they 
 can't stop it, they might as well be on the inside. 
 No use letting honesty go to waste when there is 
 ' something doing ' that can't be helped. Well, if 
 the Governor isn't tractable we'll need them all, 
 including Duncan. I'm going to see Duncan in a 
 day or so."
 
 A Favour for a Friend 175 
 
 Two prominent business men of the capital city, 
 having no connection with the Legislature, were 
 present at the interview when it took place, and 
 they afterward asserted that there was not one 
 improper word or suggestion in the whole course 
 of it. Tuttle went over his arguments, giving the 
 difficulties to be surmounted as a reason for the 
 unusual demands. 
 
 " Though the land-grants we ask are valuable," 
 he said, " the land that is going to be most benefited 
 is beyond our reach. I confess frankly that we 
 tried to get it, but somebody had an option on it." 
 
 " What land was that ? " asked the Senator, care- 
 lessly. 
 
 " Right at the fork of the river," replied Tuttle, 
 marking the place on the map he had brought with 
 him. " We planned to locate some shops there, 
 and, of course, that means a town-site. Part of the 
 land we want we've got, or at least we've got an 
 option on it, which makes it the more important 
 that we should get the rest of it. There's only a 
 corner of one big tract, adjoining the land already 
 within our reach, that we need, but I suppose we'll 
 have to buy the whole tract ; and, now that our plans 
 are known, the price is pretty sure to be high 
 thirty thousand dollars or more, very likely, but
 
 176 Slaves of Success 
 
 we'll have to pay it. However, that doesn't interest 
 you," continued Tuttle. " I mention it only be- 
 cause I want to be perfectly frank with you. All 
 this is a mere incident in the larger plan. We want 
 to get into the district beyond and make connections 
 there that will be of advantage from the freight 
 standpoint, and this is a short, although difficult, 
 route. We can build cheaper in a more roundabout 
 way, and we'll have to do it if the State can't see 
 the importance of encouraging us. Now, here," 
 and he went at the map again, " is our alternative 
 route. By building to Scovil we can connect with 
 the D. & N. and reach our objective point that way, 
 but then we cross the State-line without touching 
 the undeveloped section. It ought to be worth 
 something to the State to have us go through that, 
 especially as, when our line is once built the other 
 way, there will be fewer inducements to any one 
 else to build the more direct route. Do I make 
 myself clear? " 
 
 " Quite so," replied the Senator. " It will be 
 of advantage to the State to have the road built, but 
 aren't you asking too high a price from the State? " 
 
 "We don't think so," replied Tuttle, promptly; 
 "do you?"
 
 A Favour for a Friend 177 
 
 " I shall have to think the matter over," said the 
 Senator, evasively. 
 
 So the two business men reported that the inter- 
 view was perfectly frank and proper in every 
 detail, and the Senator devoted himself to " think- 
 ing the matter over." Thirty thousand dollars for 
 that land would mean a profit of $16,000 for him 
 and $4,000 for the Professor. The land was not 
 in his name, and there would be no record of the 
 transaction, so far as he was concerned. At that 
 moment he had $8,000 tied up in the land, for $3,000 
 of which he had given his individual note. If the 
 road should be built by the " alternative route " 
 there was every likelihood that his money would 
 remain tied up there, for this action would make it 
 much less likely that any other road would try the 
 direct route, and land values would be depressed 
 in consequence. On the one hand there was a big 
 profit; on the other, a financial sacrifice or a sum 
 of money that he could ill spare for any length of 
 time tied up indefinitely, and a note for $3,000 
 to meet. 
 
 " How the devil did the Professor ever run on to 
 that land? " he asked himself, irritably; and then he 
 told a reporter who sought to interview him that
 
 1J& Slaves of Success 
 
 anything he had to say on the subject would be said 
 when the bill reached the Senate, and not before. 
 
 " Will you oppose it? " persisted the reporter. 
 
 " Perhaps," replied the Senator; " but it's not all 
 bad. There is room 1 for an honest difference of 
 opinion." 
 
 Tuttle and the Professor chuckled when they read 
 that statement, and there was joy in certain legis- 
 lative circles. Senator Duncan's own words justi- 
 fied them in any position they might see fit to take, 
 and no later attack on the measure could have much 
 force. In vain the unswervingly honest minority 
 fought : the bill went through the House by a good 
 majority, and in the Senate Duncan was still silent. 
 Others opposed it, but Duncan had nothing to say. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Professor pursued the even tenor 
 of his way, not entirely forgetful of his financial 
 interests, but much more absorbed in his researches. 
 He met the Senator as before, and he occasionally 
 asked some question about the situation, but they 
 were innocent, and often absurd, questions, and in 
 no sense arguments for or against the measure. In- 
 deed, his course was that of the honourable man 
 who would sacrifice his own interests rather than 
 attempt to sway his friend until he was informed 
 that there was danger of failure.
 
 A Favour for a Friend 179 
 
 " We shall need Duncan's vote," was the message 
 brought to him. " We must have it for the moral 
 effect on the Governor and to give some of the 
 weakening Senators backbone. We might skim 
 through without Duncan, but the influence of his 
 vote will give us the majority we need to hold a 
 wavering Governor." 
 
 After that the Professor, for the first time, 
 brought up the subject in a direct and straightfor- 
 ward way. 
 
 " I'm going to give an option on my interest in 
 that land," he said. " Then perhaps these people 
 will let me alone. You see, they think I own it all, 
 and they're driving me frantic." 
 
 " And if I should tear up the contract and the 
 unrecorded deed," remarked the Senator, thought- 
 fully, " you would own it all." 
 
 " Why, of course," exclaimed the Professor, as 
 if the thought had just occurred to him. " You 
 wouldn't have to execute any papers or sign any- 
 thing, would you? That's the simplest way of 
 transferring land that I ever heard of. There 
 wouldn't even be a record of it" 
 
 " No," said the Senator, slowly ; " but you can't 
 give an option on your interest without betraying 
 the situation." Thus the Senator found himself
 
 180 Slaves of Success 
 
 deliberately dallying with evil and frankly consider- 
 ing methods of subterfuge. " If you're bound to 
 do it," he added, " you'd better give an option on 
 the whole tract; and if the sale is made I can make 
 your title good by destroying the papers I hold." 
 
 " For twenty-four thousand dollars," said the 
 Professor. " That would be your share of the 
 thirty thousand dollars option price. Why, as I 
 understand it, it would be my deal entirely, and I 
 should be paying out this sum just to remove any 
 cloud on the title. Isn't that the way of it? I'm 
 not much of a business man, but that seems to me 
 right." 
 
 " It's a good way to put it," admitted the Senator ; 
 " a surprisingly good way for an unbusinesslike 
 man." 
 
 " I'll show you," said the Professor, with the joy- 
 ousness of a child who has been complimented, 
 " that I can be very practical when I try." And 
 he proved this the next day by producing a contract, 
 executed by a real estate man, to take the land at 
 $30,000 the moment the building of the projected 
 road was assured. " I forced him to come right 
 down to facts," he explained, jubilantly. " I offered 
 to give him the option if he would state plainly on
 
 A Favour for a Friend 181 
 
 what conditions he would pay the price named, and 
 he did it." 
 
 The Senator did not sleep well that night. He 
 was not at all pleased with himself, and no sophisti- 
 cal arguments could quite satisfy his conscience. He 
 had gone into this speculation innocently, and a man 
 would be a fool not to protect his own investments, 
 but that troublesome " but " ended all his at- 
 tempts at justification. He was in a distressing pre- 
 dicament. There was $24,000 within reach, or there 
 was $8,000 tied up and part of it possibly lost. If 
 any man had attempted to bribe him he would have 
 knocked him down ; but it merely happened that he 
 had interests that would be affected. It did seem 
 strange that he happened to have these interests just 
 at this time, but Well, there was no use bother- 
 ing about that. Even if the Professor were not all 
 that he had honestly believed him to be, it would not 
 change the situation. He would have suspected any 
 other man, but the Professor never had tried to in- 
 fluence him by argument of any sort : indeed, he 
 had had less to say on the subject of the railroad bill 
 than almost any other man of his acquaintance. 
 True, the last contract was rather surprising, but the 
 Professor's explanation of it was plausible. Any- 
 how, he would do all that could be expected of him
 
 1 82 Slaves of Success 
 
 if he refrained from voting. That was a course 
 honourable men frequently pursued when personal 
 interests were likely to influence their judgment, 
 but 
 
 Senator Duncan was still worrying over the 
 " buts " when, by invitation, he went to see the 
 Governor the next day. He was trying not to frame 
 in words the fact that honourable men acted openly 
 in such matters, even when they did not vote. They 
 explained the situation, and he could not explain 
 without killing the measure. The thing would not 
 look right. He might better vote against it than 
 try to explain why he kept silent. 
 
 " I would like to have your views on this railroad 
 bill," said the Governor. " I confess that I am in 
 doubt about it." 
 
 The Governor was a weak man, and no one knew 
 it better than the Senator. If he had had more 
 courage and force he might have been a dangerous 
 man, but he dared not do all that he would like to 
 do. So he had become known as weak rather than 
 bad, but he was not a man to look for flaws in a 
 measure that was politically or financially expedient, 
 so long as he was properly upheld. 
 
 " I do not feel like passing judgment upon it," 
 said the Senator. " I have given it some thought,
 
 A Favour for a Friend 183 
 
 but there are many things to be considered. The 
 railroad is needed." 
 
 " Will it have your vote? " asked the Governor. 
 
 " I do not know," answered the Senator, after 
 a moment of hesitation. " The road ought to be 
 built. If it is not worth the price asked it seems 
 strange that no one else has offered to build it for 
 less." 
 
 " That's just the way I feel about it," said the 
 Governor, evidently relieved ; " but it is viciously 
 assailed." 
 
 " Unjustly so," asserted the Senator, led to say 
 more than he wished. " Some men are so consti- 
 tuted that they cannot see both sides of a question. 
 There is no occasion for the fierce attacks made upon 
 it as something utterly bad." 
 
 " I am glad to hear you say so," said the Gov- 
 ernor. " The multiplicity of my duties does not leave 
 me time for a close study of all measures, and I have 
 to be guided to some extent by those in whom I 
 have confidence. Your silence has led me to think 
 you do not find it entirely bad, and if it had your 
 open support I should feel perfectly easy about 
 it." 
 
 The Senator knew that the Governor was trying 
 to justify himself to his conscience, and, incidentally,
 
 184 Slaves of Success 
 
 to acquire the courage to do what he wanted to do. 
 If the bill went through by a good majority the 
 Governor would not hesitate; if it barely got through 
 the Governor might be frightened into vetoing it. 
 The Senator had thought of having important 
 business at home when the bill came up for final 
 reading and passage, but he dared not leave now. 
 Perhaps the bill would have a sufficient majority 
 without him. In that case no harm would be done 
 if he voted " no," and thus kept his record clear, 
 for the Governor would sign it if he dared. But 
 would his record be clear? His silence, so unusual 
 in such a case, had been a tacit endorsement of the 
 measure, and had been commented upon as such. 
 Still, the recorded " no " should outweigh that. 
 
 Senator Duncan despised himself as he waited 
 for the roll-call. He had become fretful and irri- 
 table as a result of the questions of his colleagues; 
 he had told them he did not know how he should 
 vote, and he spoke truthfully. He also told them 
 that he had kept out of the debate because he had 
 been unable to formulate an opinion that justified 
 him in taking a decided stand. Then he stopped 
 answering questions altogether. 
 
 " I'll do what my conscience dictates when the 
 time comes," he said, and he knew, that he was
 
 A Favour for a Friend 185 
 
 dishonest at heart, no matter how he voted in the 
 end. He had been corrupted when he had been 
 lured to silence and later to a verbal justification of 
 those who favoured the measure. Whether inno- 
 cently or by design, he had been corrupted, and just 
 before he took his seat he had telephoned to the 
 library to know if the Professor was there. It made 
 little difference, but it would be some satisfaction to 
 know definitely that he had not been outwitted and 
 used as a puppet. If the Professor was engaged in 
 his customary researches at this critical moment it 
 would be pretty good evidence that he had acted in- 
 nocently in the matter, and that would be some 
 solace to the worldly-wise Senator. He was in- 
 formed that the Professor was there, writing, and 
 he felt a little better. No one had tried deliberately 
 to make a fool or a tool of him : he was the victim 
 of circumstances. How could he know that the 
 Professor was too good a judge of human nature to 
 appear in the Senate gallery when he most wished 
 to be there? 
 
 Two men who preceded Senator Duncan on the 
 roll-call disappointed him. He had expected them 
 to vote for the bill, but one was absent and the other 
 voted " no." This apparent defection might be made 
 up farther down the list, but there was no certainty
 
 1 86 Slaves of Success 
 
 of it, and the Senator would not dare to change 
 his vote. That would be worse than voting " aye " 
 in the first place. Nor could he keep silent now and 
 refuse to vote. At least a fair majority was im- 
 perative, and there were some that his vote would 
 influence. Even the Governor had said 
 
 " Duncan ! " called the clerk. 
 
 It was his property, innocently purchased; why 
 should he sacrifice it? He had come honestly into 
 possession, of a deed and a contract involving 
 $24,000; why should he make them worthless? 
 On the decision of the moment rested this sum. 
 
 " Aye," said Senator Duncan. 
 
 Carroll was jubilant when he heard the news; 
 Carroll was to be well paid for his services. In 
 fact, Carroll already had some stock put away, and 
 the action of the Legislature made this stock valu- 
 able. 
 
 Wade said nothing until Denton reported. 
 
 " So far as I can judge from surface indications," 
 said Wade, " you did a good job for the railroad, 
 but how about me? " 
 
 Denton handed him a photograph of the Duncan 
 contract. 
 
 " I tried to get a receipt for the money, too," he
 
 A Favour for a Friend 187 
 
 explained, " but he wouldn't give that, and it seemed 
 unwise to press the matter." 
 
 " This is quite enough," returned Wade. " It 
 may be worth a United States Senatorship to me."
 
 VII. 
 
 AZRO CRAIG'S AWAKENING 
 
 THERE is no day of rest or freedom from anxiety 
 for the ambitious politician. Whatever may be the 
 victories that lie behind, there is always something 
 ahead that may mean defeat. He must fight and 
 plan steadily and persistently to gain what he wishes 
 or retain what He has: inactivity means retro- 
 gression. 
 
 John Wade was nearing the critical point in his 
 political career long before he had made a United 
 States Senatorship the goal of his ambition. Some 
 men, in the innermost recesses of their souls, decide 
 that they will strive for the Presidency, and never 
 get beyond minor municipal or State offices; they 
 discover that the Presidency is not for men of their 
 class and that they never had any real expectation 
 of reaching it. Wade was more practical. He ex- 
 pected to get what he went after, but he was wise 
 enough to go after nothing that was absolutely 
 
 1 88
 
 Azro Craig's Awakening 189 
 
 beyond his reach. The Presidency, he decided, was 
 not for a " machine " manager, for the public had 
 Presidential ideals, and did not regard " machine " 
 management with particular favour. But a Senator- 
 ship was easily possible, so he did not look beyond it. 
 
 On the eve of the battle, like a good general, he 
 made a careful mental review of his forces, his 
 defences, his position, and the position of the enemy. 
 He was reasonably strong, but not strong enough to 
 be at all sure of victory. It looked to him like this : 
 
 He could not count on Ben Carroll, and Carroll 
 might be needed. He had stolen from Carroll much 
 of Carroll's power, and Carroll was not a man to 
 part with power joyously : he needed it for financial 
 purposes. He was vindictive, but he never lost 
 sight of his own interests. Consequently, he might 
 still be controlled. He was still a " machine " lever, 
 and, if this lever failed to " work " at a critical 
 moment, it might throw the whole thing out of 
 gear. Therefore, it was necessary that Carroll 
 should be controlled. 
 
 Aside from this, things were very favourable. 
 Wade had succeeded in organizing the previous 
 Legislature by putting Henry Wellington in as 
 Speaker of the House, and, through Wellington, he 
 had been able to confer many favours and make
 
 190 Slaves of Success 
 
 many friends. Incidentally, he had been able also 
 to discover who would be tractable and who would 
 not, and some of the intractable ones had been re- 
 tired at the election that followed. But there was 
 a distressing element of uncertainty in one quarter. 
 He had enabled Dan Nally, alias Dick Haggin, to 
 escape the meshes of the law, but there seemed to 
 be a lack of gratitude for this. Nally had strong 
 political friends, of whom State Senator Abbey was 
 one, and many of these friends seemed to understand 
 that Wade had not acted willingly in the matter, 
 that he had been forced to bestir himself as a matter 
 of political expediency. He had done what no other 
 could do, but others, notably Carroll, had exerted 
 themselves more cheerfully. He had forced a pledge 
 from Senator Abbey, but it looked very much as if 
 Carroll had the greater influence with some new 
 members from that vicinity. Still, Wade was per- 
 sonally stronger than he had been in the preceding 
 Legislature. He felt that he could count absolutely 
 on Azro Craig, and Craig had developed into a man 
 of wide influence with the country members. True, 
 Craig had proved recalcitrant in one or two matters, 
 but that was because he believed them outside his 
 province as a legislator, and his antipathy to Carroll 
 was deep-rooted. He would surely be for Wade in
 
 Azro Craig's Awakening 191 
 
 so personal a fight. Then there was David Clow, 
 who was confidently counted upon by the opposition, 
 but Wade only laughed when he thought of him. 
 Clow was a man who had given a mortgage on him- 
 self that only needed to be foreclosed. Senator 
 Weston, who wished to succeed himself, might think 
 he had Clow, but he would learn his mistake later. 
 The situation was much the same in the case of Sen- 
 ator Horace Duncan. The Senator had no hesitation 
 in saying that he would vote for Weston, but Wade 
 had reason to believe that he would change his mind 
 at the moment when that change would be most 
 effective. The fact that the Senator had no sus- 
 picion of this was of no importance whatever: 
 Wade frequently knew what a man would do better 
 than the man himself. 
 
 Having reviewed the situation mentally, Wade 
 wisely went to work to discover whether he had 
 made any mistakes in his figures. He had various 
 lieutenants that he used, but some things he deemed 
 it best to look after personally. He would make 
 doubly sure of Craig first. 
 
 " I ain't promisin'," said Craig, sullenly. 
 
 " I thought you were my friend, Azro," urged 
 Wade. 
 
 " I was," replied Craig, " but you got too many
 
 192 Slaves of Success 
 
 friends. Anybody's your friend that'll do what you 
 want." 
 
 " Haven't I been a friend to you ? " 
 
 " Ye-es," admitted Craig, " but you been a friend 
 to Carroll, too, an' you can't be a real friend to both 
 of us. I've learned a thing or two since I been to 
 Springfield, Jack. I was ag'in the ' machine ' first, 
 an' I thought you was ag'in it, but you ain't. You're 
 part of it the very best part of it, I guess, but 
 part of it jest the same. Mebbe we got to have a 
 ' machine ' o' some sort, like folks say, an' I reckon 
 I got to vote for it one way or another, but I'm ag'in 
 Carroll. He's the worst there is in * machine 'poli- 
 tics. They say he's goin' to be with Senator Weston 
 for reelection, an' " 
 
 " Who says so? " interrupted Wade. 
 
 " Lots o' folks," replied Craig. " I'm wiser than 
 I was, Jack, an' I been nosin' 'round a little to see 
 how things is goin' to be at the next session, jest 
 like you. Weston has got some things organized 
 better'n you think. He's reachin' for your ' ma- 
 chine.' If he gets the Carroll end of it, I'm with 
 you, but I ain't makin' no other promises." 
 
 " Do you remember when you came to Chicago 
 two years ago? " asked Wade. 
 
 " Ye-es."
 
 Azro Craig's Awakening 193 
 
 " Did you find a better friend than I was? Did 
 any one treat you any better? " 
 
 " No-o ; but I'm beginnin' to think it was politics, 
 Jack. I been tryin' to keep on believin' in you 
 tryin' hard but it ain't jest easy. I don't know 
 as I can do it any more, if you harness up with 
 Carroll ag'in." 
 
 " Carroll and I are out," said Wade. 
 
 "' Betsy an' I are out/" quoted Craig, "but 
 * Betsy an' I ' made up ag'in. I'm watchin' an' 
 thinkin', an' I'm learnin' the ways of politics." 
 
 The shock of this enigmatical and unsatisfactory 
 reply made Wade nervous about other people. He 
 had not doubted his ability to get an absolute pledge 
 from Craig, and he found him almost combative. 
 If he gained Carroll, he would lose Craig in all 
 probability. He might keep a Carroll alliance in 
 the background, as Carroll was not personally a 
 member of the Legislature, but Craig had gained in 
 wisdom and suspicion. 
 
 " These simple fellows from the back districts 
 are the most uncertain propositions on earth," he 
 mused. " You have some basis of judgment with 
 ordinary men, but you never can tell what one of 
 these fellows will do." 
 
 And the session of the Legislature that would
 
 194 Slaves of Success 
 
 elect a United States Senator would begin shortly. 
 Clearly, it was time to investigate every detail of 
 his position personally, so far as that was possible. 
 One of his lieutenants had brought him cheering 
 news from Senator Abbey, but he decided to see the 
 Senator himself. 
 
 " Senator," he said, " you haven't forgotten the 
 programme, have you? " 
 
 "No," replied the State Senator, "but you're 
 going to have trouble, Wade." 
 
 "In what way?" 
 
 " Well, I can see the signs of a nasty fight blow- 
 ing up," explained Abbey. " You're not very strong 
 in some ways, Wade, and public sentiment is going 
 to be against you." 
 
 " Public sentiment doesn't elect men to the United 
 States Senate," remarked Wade, sententiously. 
 
 " No, but public sentiment sometimes defeats 
 men who want to go there," returned Abbey. " It's 
 stronger negatively than it is affirmatively, and 
 you're going to have a hard time getting the party 
 to unite on you. If you can't show up with more 
 than a caucus majority at the start, you haven't a 
 chance; if you can, I think you can win. Most of 
 Weston's strength is pledged to him conditionally. 
 He's got to make a certain showing to win."
 
 Azro Craig's Awakening 195 
 
 " How about you?" 
 
 " I'm with you, of course. I told you that when 
 you pulled Dan Nally out of the fire and saved my 
 district for me. But you didn't do it gracefully, 
 Wade, and some of the people over there haven't 
 forgotten it. They're beginning to think you're not 
 one of the good people. They won't stick to you 
 very long, if Carroll goes to Weston. They like 
 Carroll. Are you sure of Carroll ? " 
 
 " I'll be sure of him." 
 
 " That's good. You'll need him. There are two 
 new men from that district, and some more near 
 enough to be affected by conditions there. With 
 Carroll back of you, you can count on six votes in 
 a bunch ; without Carroll, you can have four of the 
 six on the first ballot, but I can't hold more than two 
 after that. I've pulled a few wires for you else- 
 where, however, that will give you three more votes 
 in addition to my own, so you can credit me with a 
 total of eight on joint ballot or in caucus. That's 
 not so bad." 
 
 " But I want to hold them," argued Wade. " This 
 thing isn't going to be settled in a minute." 
 
 " Can't be held without Carroll," replied Abbey ; 
 " that is, all of them can't, unless you make a mighty 
 big showing right from the jump. I tell you, some
 
 196 Slaves of Success 
 
 of those people think pretty well of Weston. If he 
 shows up strong, you and Carroll together will have 
 all you can do to hold them. And there's another 
 thing, Wade." 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " You'd better see if you can't check the popular 
 endorsement of Weston. That's going to hurt. As 
 I said before, public sentiment can defeat a man 
 easier than it can elect him. You haven't got a firm 
 enough grip on your votes to hold them, if the thing 
 gets too strong. Can't you do something with 
 Trumbull?" 
 
 " I'll try," said Wade. 
 
 John N. Trumbull was chairman of the Political 
 Action Committee of the Central Club. He was also 
 the husband of Mrs. Helen R. Trumbull, one of the 
 trustees of the State University, and Wade had been 
 outwardly very " clever " to Mrs. Trumbull, al- 
 though not always the true friend that he seemed. 
 In fact, he had assisted Carroll in an unsuccessful 
 effort to make her " tractable " in relation to certain 
 university affairs, but he had considerately allowed 
 Carroll to get all the blame for it. That was Wade's 
 way. Trumbull had taken no a~ctive part in the 
 campaign, but he was influential, and Wade had 
 once before considered the advisability of going to
 
 Azro Craig's Awakening 197 
 
 him. Weston had made a fairly satisfactory Sen- 
 ator, and the Central Club, being a Republican or- 
 ganization, thought it only fair to endorse him for 
 another term. Still, it was far from wildly enthu- 
 siastic, and Wade had not feared that a perfunctory 
 endorsement would do any great harm. It was the 
 Legislature, and not the Central Club, that was 
 going to elect a United States Senator. But very 
 recently things had taken a new turn. A strong 
 undercurrent of opposition to the " machine " poli- 
 tician had developed, and it would take little to 
 bring it to the surface and change it into a wave 
 of popular disapproval. A perfunctory resolution 
 by the Central Club might do it. Wherefore, Wade 
 decided to act upon Senator Abbey's suggestion. 
 
 Trumbull greeted Wade cordially, for he felt that 
 Mrs. Trumbull was indebted to him for many cour- 
 tesies and much assistance in the discharge of her 
 semi-public duties. It is the unconscious influence 
 of woman that counts most. If Mrs. Trumbull had 
 made an effort to direct her husband's political 
 course, or had endeavoured to show him by argu- 
 ment that he should be particularly friendly to 
 Wade, she would have failed. As it was, she had 
 merely told how obliging he had been and had com- 
 mented frequently on the fact that he was the most
 
 198 Slaves of Success 
 
 gentlemanly of all the politicians she had met. So, 
 as Trumbull's personal intercourse with Wade had 
 been equally satisfactory, he felt very favourably 
 disposed to the man who had done so much for his 
 wife. 
 
 " I understand, Mr. Trumbull," said Wade, after 
 a few desultory remarks, " that your Committee on 
 Political Action will endorse Senator Weston." 
 
 " I think it quite likely," admitted Trumbull, 
 " although I shall not advocate any such action." 
 
 " Couldn't you oppose it ? " asked Wade. 
 
 " Hardly," replied Trumbull. " You surely do 
 not expect the committee to endorse you ? " 
 
 " No," said Wade, " but I don't see why it should 
 endorse anybody. Your club, although Republican, 
 is not primarily a political club, and it does not 
 ordinarily mix up in Senatorship contests. It is 
 for the party, and not for the faction. Why should 
 the rule be changed this time? " 
 
 " It seems to be the sentiment of the club," an- 
 swered Trumbull, evasively. 
 
 " But is it fair ? " insisted Wade, speaking with 
 great earnestness. " It is an attempt to use your 
 club in factional politics, Mr. Trumbull; it is part 
 of a political scheme. If you formally endorse Wes- 
 ton, that endorsement will be placed on the desk of
 
 Azro Craig's Awakening 199 
 
 every member of the Legislature on the opening 
 day, and it will be sent to every country paper. It 
 will give the impression that the city is for Weston 
 and against me almost solidly, and that is a false 
 impression. You know it, Mr. Trumbull ; you know 
 that it is cleverly arranged so that no one can vote 
 against this endorsement without seeming to dis- 
 parage or condemn Weston's Washington record, 
 which is fairly good." 
 
 " What do you want me to do ? " asked Trumbull ; 
 for, put in this light, the thing really did look un- 
 fair. 
 
 " I want you to prevent any endorsement of any 
 kind," said Wade. " You can do it ; you have the 
 personal and official influence to do it. As chairman 
 of the committee, you have only to point out that 
 it is unusual and is establishing a precedent that is 
 likely to make future trouble. Protest vigorously 
 against the introduction of factional politics into a 
 club of merchants and professional men that never 
 before has done more than simply to be for the party 
 solidly when big issues were at stake. There are 
 only a few who want to do this thing; the rest of 
 them don't even see the point that is being made. 
 They think they are only endorsing a past record." 
 
 Trumbull drummed thoughtfully on his desk with
 
 2OO Slaves of Success 
 
 a pencil. He knew that there was much of truth in 
 what Wade said, that it was largely a political 
 scheme by a few men for Weston's benefit; but he 
 also knew that it was Wade's objectionable " ma- 
 chine " record that made this possible. Then he 
 thought of Mrs. Trumbull and the various things 
 she had said. So far as he could give it to him, 
 Wade was surely entitled to a fair show. 
 
 " I'll do it," he said, at last. " It will be time 
 enough to endorse Weston's previous record when 
 his term ends." 
 
 Trumbull did not see all that Wade saw in this 
 action, for Trumbull did not know all that Wade 
 knew. Among the knowing ones it already had 
 been whispered that the Central Club would en- 
 dorse Weston. When it failed to do SO', the Wes- 
 ton campaign would receive a serious jar that 
 would be almost equal to an endorsement of Wade. 
 It would be a setback. 
 
 " Now, if I can hit them somewhere else," he 
 told himself, " I'll have things coming my way." 
 
 He thought of David Clow, the man who had 
 unwittingly mortgaged himself. Clow was a Wes- 
 ton man, and Wade had let him think he could be 
 one. But when the time comes to strike, there is 
 nothing like having several blows come at once.
 
 Azro Craig's Awakening 201 
 
 The moral effect of the defection of Clow would 
 be the greater if it closely followed the Central 
 Club disappointment. And Wade was leaving noth- 
 ing to others now that he could possibly attend to 
 himself; the stake was too large. 
 
 " Clow," he said, when . he reached that legis- 
 lator's home in a distant part of the State, " they 
 tell me you are for Weston." 
 
 " Yes, I am," replied Clow. 
 
 " You ought to be for me, Clow." 
 
 "I don't think so," said Clow. "The people 
 who sent me to the Legislature don't think you're 
 the man to be Senator." 
 
 Wade winced at this, but he did not change his 
 rather patronizing tone. Wade, with a man in his 
 power, was a very different man from the Wade 
 who was seeking to gain his ends by clever ar- 
 gument. 
 
 " Do you remember the last session ? " asked 
 Wade. 
 
 " Yes," answered Clow. 
 
 " Do you remember the bill before the Commit- 
 tee on Commerce the bill to regulate the express 
 company business?" 
 
 " I voted honestly on that bill," declared Clow, 
 excitedly.
 
 202 Slaves of Success 
 
 " But you speculated on advance information of 
 what the committee would do." 
 
 " So did you ! " cried Clow. 
 
 "You don't know whether I did or not," re- 
 turned Wade, coldly, " but I know you did." 
 
 " It was honest," insisted Clow. " You know 
 it was honest. And you put up the job, John Wade ! 
 You knew I was hard up! You were back of the 
 people that were pressing me! And then you 
 showed me the way out by using the stock market, 
 and you said you'd put my deal in with yours. You 
 and Carroll worked that together." 
 
 "That's a lie, Clow!" 
 
 Clow looked ready to spring at his accuser, but 
 he stopped to think, and thought brought worry. 
 He had speculated oni committee information, but 
 he had not allowed it to influence his vote. 
 
 " Carroll has his ways and I have mine," Wade 
 added. " Carroll tried to force you to vote for 
 the boodle end of that bill, while I only tried to 
 make you my friend. What I did for you was done 
 on your written order. Do you remember it?" 
 
 " Yes," said Clow, and all the strength and life 
 seemed to go out of him now. 
 
 " I want you to be my friend, Clow," said Wade, 
 meaningly.
 
 Azro Craig's Awakening 203 
 
 " It will kill me in this district," pleaded Clow. 
 
 " The papers I hold," said Wade, menacingly, 
 "will make you infamous in every district; they'll 
 drive you from the State. Previous to a report by 
 your committee you speculated in stocks that would 
 be affected by that report. No matter how honest 
 your vote may have been, that fact will kill you. 
 You're respected here now, you've been sent to the 
 Legislature a second time, you can go again after 
 this term if they don't find you out." 
 
 " Never, if I vote for you," said Qow. 
 
 " But you can live here; you won't be an out- 
 cast, a byword, a shunned man, a convicted grafter. 
 Oh! you needn't protest that you didn't graft! 
 It's not what I know; it's what your friends and 
 neighbours and the people of the State will think 
 they know when they see these papers." 
 
 " Where are they? " asked Qow, a sudden wild 
 gleam in his eye, 
 
 " Oh, I didn't bring them with me," laughed 
 Wade. " I don't think you could take them from 
 me, but I'm not risking it." Then insinuatingly, 
 " I want you to be my friend, Clow. I'd give up 
 any old papers to a friend when he has proved 
 his friendship." 
 
 " All right," said Qow, almost inaudibly.
 
 204 Slaves of Success 
 
 " I want you to send word to Chicago that you 
 have broken away from Weston. I'll know when 
 it gets there, and I'll know if it doesn't get there. 
 You needn't say anything about it here, but I want 
 you to come out for me strong when you get to 
 Springfield. It won't hurt you very much. Weston 
 is strong with the people here, but I'll make so good 
 a Senator that it will all be forgiven by the time you 
 are ready to run again." 
 
 " I'll do it," said Clow. Wade noticed the big 
 drops of perspiration on his forehead and was weak 
 enough to regret that he had to do what he had 
 done. With the exception of the preliminaries, the 
 job had been more in Carroll's line. 
 
 " If it will make you feel any better," Wade said, 
 in parting, " I'll tell you that I know your vote was 
 honest and that Carroll failed to get you to take 
 the boodle view, but the fact that you speculated 
 on your own committee action looks bad, very bad. 
 You're wise to arrange to get those papers back. 
 I'll deliver them to you at Springfield." 
 
 Wade returned to Chicago with a reasonably 
 light heart, for he eased his conscience by telling 
 himself that he would surely take care of Clow in 
 some way, in case the latter's constituents should 
 prove unforgiving.
 
 Azro Craig's Awakening 205 
 
 Then he gave his attention to Duncan, and this 
 was an entirely different proposition. Duncan was 
 more worldly wise than Clow. He had had more 
 experience, and he was aggressively strong where 
 Clow was only negatively strong. The idea of an 
 interview did not impress Wade favourably, for one 
 never could tell what Duncan might do. But he 
 needed Duncan not so much for his one vote as 
 for the moral effect of that vote. 
 
 After considerable thought, Wade adopted an 
 unusual and ingenious method of getting Duncan's 
 attention : he mailed him a copy of the photograph 
 of the contract with the Professor. 
 
 " He's wise enough to know that it means some- 
 thing," Wade reasoned, " and that he'll find out 
 what it is later, if he keeps silent. If he holds his 
 tongue I'll get him; if he yells well, I'd rather 
 have him yell before I get mixed up in the affair." 
 
 Duncan did not yell. He reasoned, as Wade had 
 expected, that something lay behind this action, and 
 he decided to wait until he learned what it was. He 
 could do nothing else, so far as he could see. His 
 vote on the railroad measure had hurt him, and 
 there could be no possible satisfactory explanation 
 of this contract. It seemed to his friends as if Sen- 
 ator Duncan aged ten years in a single night.
 
 206 Slaves of Success 
 
 Wade waited three days for him to speak, and 
 then he sent a man to him with this verbal mes- 
 sage: 
 
 " Mr. Wade says that the negative and all copies 
 of the photograph may be had after the vote on the 
 Senatorship." 
 
 The messenger did not know to what this re- 
 ferred, but the Senator did : he knew how he would 
 have to vote to gain this; he knew that refusal 
 spelled ruin for him. Furthermore, if he purposed 
 voting for Wade, it was necessary to prepare the 
 way, for a sensational shift at the last moment 
 would hardly do. 
 
 Shortly thereafter the rumour gained currency 
 that Senator Duncan would support Wade; and 
 there were lines in Senator Duncan's face that had 
 not been there before. 
 
 Carroll was the next on Wade's list. Carroll was 
 still disgruntled, but he was always able to see where 
 his personal advantage lay, and Wade was in a 
 position to talk convincingly now. He went over 
 the ground very thoroughly, checking off men on 
 a list of the Republican members of the Legislature, 
 and Carroll had to admit that he made a very fair 
 statement of the case. Carroll's own investigations 
 corroborated the reports that Wade had received
 
 Azro Craig's Awakening 207 
 
 from his lieutenants and now presented for consid- 
 eration. 
 
 " You've got a pretty long 1 list of uncertainties 
 there," commented Carroll. " It will take very little 
 to make most of those people jump either way. The 
 Central Club action may do it." 
 
 " No," said Wade, with calm confidence. " The 
 Central Club's failure to act will do it. The club's 
 Committee on Political Action met this morning." 
 
 " Well ? " said Carroll, inquiringly. 
 
 " It refused to endorse any one, which means that 
 it tacitly endorsed me. A Weston endorsement was 
 expected, the Weston people said it was coming ; it 
 hasn't come. That's a black eye for Weston, isn't 
 it?" 
 
 " How the devil did that happen ? " demanded 
 Carroll. 
 
 " Why, it was all framed up. Your Uncle John 
 hasn't been asleep, Carroll," returned Wade. " It 
 makes no difference how it happened, so long as 
 Weston got the jolt. If you don't believe me, you'll 
 find it in the afternoon papers." And Wade pro- 
 duced one. 
 
 The headlines were enough for Carroll, but he 
 made a pretence of reading the article to give him 
 a moment for thought.
 
 208 Slaves of Success 
 
 " That's going to hurt," he admitted, at last. " It 
 wouldn't be so bad if the Weston people hadn't made 
 such a point of it during the last few days." 
 
 " It's not the only mistake the Weston people 
 have made," said Wade, with slow impressiveness. 
 " They have been counting on Clow as one of their 
 right-hand men in his part of the State. Clow will 
 be throwing his hat in the air and yelling for me 
 at Springfield." 
 
 " Why, he's been one of the strongest Weston 
 men ! " cried Carroll. 
 
 "He's seen the error of his ways," returned 
 Wade. 
 
 " How did you do it ? " asked Carroll, with eager 
 curiosity. 
 
 " Never mind that," replied Wade. " I some- 
 times get my good cards a long time before I play 
 them." 
 
 " It was that express deal ! " exclaimed Carroll. 
 " I never could quite understand the finish of that." 
 
 " Let's not bother with ancient history," said 
 Wade. " Duncan will be with me, too. If the 
 Weston people haven't got their second jolt by to- 
 morrow night, we'll call it all off. If they have, 
 you'd better get into the band-wagon. I want you 
 with me, Carroll."
 
 Azro Craig's Awakening 209 
 
 Carroll did not reply for several minutes. He 
 was wise enough to see the strength of his position, 
 and it was not often that he was able to dictate 
 terms to Wade. 
 
 " How about Craig? " he asked, at last. 
 
 " If I have you," answered Wade, " Craig will 
 have to follow the party ; I'll be strong enough for 
 that. If I don't have you, I'll have Craig, and you'll 
 have to follow the party. It looks as if I could win 
 either way." 
 
 " No, you can't," retorted Carroll, apparently 
 reaching a decision. " Without either me or Craig 
 you and Weston stood about even. The Central 
 Club and Clow affairs will give you a lead, and Craig 
 will add something to that lead ; but, if I throw my 
 strength to Weston, he'll be on even terms with you 
 again, and it's anybody's fight. Craig is a mighty 
 poor offset for me, Wade; he isn't enthusiastic 
 enough to bring many votes with him in this matter. 
 I can give you strength enough to practically put 
 Weston out of the running, for he can't hold a lot 
 of his people in an up-hill fight. If they start in your 
 direction, as they will, you can poll the full party 
 strength on joint ballot before he knows what has 
 happened. Craig will have to tail on. You need 
 me, Wade, and you'll have to pay for me."
 
 2IO Slaves of Success 
 
 " What's the price? " asked Wade, realizing that 
 Carroll had figured the thing out more carefully than 
 was his custom. 
 
 Carroll leaned back in his chair and puffed the 
 smoke of his cigar in Wade's direction. He was 
 absolute master of the situation for almost the first 
 time master because Wade's ambition had led him 
 to make of himself one of the political puppets with 
 which he was accustomed to play. 
 
 " To save myself on Treasurer Hackley's bond," 
 said Carroll, in order to refresh Wade's memory, 
 " when Mrs. Trumbull whipsawed us in the matter 
 of forcing an accounting, I had to redeem the State 
 University securities that he had hypothecated. He 
 never has paid the notes he gave me at that time, 
 and a suit on them would bring out disagreeable 
 inside facts. He may pay them in time, if he suc- 
 ceeds in getting on a more solid financial basis, but 
 I don't think I ought to run all the risk. There are 
 two notes, Wade. I'd like to sell you one of them 
 at its face value, with interest to date." 
 
 " I can't afford it, Carroll," pleaded Wade. 
 
 " Then you can't afford to be Senator," retorted 
 Carroll, decisively. 
 
 " Any kind of a political deal " 
 
 " Those are the terms," interrupted Carroll.
 
 Azro Craig's Awakening 211 
 
 " You're unreasonable, Carroll," insisted Wade. 
 " It was your own affair, not mine." 
 
 " It was politics," said Carroll, " and, if you want 
 another political partnership, you've got to pay half 
 the losses of the old firm. I tell you, Wade, I'm 
 making you a bargain price, for you're buying a bit 
 of commercial paper and getting a Senatorship as 
 bonus. The paper may or may not be good, but the 
 Senatorship is." 
 
 The two men smoked in silence, each mentally re- 
 viewing the situation to see if there was any point 
 of weakness or strength that had been overlooked. 
 Finally Wade announced abruptly : " It's a hold-up, 
 Carroll, but you've got the drop on me. I'll buy the 
 note," 
 
 It was a considerable price to pay, but it is worth 
 something to achieve one's ambition, and it seemed 
 to give Wade a certainty. He would surely draw 
 largely from Weston when the latter's weakness 
 became generally known, and there was good reason 
 to believe that he could make a sufficient showing 
 in caucus to bring every Republican member to him 
 on the first joint ballot. Even Craig would not dare 
 hold back then, although caucus rule was not im- 
 posed by party custom. 
 
 But Craig had finally awakened, and Craig awake
 
 212 Slaves of Success 
 
 was a very different man from Craig sleeping. Most 
 of the members and interested politicians reached 
 Springfield a day or so before the opening of the 
 session, to look the ground over and familiarize 
 themselves with the situation. The Weston people 
 were greatly worried. The Central Club's action, 
 or rather refusal to act, had been a hard blow to 
 them, and the defection of Clow was almost as 
 serious. The loss of a man once won is infinitely 
 worse than a failure to win him in the first place. 
 The Wade cohorts were as jubilant as the Weston 
 men were depressed, and Craig circulated impartially 
 among both. He was considered a Wade man by 
 most of the members, but he had little to say. Wade 
 himself was thinking of looking him up, to see if 
 he could reconcile him to the Carroll alliance, when 
 Craig sent for him. That was unusual and disquiet- 
 ing. Craig, the modest, never before had " sent " 
 for any one, but it was no time to stand on cere- 
 mony, so Wade went. 
 
 " I been thinkin' things over," said Craig, slowly, 
 " an' I come to the conclusion that I was jest about 
 the innocentest guy that ever was the day I sat on 
 your steps in my stockin' feet an' was so tickled by 
 the way you took it. I thought you was glad to see 
 Azro Craig, jest plain Azro Craig, but I learned a
 
 Azro Craig's Awakening 213 
 
 lot since then. You're clever, Jack, but you don't 
 give a blame for anything but votes, present an' to 
 come, an' you're mean downright low an' mean." 
 
 "Hold on, Azro!" cried Wade. "I won't 
 stand " 
 
 " I ain't goin/' to hold on ! " broke in Craig. 
 " I'm goin' to talk a lot, an' then it's your turn. 
 You think you got things fixed, with all your tricks 
 an' treachery, but you ain't knee-high to a grass- 
 hopper in this fight. You're goin' to draw out." 
 
 " Are you crazy ? " demanded Wade. 
 
 " Not so's a court'll take notice of it," replied 
 Craig, " but I think you was when you got to 
 fightin' a woman in a sneakin' way, not even bein' 
 honest about it. Now, don't git mad, Jack. You 
 got lots o' time to git mad later, an' I'm talkin' of 
 things I know. When you was tryin' to beat Mrs. 
 Trumbull on that State University business, didn't 
 you come to me, like a sneak, to try an' make me fix 
 one o' the trustees, that was my friend, to start the 
 fight ag'in her?" 
 
 " I ought to thrash you ! " exclaimed Wade. 
 
 " Don't you never try it, Jack," retorted Craig. 
 " I'm harder'n a keg o' nails." 
 
 " You seem determined to take a perverted view 
 of everything," asserted Wade, assuming the toler-
 
 214 Slaves of Success 
 
 ant air of one who could afford to be magnanimous 
 with a misguided countryman. " She was making 
 a nuisance of herself." 
 
 " She's a woman," returned Craig. " Folks don't 
 like men that don't play fair with women, an' she'd 
 feel mighty put-out about it herself. So would her 
 husband. An' that ain't all, Jack Wade. I tried to 
 excuse that, 'cause I liked you, but Senator Abbey's 
 been tellin' me things. Not knowin' me very well, 
 an' thinkin' I was one o' your certain-sure men, he 
 spoke up kind o' free when I asked him why he was 
 workin' so hard. ' Oh,' says he, ' he saved a handy 
 man o' mine, Dick Haggin, from 1 the penitentiary.' 
 That's all, Jack. He didn't say no more'n that, but 
 I was readin' how one o' the judges sent that feller 
 to the House o' Correction when he was booked for 
 the penitentiary. The papers criticized the judge 
 pretty strong at the time, you know. I ain't forgot." 
 
 " It's a lie! " declared Wade. " He didn't know 
 what he was talking about" 
 
 " Mebbe so," said Craig, " but I reckon the Wes- 
 ton folks would git the rights of it, if they had the 
 chance. I could make a Bible oath to what Abbey 
 told me, an' the facts don't look real nice. Abbey 
 come out for you strong, you see; then you been 
 so close to the judge in other ways that folks has
 
 Azro Craig's Awakening 215 
 
 talked about it, an' the feller got off. He was par- 
 doned from the House o' Correction, they say. 
 Folks has a way o' gettin' mad at men that monkey 
 with the courts. Mebbe I could tell jest enough to 
 show the connection between the handy man an' the 
 judge. You better draw out o' this fight, Jack." 
 
 Wade forced a laugh. It had to be forced, for 
 he knew his position was perilous. And so was the 
 position of his friend, the judge. 
 
 " I'm too old at the game to be frightened out," 
 he said, " and you're new at it, Azro." 
 
 "Oh, all right," returned Craig. "Folks has 
 been wonderin' how an honest man like Duncan was 
 got on the boodle side o' the railroad bill, an' then 
 they was surprised to see him come out for you, 
 after fightin' you hard before. An' he ain't doin' 
 it a bit cheerful, either. It don't look right, Jack. 
 I don't know what hold you got on him, but I don't 
 reckon you dare spring anything if he breaks away. 
 'Most everybody would know what it meant, an' 
 mebbe, with all these other things, I could make it 
 clear to them that didn't. When folks begin to git 
 suspicious, they git blame Auspicious, an' they know 
 things without havin' 'em pounded in. It would 
 explain a whole lot if you showed up any scandal 
 hurtin' Duncan. Folks would see behind it"
 
 2i6 Slaves of Success 
 
 " Duncan is for me, because I have convinced 
 him that I'm the best man," asserted Wade. " The 
 trouble with you, Azro, is that the excitement of 
 politics has set the wheels in your head to running 
 loose and uncontrolled. You've got ghosts in your 
 attic, and you don't know they're ghosts." 
 
 Wade was both angry and disturbed. This old 
 fellow had developed a shrewdness that might make 
 trouble; clearly the thing to do was to discourage 
 him by making him think he had nothing worth 
 while. But Craig had been debating this matter too 
 long: he had gone over the whole situation in his 
 slow, methodical way, and had reached a definite 
 conclusion. 
 
 " Oh, all right," he said. " Clow's a friend o' 
 mine, an' I know about his case. He's been askin' 
 me how to square things with the folks at home, an' 
 I told him to make a clean breast o' the whole thing 
 an' vote for the man his people want." 
 
 "I'll break him if he does!" threatened Wade, 
 startled into another display of temper. " I've got 
 the papers to put him out of politics, out of " 
 
 " You ain't quick enough, Jack," interrupted 
 Craig. " The man that's first to the public with 
 his story is the one that's goin' to make the other 
 feller do the explainin'. I got his story in writin'.
 
 Azro Craig's Awakening 217 
 
 It shows where you come in, an' takes the edge off 
 your papers. It shows how you got 'em an' how 
 you used 'em. Folks don't like that sort o' busi- 
 ness." Craig leaned forward and emphasized his 
 remarks with a long, bony forefinger. " Jack Wade, 
 you're goin' to draw out o' the race right now, or 
 that story will be in the hands o' the Weston folks 
 inside o' five minutes. Mebbe I don't know how to 
 use it best, but you bet they do. They'll have how 
 you tricked the woman, too, an' how you fixed the 
 judge, an' mebbe they can git at the bottom o' the 
 Duncan business. You're needin' a vacation, an' 
 you better take it. There couldn't nobody trust you 
 in the United States Senate. Leastways I couldn't, 
 an' I've learned how things is done since I took my 
 boots off on your front steps up in Chicago." 
 
 Wade went from that conference direct to the 
 depot in a carriage. It was rumoured that he was 
 ill. The rumour was verified later from Chicago. 
 He had broken down under the strain of many years 
 of active politics, and would recuperate abroad. Of 
 course his name had to be withdrawn from consid- 
 eration for the Senatorship; it was understood that 
 he was the first to insist upon that, although only 
 one or two of his intimate friends saw him before
 
 218 Slaves of Success 
 
 he left to regain his shattered health by foreign 
 travel. 
 
 And Carroll, knowing only that Wade had re- 
 tired from politics for good and sufficient (although 
 unrevealed) reasons, tempered his regret at the loss 
 of an associate with the reflection, " Well, this gives 
 me a chance to be it, if I work it right."
 
 VIII. 
 THE CUPIDITY OF CARROLL 
 
 ALLEN SIDWAY went from his conference with 
 Ben Carroll straight to Settlement House. His talk 
 with Carroll had not been soothing, and somehow 
 a visit to Settlement House always made him feel 
 better : after the contamination of practical politics 
 it seemed to have a purifying effect. Perhaps Hazel 
 Hoyne had something to do with this. She was so 
 quietly delightful that her very presence in a room 
 brought peace and tranquillity to his troubled mind. 
 And just now his mind was sorely troubled and his 
 temper sorely ruffled. Since the downfall and de- 
 parture of John Wade, Carroll practically controlled 
 the local Republican " machine," in which Sidway 
 was a cog. 
 
 Carroll never fully understood just what happened 
 to Wade, but the fact that Wade, the astute, had met 
 
 219
 
 22O Slaves of Success 
 
 his Waterloo in some mysterious way, just when vic- 
 tory seemed to be within his reach, was sufficient to 
 make Carroll cautious and diplomatic. He had been 
 rather blustering and rough in his methods while 
 Wade was on hand to do the clever and tactful work ; 
 now he endeavoured to be prudent and cunning him- 
 self, to develop some of the qualities that Wade had 
 supplied to the combination previously. He was 
 not entirely successful, frequently reverting to his 
 former brusque and domineering ways ; but, feeling 
 the additional responsibility, he was gradually ac- 
 quiring a " smoothness " that helped him materially. 
 This had enabled him to secure and hold Allen 
 Sidway, with whom he had absolutely nothing in 
 common, outside of politics, and who could not have 
 been held a minute by the methods Carroll had been 
 accustomed to use in the slum wards. Still, Carroll 
 never could be a Wade, no matter how hard he 
 tried, for he was actuated by different and "coarser" 
 motives, and he frequently let impulse change his 
 plan of action. 
 
 In the conference with Sidway, just ended, he had 
 endeavoured to be conciliatory, and had succeeded 
 in holding himself in check when a plan in which he 
 had a deep personal interest had been violently op^ 
 posed. He had opened the interview by asking if
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 221 
 
 Sidway had any one to propose for the Congres- 
 sional nomination in the Twelfth District. 
 
 " I think Taylor would be a good man," Sidway 
 had replied. 
 
 " Are you pledged to him ? " Carroll had asked. 
 " Have you any personal interest in his candidacy? " 
 
 " Not at all. I am only interested in having a 
 good man nominated." 
 
 " How would David C. Radburn do? " 
 
 The trouble had commenced right there. Rad- 
 burn was a wealthy manufacturer, but there were 
 many rumours afloat that did him no credit. He 
 had been mixed up in some commercial scandals; 
 he had profited by evasions, if not violations, of 
 the Inter-State Commerce law; he had secured 
 favours from local officials that made people talk; 
 he occupied part of a street that belonged to the 
 public, for which he paid no rental in short, he 
 gained, and held, advantages over many of his 
 competitors that could not be gained and held by 
 straightforward means. And it was charged, al- 
 though never proved, that he was a persistent vio- 
 lator of the child-labour laws. 
 
 All this Sidway had pointed out. The man was 
 one who had the suspicion, rather than the confi- 
 dence, of the public at least of so much of the
 
 222 Slaves of Success 
 
 public as had stopped to give him any consideration 
 whatever. He was not one to whom it would be 
 safe to entrust any part of the law-making power. 
 Carroll had admitted that he was not a man to put 
 up in a close district, but he had insisted that it 
 would be perfectly safe in the Twelfth, which was 
 overwhelmingly Republican. So Sidway had left, 
 disgruntled, and had straightway discovered busi- 
 ness that took "him to the vicinity of Settlement 
 House. This was not his district, but it was a 
 noteworthy fact that he was always so ready to do 
 a little work there that he had come to know it 
 almost as well as the resident leaders and lieutenants. 
 And, if he had occasion to rest, it was at a time 
 when Hazel Hoyne was most likely to have leisure, 
 and the resting was done at Settlement House. 
 
 " I've come for encouragement," he told her. 
 
 " Do you need it? " she asked. 
 
 " Always," he replied, " and, if I had my way, 
 I wouldn't have to come so far for it." 
 
 " Please don't," she said. 
 
 " Don't come ? " he asked. 
 
 " No ; don't talk that way." 
 
 Sidway was an unusual, as well as a persistent, 
 suitor. He had proposed twice, and had been gently 
 refused both times ; but, instead of forsaking Settle-
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 223 
 
 ment House, he had continued to call as before. 
 It was not lack of pride that induced him to do this, 
 but rather a perfect understanding of Hazel Hoyne. 
 She liked him, perhaps she loved him, but she 
 was devoted to her work among the poor. She 
 was doing good and she knew it. A quiet, modest, 
 tender-hearted, womanly woman, she had great in- 
 fluence with the people of that slum neighbourhood. 
 She had come there from choice five years before, 
 after being an occasional visitor for some time, and 
 her enthusiasm had increased with her increasing 
 success in this field of humanitarian work. It held 
 her as the pen or the brush may hold a genius in 
 other lines; she had the same joy in achievement; 
 she was making, or helping to make, real men and 
 women out of very unpromising material. So she 
 had refused to leave with Sidway, and he under- 
 stood understood, but never despaired. She en- 
 couraged his friendship, but retreated the moment 
 he advanced a step beyond that. So he waited 
 patiently. 
 
 " Some day," he insisted. 
 
 " Please don't," she repeated, almost pleadingly. 
 " Tell me about yourself. What has disturbed 
 you?"
 
 224 Slaves of Success 
 
 " They're going to nominate Radburn in the 
 Twelfth," he replied, scowling. 
 
 " David Radburn ? " she asked. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Oh, Allen, you must prevent that ! " she ex- 
 claimed. " Why, he's a lawbreaker himself. We 
 all know that over here, where his factory is." 
 
 " But they don't know it over there, where he 
 lives," he returned. " They've heard rumours of 
 it, but they don't know it, and he's a prosperous 
 man." 
 
 " Surely he won't be elected, even if nominated," 
 she urged. " He isn't really popular, even there." 
 
 " Now, Hazel, you know better than that," he 
 said, reprovingly. " He isn't popular, of course, 
 and in a general way a good deal is known that is 
 to his discredit, but nothing has been proved. Fur- 
 thermore, his offences, in many instances, are the 
 offences of others, and the public has learned to re- 
 gard them lightly, when it takes time to think of 
 them at all. To cheat an individual is a much more 
 serious matter than to cheat the community or the 
 government. Besides that, the district is almost 
 three to one Republican, and you know how it is 
 when a ward or a district is heavily one way or the 
 other."
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 225 
 
 " Yes," she admitted, " I do." 
 
 " Over here it's all Democratic," he went on. 
 " If the worst Democrat in this ward should get 
 the aldermanic nomination, he would be elected, 
 wouldn't he? " 
 
 " I'm afraid he would." 
 
 " Well, the situation is just reversed over there. 
 Radburn can't poll his full party vote by a good 
 deal, but, if he's nominated, I don't see how he can 
 fail to be elected." 
 
 " Then he mustn't be nominated," she insisted. 
 
 "Unfortunately," he laughed, "Ben Carroll 
 thinks he must, and Ben Carrol! happens to be the 
 engineer of the ' machine.' I have been, and am, 
 opposed to Radburn, but I am only a very insignifi- 
 cant cog in the ' machine,' and I don't see how the 
 nomination is to be prevented. As I have no favours 
 to ask myself, I can afford to fight him, but Ben 
 will control." 
 
 " It will be a crime! " she cried, hotly. 
 
 " Oh, not so bad as that," he returned. " Such 
 a man ought never to go to Congress, for whatever 
 influence he has will be exerted to no good purpose 
 in some directions, but I wouldn't call it quite a 
 crime,"
 
 226 Slaves of Success 
 
 In her excitement she rose, took him by the hand, 
 and led him to another room. 
 
 " Let me show you what he is doing," she said. 
 
 In the room there were a number of little chil- 
 dren engaged in kindergarten games. One was 
 apparently older than the others, but of stunted 
 growth, emaciated figure, and weary, listless eyes. 
 She'seemed to be mentally deficient, also, and it was 
 really pitiful to see how hard she tried, and how 
 often she failed, to do her little part in the exercises. 
 The young woman in charge coached her kindly, and 
 the child smiled up at her gratefully, but still wear- 
 ily, and there was no light of interest or under- 
 standing in her eyes. 
 
 " She fully comprehends only one thing," ex- 
 plained Miss Hoyne. 
 
 " What is that? " asked Sidway. 
 
 For answer Miss Hoyne called the child to her. 
 
 " What can you do? " she asked. 
 
 Instantly the child's eyes brightened, not with 
 pleasure or anything allied to it, but with compre- 
 hension. At last they had come to something that 
 she knew. 
 
 " Sort buttons an' pack 'em," she said. 
 
 "Good God!" exclaimed Sidway. "She isn't 
 old enough. It's violation of the law."
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 227 
 
 " Of course she isn't," returned Miss Hoyne, 
 with the emphasis of angry indignation, " but the 
 necessary age certificate is on file." 
 
 "Where?" he demanded. 
 
 " Where do you work ? " she asked, turning to 
 the girl. 
 
 " Radburn's," was the prompt reply. 
 
 The child slipped back to her place, and the two 
 returned to the reception-room without a word. 
 Then the indignation of the quiet settlement worker 
 burst forth. 
 
 " Now, Mr. Allen Sidway," she said, " you have 
 seen one of the products of David Radburn's fac- 
 tory. It has taken him just about two years to make 
 that of a child, neither bright nor strong, but of fair 
 promise. He has dwarfed her body and dwarfed 
 her mind. Day after day she has stood at one table 
 and done one thing until she knows nothing else. 
 Day after day mind and body have narrowed and 
 shrunk when they should have been growing, ex- 
 panding. He has almost destroyed a human being 
 one of God's creatures. He is worse than a 
 murderer! He would make idiots, if he didn't kill, 
 and it's a merciful Providence that releases the soul 
 from the body of many a child who is used to make 
 wealth for such as he. He is a cruel, heartless
 
 228 Slaves of Success 
 
 monster! He puts a strain upon the child that no 
 child can stand ! He injures where he does not kill ! 
 He helps to make weak or evil citizenship, and he 
 does make anarchists. He is an enemy to the human 
 race, and so are all like him ! " 
 
 Sidway tried to speak, but she stopped him with 
 a gesture. 
 
 " I tell you, I know ! " she went on. " I see the 
 results! I see the heartlessness, the cold-blooded 
 cruelty! To you this is an isolated case, and I'll 
 admit that it is exceptionally sad, for few succumb 
 so soon, but there are others lots of them. The 
 work is going on every day, this work of human 
 destruction, and it makes me burn with indig- 
 nation that any one should even think of honouring 
 such a man ! What a mockery to ask him to make 
 laws! Why not put a burglar on the bench! Or 
 a defaulter in the treasury ! " 
 
 " You are excited," he urged, although his own 
 blood was hot with indignation. 
 
 " I am," she replied, more calmly, " and you 
 would be, too, if you were here day after day, as 
 I am, and then heard this. We are trying to bring 
 that little girl that he almost destroyed back to real 
 life, but do you think we get any help from him? 
 We went to him and explained the situation; we
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 229 
 
 told him she was there because the money was 
 needed; we asked him if he would carry her on 
 the pay-roll for a short time while we endeavoured 
 to build up her little body we didn't know about 
 her mind then; and what do you think he an- 
 swered? He couldn't afford to establish such a 
 precedent. So we workers are paying the little 
 pittance she earned, while we are trying to reclaim 
 her physically and mentally. He has done this for 
 his own profit ; we are paying for the privilege of 
 undoing it. And that's the kind of a man, Mr. 
 Allen Sidway, that your great Republican party 
 talks of running for Congress. I tell you, if tjiis 
 outrage is committed, if you, knowing the facts, 
 can't stop it, I'll think there is no manhood left 
 in this country." 
 
 n. 
 
 Allen Sidway went from Hazel Hoyne straight 
 back to Ben Carroll. He expected to gain nothing, 
 but the least he could do was to try. What he had 
 seen and heard was enough to make any man try, 
 and he would try all the harder because of Hazel 
 Hoyne's influence. It had been his original inten- 
 tion to oppose Radburn in a perfunctory, formal 
 sort of way, for the reason that he believed more
 
 230 Slaves of Success 
 
 strenuous efforts would be a waste of time and 
 labour ; but now he was determined to make a real 
 fight. 
 
 " One of the products of David Radburn's fac- 
 tory ! " he repeated to himself, and he clenched his 
 fists angrily as he recalled the scene at Settlement 
 House. It was enough to make any man fight ! He 
 would be the champion of the child and the repre- 
 sentative of the woman. He would do this for 
 either, whatever the cost to him might be. It was 
 an outrage that such a man should be even men- 
 tioned for public office; also, in his individual 
 opinion, it was an outrage that any man whom 
 Hazel Hoyne so despised should secure preferment 
 of ?ny kind. 
 
 Fortunately, Sidway was in a position to be abso- 
 lutely independent. He was a young man in politics, 
 a young man of independent means, who could 
 afford the time and liked the excitement, and he 
 had no clearly defined political aspirations. Perhaps 
 it had occurred to him that some day his party might 
 see fit to honour him, but he was seeking nothing, 
 and by opposing Carroll he could lose nothing ex- 
 cept a little political power and prestige. But Sid- 
 way was practical as well as honest. He knew that 
 politics was far from what it should be, and his
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 231 
 
 influence was always for betterment, but he had no 
 wild dream of heavenly conditions. He took things 
 as they were and made the best of them. Further- 
 more, he had the wisdom and experience that makes 
 a man diplomatic, so he approached Carroll cau- 
 tiously. He was determined, but there was no need 
 of a declaration of war until other means had failed. 
 Carroll was powerful. There was practically no 
 chance of defeating him in a fight, and very little 
 chance of winning him in an argument, but it was 
 better to try the argument first. So, concealing his 
 real feelings, he began the interview in a conciliatory 
 spirit. 
 
 " Carroll," he said, " can't we settle on some other 
 man for the Twelfth?" 
 
 " Quite out of the question," returned Carroll. 
 "Why should we?" 
 
 " As a matter of party policy, for one thing," ex- 
 plained Sidway. " Radburn is going to hurt us. 
 He is far from popular, and there are scandals that 
 will be raked up to make trouble." 
 
 " Oh, that's all talk," asserted Carroll. " There 
 are mean things said about every successful man, 
 and, if he happens to get into politics, the lies are 
 elaborated. Radburn is all right. There isn't a 
 thing that can be proved against him."
 
 232 Slaves of Success 
 
 " Perhaps not," admitted Sidway, " but you and 
 I know that some of these charges are true, and it's 
 foolish to think that we are the only wise people 
 in the district. Whether there is proof or not, 
 Radburn is pretty well known for what he is. It 
 hurts to put up such a candidate, even if the district 
 is so strongly Republican that he can be elected in 
 spite of opposition in his own party. Why not 
 try a good clean man like Malcolm Taylor ? " 
 
 " Why are you so set on Malcolm Taylor ? " 
 asked Carroll. 
 
 " I'm not," answered Sidway. " Any other will 
 suit me any one except Radburn. Why, Carroll, 
 that man is wrecking childhood ! " 
 
 Carroll, accustomed to override opposition, was 
 beginning to be annoyed. 
 
 "Nonsense!" he retorted. "I've heard those 
 stories, but they don't amount to anything; there's 
 no proof. I tell you, Sidway, he's going to be 
 nominated and elected. It's all settled." 
 
 " Perhaps not," said Sidway, with just a trace 
 of menace in his tone. He knew that Carroll had 
 reason for his confidence, but it annoyed him that 
 the man should be so supremely indifferent to the 
 views of others.
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 233 
 
 " I suppose you'll oppose him," laughed Carroll, 
 harshly. 
 
 " I certainly shall." 
 
 " Well," said Carroll, still keeping Wade in mind, 
 " after our previous interview, I rather expected 
 you would, but it's of no importance. We can 
 nominate him without your support." 
 
 Here was further evidence of Carroll's confidence. 
 If not sure of his ground, he probably would try in 
 some way to induce or compel Sidway to act with 
 the " machine." 
 
 " I've just seen one of his victims, Carroll," ex- 
 claimed Sidway, his temper rising, " and if the 
 voters of the Twelfth Dictrict saw her, you couldn't 
 elect Radburn assistant keeper of the dog pound! 
 Putting all his other evasions of the law aside, this 
 is enough to condemn the man, and it does! I tell 
 you I've just come from a child-wreck that he made, 
 and it's a damnable outrage to talk of sending such 
 a man to Congress ! " 
 
 " Now, Sidway," urged Carroll, restraining him- 
 self with an effort, " it is no use to talk like that. 
 We'd like to have you with us, but we don't need 
 you, so we're not going to make any fuss if you 
 balk. If you can't stand Radburn, just creep into 
 your tent and keep quiet, and we'll say no more
 
 234 Slaves of Success 
 
 about it. When you come out after the election 
 we'll be glad to see you." 
 
 " But I'm not going to creep into my tent," re- 
 turned Sidway, angrily ; " I'm going to fight ! " 
 
 " Suit yourself," said Carroll. 
 
 " I'm going to fight before the convention, in the 
 convention, and after the convention ! " 
 
 "Do you mean that you'll bolt the nominee?" 
 asked Carroll. 
 
 " If it happens to be Radburn, I will ! I'll bolt 
 and I'll fight right up to the minute the polls close 
 election day! And I won't be alone, either! " 
 
 " Is this a declaration of war? " demanded Car- 
 roily 
 
 " Only if you make it so. What's your interest 
 in this man Radburn, anyway? " 
 
 " I'm thinking only of the party." 
 
 "That's a lie, Carroll!" 
 
 Carroll flushed angrily : this was more than even 
 a tactful politician could be expected to stand. 
 
 " There is something back of it," Sidway went 
 on. " I won't say that you're bought, but there's 
 some advantage for you in this matter. You know 
 that Taylor would be a better and more acceptable 
 man; you know that many of the delegates will 
 vote for Radburn under protest; you know that he
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 235 
 
 is not popular in the district; you know that he 
 ought not to go to Congress; you know that his 
 nomination will hurt the party; and yet you insist. 
 What is there in it, Carroll? Why is he the only 
 Republican in the whole district that you can see? 
 Why are you forcing him? What's the secret, 
 Carroll?" 
 
 " You damn fool ! " exclaimed Carroll, finally ex- 
 ploding, " you talk like a crazy man ! " 
 
 " No, I don't," retorted Sidway. " I talk sense, 
 and I am only asking questions now that others will 
 ask later. Of course you won't answer them, Car- 
 roll, but they'll be asked by the voters and they'll 
 be asked by the papers just make up your mind 
 to that. Whatever you get out of this business is 
 going to be dearly bought." 
 
 " What you get out of this business," cried Car- 
 roll, " will be a political grave. I'll put you in it 
 myself." 
 
 Both men had risen and were facing each other 
 angrily. 
 
 " But before you do it, Carroll," retorted Sidway, 
 " I'll ask you those questions myself not here, but 
 on the stump. If you force Radburn on the con- 
 vention I'll make that a campaign cry. ' What is 
 there in it, Carroll ? ' will follow you up to and after
 
 236 Slaves of Success 
 
 election ! It's as catching a phrase as the ' Where 
 did you get it ? ' that followed Croker. Do you 
 remember that, Carroll ? Did you ever stop to think 
 how Croker must have hated it how he must have 
 tried to run from it, to hide from it, to escape it in 
 any way, how it must have stared up at him day 
 after day? Why, Carroll, when the story of your 
 strange and anxious interest in this matter becomes 
 public, that question will be set to music and the 
 boys will whistle it ! " 
 
 " Get out of here! " shouted Carroll, shaking his 
 fist in the younger man's face. " You can't talk 
 to me that way in my own office! " 
 
 " But I can on the stump, Carroll ! " retorted 
 Sidway, as he stopped in the doorway, " and I will ! 
 I'll show your man up from one end of the district 
 to the other! If it takes proof to beat him, I'll get 
 proof ! It's to be had, Carroll ! No man ever system- 
 atically violated and evaded the law without leav- 
 ing proof somewhere, and I'll find it. But I won't 
 forget you, Carroll ! You are the responsible party, 
 and every man, woman, and child shall know it; 
 and they'll ask questions the question, ' What is 
 there in it, Carroll ? What is there in it ? ' " 
 
 For some time after Sidway had left Carroll sat
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 237 
 
 absorbed in thought. He was the political king : he 
 could rule so long as he made no fatal blunder. 
 Had he made one? Had his cupidity lured him to 
 an act of political self-destruction? Carroll rea- 
 soned now, where formerly he had merely acted. 
 Having no Wade to look into the future for him, 
 he tried to do it for himself. The lure of gold had 
 led him into many a serious predicament; his 
 " financial friends " had almost wrecked him on 
 other occasions. How would it be this time? 
 
 " What is there in it? " he repeated, and scowled. 
 It was a disagreeable phrase to get in general circu- 
 lation, and it might make considerable trouble. " I 
 wonder what started this hare-brained lunatic, any- 
 way," he muttered. " He can't beat Radburn, of 
 course, but he may hurt me. I wonder if there's 
 any way of stopping him. I'd hate to be haunted 
 by a question as Croker was." 
 
 Then he sent for Radburn, and meanwhile tried 
 to forget ; but all the rest of the day, " What is 
 there in it, Carroll ? " kept flashing through his 
 mind, and sometimes it seemed almost as if others 
 were framing the question. Two days later he saw 
 it in the head-lines of a newspaper. Sidway had 
 made no idle threat.
 
 238 Slaves of Success 
 
 in. 
 
 Malcolm Taylor was a receptive candidate; 
 Sidway wanted him to become an aggressive one. 
 As a matter of fact, Sidway had developed an 
 amount of energy and aggressiveness that surprised 
 himself. He was so practical a man that he did not 
 ordinarily take much interest in a losing fight, such 
 as this was practically certain to be, but he was going 
 into it heart and soul, nevertheless. It could not 
 be denied that he had been deeply stirred by the 
 child, but that was hardly sufficient to make him 
 tilt at a windmill. For whom, then, would he wage 
 a hopeless battle ? 
 
 " Heavens ! how her eyes flashed ! " he com- 
 mented, and the question was answered. The child's 
 eyes were not the ones that had flashed. 
 
 So he went about his task with enthusiasm and 
 dogged determination. It was the enthusiasm of 
 battle, rather than of prospective victory, but it 
 was enthusiasm, just the same, and reasonably 
 effective. 
 
 " Go into the fight, and go in hard ! " he advised 
 Taylor. " You can't get this nomination without 
 work/' 
 
 " But can I get it with work ? " asked Taylor.
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 239 
 
 " Probably not," admitted Sidway, " but there's 
 a chance. Fight for it. I'll be with you, and there 
 are others who will rally to a good fighter ! If you 
 hold back, you can't expect them to do anything. 
 You must show that you have a chance. It's worth 
 something just to put up a hard fight ! " 
 
 Taylor gave the subject thoughtful consideration. 
 He would like to go to Congress, of course, and at 
 one time the outlook had been favourable, but Car- 
 roll had lured away most of his support Men who 
 had talked to him encouragingly at first had later 
 decided that they would have to support the " ma- 
 chine " man. Carroll was powerful and deter- 
 mined; he controlled the party machinery; he had 
 ways of " reaching " the politicians ; he would be 
 supreme at the primaries and supreme in the con- 
 vention. Furthermore, it was too late to start a 
 successful campaign. 
 
 " In a word," Taylor concluded, " you and I 
 can't beat the ' machine.' ' 
 
 " But another ' machine ' may be able to do it," 
 persisted Sidway. " We'll have a little ' machine ' 
 of our own. I'll build it, and get it running. You 
 don't know yet what your support will be, if you 
 come out as an avowed candidate. Declare your- 
 self, Taylor and fight! Radburn is vulnerable
 
 240 Slaves of Success - 
 
 let's get after him' ! Many of the men that Car- 
 roll has secured are really favourable to you, and 
 we may get them back. Go into this as a matter 
 of principle, even if you don't win! I'll manage 
 your campaign! I'll give you every minute of my 
 time, and I'll have the little ' machine ' running in 
 twenty-four hours! Get your friends together to- 
 morrow, and I'll talk to them; I'll give them the 
 points of attack; I'll show them the weak spots; 
 I'll furnish them with the shafts that will hurt. 
 Why, I can give you the key-note of the campaign 
 ,4iow. Radburn is unpopular; he is a weak man 
 politically ; disagreeable things are said of his meth- 
 ods; charges have been made against him; he is 
 being forced on the district by Carroll ! Bring out 
 all that, and then ask, ' What is there in it, Car- 
 roll ? ' Harp on that question, Taylor. Have every 
 man who speaks for you harp on it, and, even 
 if you don't win, you'll give Carroll and Radburn 
 the hottest time of their lives." 
 
 Taylor was silent for a moment. Then he grasped 
 Sidway's hand impulsively and exclaimed : " I'll 
 do it! I don't expect to win, but I'll make the 
 fight!" 
 
 " Good ! " cried Sidway. " Don't lose a minute 
 in getting to work, either! Get Dan Collins to
 
 * The Cupidity of Carroll 241 
 
 help! He's a strong man, and your friend. I'm 
 going to see wjhat I can do with some of the others." 
 
 If Sidway had been less determined, he would 
 have been discouraged in his efforts to build up the 
 little " machine." The story of the child was told, 
 but it produced little effect. It was not an uncom- 
 mon thing for factory children to be in poor health, 
 and there was no evidence that Radburn knew per- 
 sonally of any violation of the law; in fact, there 
 was no conclusive evidence that the law had been 
 violated, for the child had her age certificate. As 
 for the other charges, they amounted to very little 
 in the opinion of the men approached. Such eva- 
 sions or violations of the law were not unusual ; they 
 had come to be regarded lightly. Others gained 
 trade advantages in the same way. It might be 
 that Radburn was a little bolder and more unprin- 
 cipled in his methods of securing improper favours 
 from the municipal and other officials, but that w*as 
 all ; and, if the railroads discriminated unjustly and 
 unlawfully for his benefit, why, that was their busi- 
 ness. 
 
 " Nothing has been proved," said Neil Harmon, 
 " and you'd better let Carroll alone in this matter. 
 He knows what he's doing, and he wants Radburn. 
 He's a good enough man for me, too."
 
 242 Slaves of Success 
 
 Others took much the same view of the situa- 
 tion. A few admitted that Taylor would be a 
 stronger candidate, but they were playing the game 
 of politics, and they did not care to be identified 
 with a hopeless cause to their ultimate disadvantage. 
 If Taylor had a real chance, it might be different, 
 but he had no chance at all. If they could beat 
 Carroll, they could dictate terms, and would gain 
 rather than lose; if they could not beat him, they 
 preferred to be with him. He was not a man to 
 be needlessly antagonized. Even this slight encour- 
 agement was lacking in most cases, for the politi- 
 cians had their own interests to watch, and were 
 quite satisfied with Carroll's selection. Only a few 
 admitted that any possible combination of circum- 
 stances would lead them to swing to Taylor. 
 
 " No progress," Sidway told himself, " and I 
 must accomplish something, or all the fire will go 
 out of the campaign. If I can show only a trifling 
 gain, it will help." 
 
 In this spirit he sought Larry McHugh, the last 
 man on his list. McHugh's alliance with Carroll 
 was one of convenience only, and there were ru- 
 mours that the Radburn candidacy did not entirely 
 suit him; but McHugh did not see why he should
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 243 
 
 make trouble for himself when nothing was to be 
 gained by it. 
 
 " Carroll's got the goods all nailed up, addressed, 
 and ready for delivery," he said. " You can't stop 
 him', so what's the use of trying? The nomination 
 is ' cinched/ and that means the election. You 
 couldn't beat the devil himself in that district, if 
 he got his name on the Republican ticket." 
 
 " But these stories ! " urged Sidway. 
 
 " You can't prove them," returned McHugh, 
 " and I don't think there's much in them any- 
 way." 
 
 There seemed to be no chance of an immediate 
 conversion, so Sidway resolved to spar for time. 
 
 " You'll control some delegates in that conven- 
 tion, McHugh," he suggested. 
 
 " Well, rather, but not enough to swing it." 
 
 " Are they pledged ? " 
 
 " Not yet, but they will be before the primaries." 
 
 " Can't you keep them unpledged ? " 
 
 " I can/' admitted McHugh, " but why should 
 I? It will make trouble with Carroll right at the 
 start, and what's the use ? " 
 
 " Because," replied Sidway, " I want a chance 
 to show you that Radburn can be beaten. I won't 
 ask you to oppose him until I can do that; but
 
 244 Slaves of Success 
 
 leave the way open, McHugh, give me a little 
 time! Won't you do something for principle? " 
 
 " Sure," answered McHugh, " but the principle's 
 got to be worth while. I'm not afraid to fight, 
 Sidway, but there's got to be something worth 
 fighting for, and some chance of success." 
 
 Sidway looked at his watch. 
 
 " Give me an hour of your time," he said. " I 
 want to show you something." 
 
 Half an hour later they sat in a cab opposite the 
 entrance to the plant of the Radburn Button Com- 
 pany, and watched the employees emerge. There 
 were men and women, boys and girls and chil- 
 dren. Sidway called attention to the children. 
 Among them were many weary and listless ones, 
 who should have had no place outside the school, 
 the playground, and the home. They might be of 
 the required age for factory work, but they did not 
 look it. They might have the necessary age certifi- 
 cates, but, if so, the ordinary observer would be 
 inclined to say that some one had sworn falsely. 
 Many there wtere who were unquestionably entitled 
 to work, under our beneficent laws ; but many others 
 unquestionably were not. They came forth slowly 
 and wearily. Except in a few isolated cases, there
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 245 
 
 was nothing that savoured of either youth or child- 
 hood about them; they were tired workers going 
 home. To one who had any love or sympathy for 
 children, it was a pathetic sight. 
 
 " Picture the monotony of life to such children! " 
 said Sidway, almost angrily. " Think of them shut 
 up in a factory day after day and week after week, 
 deprived of all health-giving exercise! There is 
 no play! There is no real life! There is only work 
 and ever increasing weakness ! It is more than child- 
 hood can stand ! You and I to-day are more youth- 
 ful than some of those children ! " He pointed out 
 a boy, with thin, white face, who was trudging 
 along stolidly, heavily, his step lacking all the 
 springiness of young life. " The price of Radburn's 
 success," he commented. " Shall we send such a 
 man to Congress ? " 
 
 McHugh thought of his own children, and sighed. 
 
 " It doesn't look right," he admitted, " but they 
 all do it." 
 
 " No, they don't," asserted Sidway, warmly. 
 " Many do, but, thank God ! all don't ! Some live 
 well within the law in this respect, but we want 
 better laws. Can we hope to get them if we hon- 
 our such men as this? Child labour is a State
 
 246 Slaves of Success 
 
 affair, of course, but what can we expect of a legis- 
 lature if we give a Congressman's influence to men 
 like David Radburn?" 
 
 " We can't beat him," pleaded McHugh. 
 
 " I only ask you to leave the chance open," urged 
 Sidway. 
 
 " I'll think about it," said McHugh. " Shall we 
 go back ? " 
 
 " Not yet," returned Sidway, and he gave instruc- 
 tions to drive to Settlement House. " I'll give you 
 another illustration of the price that is paid for this 
 man's success," he said. 
 
 They were in Settlement House only a short 
 time, but, when they came out, McHugh was 
 thoughtful and silent. 
 
 " Well ? " said Sidway, inquiringly, as they drove 
 along. 
 
 " Sidway," returned McHugh, slowly, " I don't 
 think you can win, and I'm not the man to play 
 with fire just for the fun of burning my fingers, but 
 I'll give you the chance you ask. Every delegate 
 that I can control will go to the convention un- 
 pledged. That's all that I'll promise now 1 ; but, 
 if you get hold of any of the high cards in this 
 game, come to me and I'll help you play the 
 hand."
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 247 
 
 IV. 
 
 " Have you come for encouragement again ? " 
 asked Hazel Hoyne, when Allen Sidway appeared 
 at Settlement House. 
 
 " No," he replied. " I've come to borrow one of 
 your wards." 
 
 "To borrow!" 
 
 " Well, temporarily to borrow. Perhaps I'll 
 adopt her later." 
 
 " What do you want of her? " asked Miss Hoyne, 
 puzzled. 
 
 Sidway smjled quizzically. 
 
 " I suppose I might as well be honest about it," 
 he explained, with a pretence of seriousness. " You 
 see, I have decided that it is an impossibility to 
 separate you from these waifs, and so I have de- 
 cided to take the waifs in order to get you." 
 
 " Please don't," she pleaded. He did not know 
 how distressing even playful references to this sub- 
 ject were; how strongly she had been tempted to 
 go with him when he had asked her previously; 
 how her heart wavered; how serious a matter it 
 was to her. She did not like to have him joke about 
 it, and yet his very persistence pleased her. But he 
 refused to heed her gentle protest.
 
 248 Slaves of Success 
 
 " I will take one first," he said, " and if that 
 doesn't bring you, I'll take another, and then another 
 until you will simply have to follow your charges." 
 
 " You know it hurt me very much to " 
 
 " How foolish of you to hurt yourself ! " he 
 broke in. 
 
 " Please don't," she repeated. " Be serious and 
 tell me what you want." 
 
 " Oh, well," he said, " if we must take up minor 
 matters, I want to beat David Radburn, and I think 
 that child-product of his factory can help me do it. 
 I want you to get her and go with me to her home. 
 I think you can talk to her mother better than I 
 can, and I want to get the record of her birth, and 
 also the circumstances under which she entered the 
 factory. Frankly, Hazel, I think child labour is 
 going to be our strongest card in this campaign. If 
 we win at all, we'll win on that." 
 
 " Nothing has been said about it yet," suggested 
 Miss Hoyne. " I've been watching the reports, 
 and about all I've seen is * What is there in it, 
 Carroll ? ' with occasional references to Radburn' s 
 methods of doing business with the city." 
 
 Sidway laughed. 
 
 " ' What is there in it, Carroll ? ' was my sugges- 
 tion," he explained, " and I have an idea it hurts,
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 249 
 
 but it won't defeat Radburn. As for the child labour 
 matter, I am, saving that because well, because 
 I am puzzled to know how to make the most effect- 
 ive use of it. Perhaps, if we can make a strong 
 enough case, Carroll may be forced to drop Rad- 
 burn. That wouldn't be as gratifying or as dra- 
 matic as to beat him openly, but it is the only plan 
 that promises to make his defeat absolutely certain. 
 Will you help me to strengthen my case? " 
 
 " Of course, I will," answered Miss Hoyne, " but 
 I'm afraid we can't take the child with us to-day. 
 She seemed so tired and ill this morning that we 
 have kept her in bed. The Radburn factory has 
 done its work more thoroughly than we supposed 
 when we first brought her here." 
 
 " Oh, if the delegates could only see and know 
 what we see and know ! " cried Sidway, angrily. 
 
 " We must do our best to make them know it," 
 she returned, quietly. " I will go with you and 
 do what I can. Mrs. Brody knows me." 
 
 Mrs. Brody, the mother of the child, was greatly 
 excited when a carriage stopped in front of her 
 home, and " the good Miss Hoyne," as she was 
 called, entered, accompanied by a man. 
 
 " Has anything happened to Jennie? " she cried.
 
 250 Slaves of Success 
 
 "Oh, Jennie's dead, little Jennie's dead! I know 
 she's dead!" 
 
 Miss Hoyne quieted her with a few gentle words, 
 and then Sidway spoke up. 
 
 " I am going to take charge of Jennie," he an- 
 nounced. " I am going to see that she has the best 
 expert medical attention. If science can give her 
 physical and mental vigour, I'll see that it's done! 
 You will permit me to do this, won't you, Mrs. 
 Brody?" 
 
 The wom|an was bewildered. She didn't know 
 just what "physical and mental vigour" meant, 
 but she had unlimited confidence in Miss Hoyne, 
 and she looked to her. Miss Hoyne, for her part, 
 was also bewildered. Jennie was a child in whom 
 she had taken the deepest interest, and this an- 
 nouncement was entirely unexpected. As for Sid- 
 way, well, he might have done this, anyway, but 
 very likely his knowledge of Miss Hoyne's deep 
 interest in the child had something to do with his 
 sudden resolve. 
 
 " By all means, let him do this," Miss Hoyne ad- 
 vised the mother, after a moment of hesitation. 
 " She needs more than we can give her at Settle- 
 ment House," but she looked at Sidway in an un-
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 251 
 
 certain, troubled way. This was entirely aside from 
 their purpose as previously outlined. 
 
 " Very well," said Sidway. " Until she is re- 
 stored to health, she is my ward." 
 
 " But her wages," urged the woman, anxiously. 
 " We have to live, and Miss Hoyne has been pay- 
 ing " 
 
 " During the time she is under my charge," broke 
 in Sidway, " I'll pay you twice what she ever has 
 been able to earn." 
 
 Again Miss Hoyne looked at Sidway in an un- 
 certain, troubled sort of way. Was he playing a 
 part to gain the woman's confidence? She could 
 not believe it of him, and yet this was a most ex- 
 traordinary task for a young man to undertake. 
 
 " That being settled, Mrs. Brody," Sidway went 
 on, " I want to know all about Jennie. How old 
 is she?" 
 
 The woman was instantly on the alert. 
 
 " There's others younger in the factory," she 
 said, " and I had to do it." 
 
 "Had to do what?" asked Sidway. 
 
 " Tell Mr. Sidway the whole truth," urged Miss 
 Hoyne. " I promise you that no harm will come 
 of it."
 
 252 Slaves of Success 
 
 " But Jennie'll never get her job back," pleaded 
 the woman. 
 
 " She never will, if I can help it," said Sidway, 
 earnestly, " but you needn't worry about that. It's 
 worth something to me to save her." He gave Miss 
 Hoyne a quick glance that made the colour come 
 to her cheeks, and then added : " And I'll cheer- 
 fully pay." 
 
 The woman understood only that, for an indefi- 
 nite period, she was to get more than Jennie ever 
 before had earned, but that was enough. She dared 
 not offend this new benefactor. 
 
 Then the truth came out. She had taken Jennie 
 to the factory when the child was nine years old, 
 and had truthfully stated her age. The reply was 
 that they could not take her, although they had 
 work for a number of children just then, work 
 for which they did not pay sufficient wages to tempt 
 the older boys and girls. Was Mrs. Brody sure 
 about the age? Well, Mrs. Brody hesitatingly ad- 
 mitted that she might have made a mistake of a 
 year. But even that wouldn't do. 
 
 " When she is twelve," the superintendent had 
 told the mother, " you can bring her back." 
 
 Mrs. Brody had taken counsel with neighbours 
 who had children at work, wlith the result that she
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 253 
 
 went back with Jennie the following day, and Jennie 
 was then twelve years old, the age required by 
 law before a girl was allowed to work in a factory. 
 
 " What did the superintendent say, then ? " asked 
 Sidway. 
 
 " Why, he just laughed and said : ' How fast 
 the years fly ! ' and then he told me where to go 
 to sign a paper about her age, and I did it." 
 
 " Isn't that outrageous ! " cried Miss Hoyne, 
 hotly. " Think of sending such a man to Con- 
 gress ! " 
 
 " It is wrong," said Sidway, " but he is not de- 
 feated yet. There is no evidence that he has any 
 personal knowledge of this violation of the law." 
 
 " Oh, there's lots of others ! " exclaimed the 
 woman. " I can tell you a dozen of them." 
 
 " Give me their names," said Sidway, " and then 
 tell me the exact date of Jennie's birth, and where 
 she was baptized." 
 
 On the way back to Settlement House, Miss 
 Hoyne was very thoughtful. She had helped Sid- 
 way, but she was troubled and doubtful. 
 
 " Allen Sidway," she exclaimed at last, " if you 
 don't redeem your promise to that poor woman, 
 I'll never speak to you again." 
 
 Sidway looked at her in astonishment.
 
 254 Slaves of Success 
 
 "Redeem my promise!" he repeated. "Of 
 course, I'll redeem my promise. I never thought of 
 doing anything else." 
 
 " I don't mean in a perfunctory sort of way; I 
 mean really and truly," she persisted. " Do you 
 realize what your promise to that woman means ? " 
 
 " I do." 
 
 " Is it part of the game of politics ? " 
 
 " It has nothing to do with politics." 
 
 " Wasn't the promise given to induce her to 
 talk?" 
 
 " No. It was given well, for the child, in 
 part." 
 
 " I'm glad of that," said Miss Hoyne, and with 
 what seemed like a sigh of relief. 
 
 Sidway was moody during the rest of the ride, 
 but when he helped her out of the carriage at Settle- 
 ment House he kept her hand a moment. 
 
 " Have you so poor an opinion of me as that? " 
 he asked. 
 
 " So many promises are made in politics," she 
 answered, " and they are held so lightly. I knew 
 you would redeem it by seeing that the child has 
 every attention now, and and for some time 
 as long as any one but a mother would expect. I 
 didn't think, however, you knew how much you were
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 255 
 
 promising, and and you might lose your interest 
 with the passing of the campaign that has made her 
 of so much importance to you. It may take years 
 to bring that child back to real life." 
 
 She tried to withdraw her hand, but he still held 
 it. 
 
 " With your help, I'll do it, no matter how long 
 it takes," he insisted. 
 
 " How with my help? " she asked. 
 
 " I put her in your charge absolutely/' he said. 
 " I authorize you to engage the best specialists and 
 to place her wherever she will receive the best and 
 most skilful attention, and I will cheerfully meet 
 every expense incurred in her behalf. Just as long 
 as this is necessary it shall continue, and you shall 
 be the judge. Will you do this for me? " 
 
 " No," she answered, but as she said it she smiled 
 in such a way that it stopped the protest he was 
 about to utter. "But I will for the child," she 
 added. 
 
 " Of course, for the child," he said, " but I should 
 so much like to think that you are doing just a little 
 of it for me." 
 
 She became instantly more serious. 
 
 " Allen," she said, " you are doing this for me. 
 It is flattering, but I could think so much more of
 
 256 Slaves of Success 
 
 you if you were doing it for the child for human- 
 ity. Won't you eliminate me from consideration 
 in the matter?" 
 
 " I'll take you into partnership," he answered, 
 " and we'll work together for the child." 
 
 " Would you assume all the responsibility and 
 redeem your pledge to the letter if I refused ? " 
 
 " Yes. Your interest stimulated mine, but now I 
 would do this anyway." 
 
 " May I go now ? " she asked, for he still held 
 her hand, entirely unmindful of the fact that passing 
 strangers looked at them curiously. 
 
 " Are you sorry for your doubts? " he persisted. 
 
 " Sincerely sorry," she answered. " I'm sure I 
 did you an injustice." 
 
 He slowly released her hand, but he looked at her 
 in such a way that she was blushing furiously as 
 she hurried into Settlement House. She did not 
 say so even to herself, but she knew now that sooner 
 or later she would surrender. 
 
 v. 
 
 Malcolm Taylor and his friends continued their 
 vigorous campaign, but Sidway did not appear in 
 it to any appreciable extent. His work in organiz-
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 257 
 
 ing and systematizing the little " machine " was of 
 the utmost value, but he made no public appearance 
 on the stump. He provided the speakers with ma- 
 terial, he attended to many details, he induced many 
 lukewarm supporters to become active, he assisted 
 in raising the necessary funds, he advised in the ap- 
 pointment of watchers and ticket-peddlers, but he 
 remained steadfastly in the background. Never- 
 theless, Carroll knew who was doing the really 
 effective work and supplying the ammunition. He 
 was still certain of victory, but he was annoyed. 
 " What is there in it, Carroll ? " brought to his lips 
 harsh and uncomplimentary exclamations. He even 
 spoke bitterly to Radburn at times. 
 
 " I'm paying a big price to do this for you," he 
 said. 
 
 " Well," returned Radburn, " you're getting a 
 big price for it. I'm letting you in on that State 
 concession deal." 
 
 " I helped you to get the concession," suggested 
 Carroll. 
 
 " But it was my plan," retorted Radburn. " You 
 never would have thought of it if it hadn't been 
 for me, and you couldn't have done anything with 
 it alone, anyway. My holdings and knowledge of 
 the conditions are what made the deal possible."
 
 258 Slaves of Success 
 
 " Oh, I'll stick by you," said Carroll. 
 
 " You've got to," asserted Radburn. 
 
 Carroll looked ugly for a moment, but Radburn 
 was right : Carroll could not afford to drop him. 
 
 " Besides," Radburn went on, " you can afford 
 to drop politics after this." 
 
 " But I don't want to drop politics," protested 
 Carroll. " I like the game. I've acquired the polit- 
 ical habit, and it's hard to break. You want to go 
 to Congress, and I want to control here. I tell you 
 I don't want to drop politics, Radburn, no matter 
 how much money I may have, and that's why this 
 candidacy of yours hurts. You'll win, but it will 
 weaken me. Why, I'd rather give one thousand 
 dollars than have ' What is there in it, Carroll ? ' 
 chanted as it is now." 
 
 "Can't you stop it?" 
 
 "How?" 
 
 " If there was any way of forcing, or inducing, 
 Taylor to withdraw, it would leave Sidway high 
 and dry," suggested Radburn. " I confess I'd pay 
 something for that myself." 
 
 " If you offered money to Taylor he'd knock you 
 down." 
 
 " Oh, not money, of course," explained Radburn, 
 " but he's in a losing fight, and he knows it. If he
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 259 
 
 had a certainty of something else which you 
 could give him it would be a mighty big tempta- 
 tion." 
 
 " I don't think he's that kind of a man," re- 
 turned Carroll. " He'd think he was deserting his 
 friends." 
 
 " Still it ought to be worth trying," urged Rad- 
 burn. " Frankly, Carroll, I'm afraid that Sid way 
 has some other cards to play not winning cards, 
 perhaps, but cards that I'd hate to see played. My 
 superintendent tells me there was a photographer 
 just outside the factory the other day when the 
 children were leaving work." 
 
 " What's that ? " exclaimed Carroll, suddenly 
 alert. 
 
 " Oh, we don't know that Sidway had anything 
 to do with it, but there was a photographer there." 
 
 " Why, you fool ! " cried Carroll, " who but Sid- 
 way would want pictures of your child-workers? 
 And it's a hundred to one they'll be circulated every- 
 where! Where's your sense, man? Why didn't 
 you tell me this before? " Carroll was silent for a 
 moment, and then he asked, sharply, " Radburn, are 
 those children under age? " 
 
 " They all have their certificates," returned Rad- 
 burn, evasively.
 
 260 Slaves of Success 
 
 " Damn it ! I'm not asking about certificates ; I 
 want facts ! " exclaimed Carroll, irritably. " There 
 have been some mighty disagreeable child-labour 
 stories in circulation. Are they true? " 
 
 " They can't be proved," said Radburn. 
 
 " Are they true? " 
 
 " Well," admitted Radburn, uncomfortably, " pic- 
 tures of some of those children would have a mighty 
 injurious effect." 
 
 " They're true, and they know they're true," as- 
 serted Carroll. " Now, Radburn," and he became 
 very sarcastic, " is there any other trifling detail of 
 this business that you haven't deemed of sufficient 
 importance to mention to me?" 
 
 " I came here to tell you," replied Radburn, " that 
 Sidway has been looking up records in the city hall, 
 but your talk of what it's costing you made me 
 forget it. You know what those records will show." 
 
 " I know what they won't show," retorted Car- 
 roll. " They won't show that you're giving any 
 compensation for the alley that you had vacated or 
 for the street that you have fenced in for your pri- 
 vate purposes." 
 
 " Others have done the same thing," argued Rad- 
 burn. 
 
 " But the others are not running for office," as-
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 261 
 
 serted Carroll. " I don't mind telling you, Rad- 
 burn, that you're a mighty vulnerable man, and 
 there's a whole lot of trouble ahead." 
 
 " What's to be done? " asked Radburn. 
 
 Carroll pondered the subject before replying. 
 Then he rapidly outlined a plan, as a result of which 
 Radburn wrote a letter from his dictation, and then 
 hurried away to get the age certificates of various 
 children in his employ. As soon as he had gone 
 Carroll sent for Alderman Kelly. Kelly was not 
 pleased with the part assigned to him, but he had 
 to accept it, and he also wrote a letter from dicta- 
 tion. Carroll had made him politically, and Carroll 
 could unmake him, so Carroll could command. 
 After writing the letter, Kelly went to see Taylor. 
 It was a thankless task, but Carroll insisted, and 
 Kelly obeyed. Carroll thought that he was begin- 
 ning to surpass Wade as a strategist. 
 
 :< Tell him," said Carroll, " that he can go to the 
 Legislature if he will draw out of this race. If he 
 wants to break into politics, this is his chance, and 
 by withdrawing he gives up nothing, for he can't 
 possibly win, and he knows it. We are offering 
 him a certainty of success for a certainty of defeat." 
 
 Carroll did not expect this offer to be accepted, 
 but Radburn's report of the conditions led him to
 
 262 Slaves of Success 
 
 make it. And there was another thing" to be gained. 
 If Taylor did not accept, he would certainly tell 
 Sidway of the offer, and in all likelihood that would 
 bring Sidway to Carroll, which was just what Car- 
 roll desired. He wanted to see Sidway before the 
 latter made use of the material he had been gather- 
 ing. He rather expected that Sidway would make 
 one more attempt to have Radburn dropped, but he 
 wished to make sure of it. Meanwhile, he prepared 
 for any unexpected move by having his own material 
 put in shape for instant use. 
 
 As a matter of fact, things happened just as he 
 had expected. Taylor was indignant that such an 
 offer should be made to him, and what he said to 
 Kelly was extremely forceful. He had given 
 thoughtful consideration to the matter before enter- 
 ing the race, and nothing could induce him to with- 
 draw. Furthermore, carrying out the plan agreed 
 upon, he insisted that he had a good chance of suc- 
 cess. He would not concede for a moment that his 
 cause was hopeless, and he would not desert those 
 who had flocked to his support, even if it were. 
 Then he told Sidway all about it. 
 
 "You withdraw!" cried Sidway. "Well, I 
 guess not! If any one is to withdraw, Radburn is 
 the man, and I guess it's just about time to make
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 263 
 
 that plain. Why, Taylor, I've got a case worked 
 up against him that is almost perfect ; and if he can't 
 see it, I'll bet Carroll can. I've got the material 
 to make them both mighty sick of this business." 
 
 Thereupon Sidway went to Carroll. 
 
 " We might as well finish this game right now," 
 he told the latter. " If I can't beat your man and 
 I think I can I can make your victory so costly 
 that you'll never want another like it. I can just 
 about drive you out of politics, Carroll, if you force 
 this thing." 
 
 Sidway was angry, or he would have been more 
 diplomatic. The attempt to buy off Taylor was 
 more than he could stand. 
 
 " If you can beat him, why do you come to me 
 with any proposition? " asked Carroll, who had been 
 at some pains to plan his course in this interview. 
 
 " Because if I can get you to drop him, I'll make 
 a certainty of what is now only a probability," an- 
 swered Sidway, frankly, " and when you know the 
 facts I think you will be rather anxious to prevent 
 the kind of a campaign I intend to make." 
 
 " You've made it about as nasty as possible 
 already," retorted Carroll. 
 
 " Oh, no, I haven't," asserted Sidway. " So far 
 we've only had a little preliminary skirmish. I tell
 
 264 Slaves of Success 
 
 you, Carroll, it's going to be warm from now on. 
 I have here," and he produced them, " some pic- 
 tures of Radburn's child-workers issuing from the 
 factory. Look at them, Carroll ! " 
 
 Carroll glanced at them disinterestedly. 
 
 " What are you going to do with them? " he 
 asked. 
 
 "I'm going to have them reproduced on circu- 
 lars," said Sidway, somewhat disconcerted by Car- 
 roll's tone and manner, but still inclined to be ag- 
 gressively confident. " I'm going to put at the top 
 of the circulars, ' Will you let this man make 
 laws for you ? ' and beneath the picture, ' Some of 
 Radburn's child- workers,' and beneath that in large 
 type, ' What is there in it, Carroll ? ' That will 
 make people think a little! That will show them 
 the violation of the child-labour law ! " 
 
 " Is that all ? " asked Carroll, although the refer- 
 ence to that annoying question made him scowl. 
 
 " No, that isn't all," retorted Sidway, hotly, for 
 the carelessness with which the question was asked 
 angered him. " I have the birth records of some 
 of the children and the baptismal records of others. 
 I've tried to make a pretty good case of it, Carroll, 
 and I think I have succeeded. These things ought
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 265 
 
 to prove real effective in the newspapers and the 
 campaign circulars and posters." 
 
 "Anything- more?" asked Carroll. Sidway 
 should have known that Carroll was seeking to get a 
 full statement of his case, but for once he was too 
 excited to think. He was angry when he came, and 
 every moment was adding to his passion. 
 
 " Yes, there is more," he said. " I have records 
 to show how your man has been and is defrauding 
 the city. I have proof of his occupation of an alley 
 and part of a street without compensation of any 
 kind, and I'll see that these facts are widely circu- 
 lated. I'll head them, ' How Radburn makes his 
 money,' and I'll put beneath, ' What is there in it, 
 Carroll ? ' I don't intend to let you escape, Carroll. 
 I know it hurts, and I'll see that you're coupled with 
 your man in everything. And the public will know 
 that you're not forcing that kind of a man for 
 nothing." 
 
 " Now, Sidway," said Carroll, trying to be cool 
 and confidently patronizing, " you ought not to get 
 the idea in your head that you know the game of 
 politics just because we've let you help us in some 
 other campaigns. You've got a whole lot to learn. 
 Why, I've got you checkmated before you move." 
 He took a lot of printer's proofs from his desk.
 
 266 Slaves of Success 
 
 " Here are facsimiles of the age certificates of those 
 children, all ready for distribution. No matter what 
 you may think you have discovered, here is evidence 
 to clear Radburn of all intentional violation of the 
 law. What you have gleaned from the parents is 
 directly contradicted by them under oath. If the 
 law has been violated the parents are to blame." 
 
 The production of the circulars was like a dash 
 of cold water to Sidway. He knew of the existence 
 of the age certificates, but here was evidence that his 
 own plans were known before he was fully ready to 
 put them in operation. 
 
 " I don't think those age certificates will count for 
 much," he said, more calmly, " when the other facts 
 are known. No one could look at those children 
 without knowing they are under age, and if Rad- 
 burn would cheat the city, it is the natural presump- 
 tion that he is a party to the violation of the child- 
 labour law." 
 
 " Radburn has not intentionally cheated the city," 
 persisted Carroll, producing three letters. " I have 
 here a letter that Radburn wrote to Alderman Kelly 
 two years ago, offering compensation, and I also 
 have a letter of recent date from Alderman Kelly, 
 apologizing for his delay in attending to the matter. 
 If you will read it, you will see that the original
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 267 
 
 offer was mislaid. It is a very fair offer, too the 
 offer of a good citizen. There was some agitation 
 about vacated streets and alleys at that time, and 
 Radburn immediately wrote to say that he had not 
 understood that payment for such concessions was 
 expected, but, if so, he would do what was right by 
 the city." 
 
 " Sounds fishy," commented Sidway. 
 
 " But we have the letters," said Carroll. 
 
 " That two-year-old letter looks to me pretty 
 fresh." 
 
 " But Alderman Kelly admits over his own sig- 
 nature that he received it two years ago; and in 
 this third letter Radburn tells him to see that the 
 matter has immediate attention, and that he is pre- 
 pared to pay reasonable rental from the time the first 
 letter was written. Isn't that fair, Sidway? And 
 doesn't that effectively dispose of your campaign 
 material ? " 
 
 " Carroll, I think that's all a trick," asserted Sid- 
 way. 
 
 " But it settles you, Sidway," laughed Carroll, in 
 his disagreeable way. " This game of politics is not 
 so easy to play as people think." 
 
 Sidway left, crestfallen. He was satisfied that 
 there had been trickery, but, as matters stood, the
 
 268 Slaves of Success 
 
 situation was unquestionably more favourable to 
 Radburn than to Taylor. Those three letters and 
 the age certificates would more than counteract the 
 effect of all the facts he had gleaned. 
 
 Carroll sent for Kelly. 
 
 " The letters did the business, Kelly," he said. 
 
 " They ought to," growled Kelly. " If they were 
 made public they would make a lot of trouble for 
 me." 
 
 " Who ever thought of making them public ? " 
 asked Carroll. 
 
 VT. 
 
 " How is our ward ? " asked Sidway. 
 
 " About the same," replied Miss Hoyne. " I have 
 consulted with Doctor Agnew in relation to her, but 
 he has not yet decided just what to do. He thinks 
 it may be well to send her to the country after 
 awhile, if we can find a suitable place, but for the 
 present he wants to have her where he can give her 
 his personal attention. It's something of a problem 
 to know just where in the country to send her, any- 
 way. It's not like sending the ordinary waif out 
 to play, for her mental and physical condition neces- 
 sitate watchful care."
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 269 
 
 " I know where I can rent a nice little cottage," 
 suggested Sid way. 
 
 " But who would take care of her? " 
 
 " We would." 
 
 Miss Hoyne did not say "Please don't!" this 
 time, but she hastily changed the subject. Still-there 
 was something in the way she did it that was not 
 altogether distasteful to Sidway. 
 
 " How is our little ' machine ' ? " she asked. The 
 use of the plural pronoun was unexpected and grati- 
 fying. Here was another partnership arrangement. 
 
 " I am sorry to say," he reported, " that the little 
 ' machine ' is not working well. I fear there is 
 something wrong with the engineer." Then he told 
 her of his interview with Carroll. 
 
 " Are you discouraged ? " she asked. 
 
 " I'm not letting any one else know it," he an- 
 swered. 
 
 " I always thought you were a very persistent 
 and determined man," she said. 
 
 " You have reason to," he returned, with a 
 laugh. 
 
 " Are you persistent only in one thing? " she re- 
 torted. 
 
 " I'm still fighting," he insisted. 
 
 " But not with spirit," she asserted, and then she
 
 270 Slaves of Success 
 
 added : " Allen Sidway, I hate a man who gives 
 up ! Think of our ward ! She ought to be enough to 
 defeat Radburn! What have a lot of lying letters 
 got to do with her? I don't believe they'd dare 
 produce those letters, anyway." 
 
 " I'll fight to the end," said Sidway, but he left, 
 depressed and thoughtful. What new and effective 
 move could he make ? He prided himself on his re- 
 sourcefulness, but what could he do? 
 
 Suddenly he stopped short in his walk. 
 
 " Can it be done? " he asked himself. 
 
 People passing saw a man irresolute. Twice he 
 turned back toward Settlement House, and twice 
 he turned away. Then, as if suddenly decided, he 
 called a cab and drove to see Doctor Agnew. His 
 interview with the doctor was brief, but it gave him 
 new life, and he was again an enthusiast when he 
 found Larry McHugh. 
 
 " I've got it ! " he exclaimed. " We can beat 
 Radburn!" 
 
 " Can we? " asked Larry, with the air of man un- 
 convinced. 
 
 " It's a practical certainty." 
 
 " Well, you'll have to show me," said Larry. 
 
 " We'll give them something dramatic," per- 
 sisted Sidway.
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 271 
 
 " Tableaux don't win in politics," returned Larry. 
 " I'm holding my men unpledged, but I can't see 
 anything but Radburn in this campaign yet." 
 
 Sidway unfolded his plan, and Larry considered 
 it. 
 
 " If it can be done," said Larry, at last. 
 
 "Why can't it be done?" demanded Sidway. 
 
 " I'd like to try it," admitted Larry. " It would 
 make a sensation, wouldn't it? And we'd just about 
 be the people if we won. Say! " and Larry be- 
 gan to get enthusiastic, " that little coup would get 
 the big type in the papers from one end of the 
 country to the other. But it will take clever manage- 
 ment to put the scheme through." 
 
 " You're a clever manager," insinuated Sidway. 
 
 " I'm fair," admitted Larry. Then after a pause : 
 " Sidway, I'll take a chance and go in with you on 
 this. I'll make the fight on the floor of the con- 
 vention, and I'll see if I can't add to the list of 
 unpledged delegates that we can swing at the right 
 moment. I told you when you could show a good 
 chance for success I'd come out for you, and I'll do 
 it." 
 
 From that moment McHugh became an aggres- 
 sive personality in the campaign. He made no 
 speeches, but the results of his activity were so ap-
 
 272 Slaves of Success 
 
 parent that Carroll sent for him. McHugh was 
 slow in responding, which had the effect of making 
 Carroll anxious. He knew that McHugh had no 
 great love for him, but he had counted on his sup- 
 port, nevertheless, and it was support that he did not 
 care to lose. It might be difficult to hold others in 
 line if McHugh deserted, for he was given the credit 
 of being too practical and experienced a politician 
 to take up a losing cause. So his delay in respond- 
 ing to the summons was disquieting. The fact that 
 he avoided an interview indicated that he was per- 
 fecting plans that he did not care to discuss and 
 that would not be pleasing to Carroll. 
 
 In this emergency Carroll, having failed to bring 
 McHugh to him, adopted the wise course of going 
 to McHugh. 
 
 "Larry," said Carroll, "what's the matter?" 
 
 "Nothing," replied Larry; "everything is as 
 lovely as it can be." 
 
 " I've heard queer stories about you," persisted 
 Carroll. 
 
 " Have you ? " returned Larry. 
 
 " You gave me to understand awhile ago," said 
 Carroll, " that your delegates would go to the con- 
 vention unpledged, but that they would be almost 
 certainly for Radburn."
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 273 
 
 " Yes ; that was awhile ago," said Larry. 
 
 The tone both annoyed and puzzled Carroll. It 
 was not aggressive, but neither was it conciliatory; 
 and there certainly was an intimation that condi- 
 tions had changed. All in all, it was most unlike 
 McHugh, the cautious politician. 
 
 " Larry," said Carroll, " I don't know why you 
 didn't want those delegates pledged, but we've been 
 in a good many fights together, and I had confidence 
 in you, so I let it go." 
 
 " You let it go because you had to," asserted 
 McHugh, and now there was a trace of aggressive- 
 ness in his tone. " I wouldn't pledge them." 
 
 " I relied on your assurance that they were almost 
 certainly mine, but now I want it made a certainty." 
 
 " You don't get it," returned McHugh. 
 
 Carroll was startled. This was out-and-out de- 
 fiance. 
 
 " Don't be a fool, Larry," he urged. " We have 
 enough without your people, and you'll only make 
 trouble for yourself if you balk. With you we'll 
 have more than two-thirds of the convention ; with- 
 out you we'll still have " 
 
 " Without me," broke in McHugh, " you'll have a 
 hard fight to get a bare majority. When you lose 
 me you lose Neil Harmon."
 
 274 Slaves of Success 
 
 " You don't know what you're talking about, 
 Larry," asserted Carroll, but he was troubled never- 
 theless. " I've seen Harmon." 
 
 " So have I," retorted McHugh, grimly, " and he 
 thinks so well of my judgment that his delegates 
 will be unpledged and ready to follow my lead. 
 They don't think much of Radburn, anyway, and 
 when my circulars are put out " 
 
 "What circulars?" 'demanded Carroll, instantly 
 alert. 
 
 " Those relating to Radburn's dealings with the 
 city." 
 
 "Only those?" 
 
 " Aren't they enough ? " 
 
 "Well, hardly," laughed Carroll. "I thought 
 Sidway had abandoned that plan after his interview 
 with me. Didn't he tell you that I had that move 
 checkmated ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes," returned McHugh, " but, Carroll, you 
 can't bluff me. I've been in the business too long. 
 You daren't produce those letters, and you know it. 
 If you do I'll tear your campaign wide open! If 
 you let those letters see the light of day there'll be 
 an expert with a microscope at work on them before 
 you know what's happened."
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 275 
 
 "I ought to kick you through the window!" 
 thundered Carroll. 
 
 " But you won't," retorted McHugh. " I know 
 you, Carroll, and I know your tricks. I know Rad- 
 burn, and I know his nature. He never made any 
 such offer as that two years ago; he never made 
 any such offer until this campaign was well under 
 way. It's a bluff!" 
 
 " The moment your circulars appear, mine will 
 follow," threatened Carroll. " I'll show you whether 
 it's a bluff." 
 
 McHugh leaned over his desk and shook an ac- 
 cusing finger in Carroll's face. 
 
 " Now listen to me, Carroll," he said. " If you 
 put out those circulars, you've got to produce the 
 original letters. That will be demanded, and you'll 
 stand convicted of dishonest trickery if you don't. 
 Now just hang on these few words of mine! The 
 moment one of those circulars appears I will pub- 
 licly offer you five hundred dollars cash to produce 
 the originals and submit them to inspection! I'll 
 do better than that. I'll give you five hundred dol- 
 lars right now if you will put those letters in the 
 hands of a third party for examination." 
 
 For a moment Carroll was silent. His " bluff " 
 had been called and called hard. Then he protested
 
 276 Slaves of Success 
 
 that he would present his case to the public and not 
 to the opposition. 
 
 " You'll not present it anywhere," retorted 
 McHugh. " If you dare do it, now is the time. 
 Get your circulars out, for mine are being distrib- 
 uted while we are sitting here." 
 
 Carroll was startled and very much disturbed. 
 This charge the only one that he could not refute 
 convincingly gave point to the question, " What 
 is there in it, Carroll ? " It showed the kind of a 
 man he was forcing; it led to inferences as to the 
 reason for his extraordinary interest in this partic- 
 ular candidate ; it made suspicion almost a certainty ; 
 it was the culminating feature of a chain of incidents 
 that led to but one conclusion. But success dazzles 
 the public until it is unable to see what lies behind it ; 
 in defeat only is danger. 
 
 " I've got to win," was Carroll's decision. " It's 
 my political finish if I don't." 
 
 VII. 
 
 Carroll made the fight of his life at the primaries, 
 and he won. But the victory was costly and unsatis- 
 fying, for the little " machine " did strenuous work, 
 and demonstrated that it was well organized. The
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 277 
 
 circulars relating to Radburn's dealings with the city 
 had been distributed and had remained unanswered, 
 in spite of the fact that they did considerable harm. 
 After his interview with McHugh, Carroll had not 
 dared put out the answering circulars. Indeed, as 
 a matter of fact, he never had intended to do so, for 
 the risk was too great. They had been prepared 
 solely for the purpose of " bluffing " Sidway, and 
 they would have been effective if McHugh had not 
 suddenly become an active partisan. All of which 
 led Carroll to say harsh things about McHugh. The 
 latter had caught him in a " bluff " and had forced 
 him to tacitly admit it a fact that rankled. To 
 this extent at least he had been defied and beaten; 
 he had been put in a very awkward position; he 
 had been made to appear foolish and insignificant to 
 those who knew the facts, and his only consolation 
 was that few knew them. 
 
 " What is there in it, Carroll ? " had followed him 
 up to the very morning of the primaries, and 
 McHugh's circulars had given added significance to 
 the question. Why was he forcing this vulnerable 
 man? Why was he making such a bitter fight for 
 one who was so unpopular with many of the party? 
 He knew that these questions were in the minds of 
 many people, even though few put them in words,
 
 278 Slaves of Success 
 
 and he knew that there was dissatisfaction. Some 
 of the pledged delegates would redeem their pledges 
 under protest, and would welcome a good oppor- 
 tunity to desert. Then, too, in order to get a bare 
 majority of the delegates he had had to make prom- 
 ises that it would be difficult to fulfil; he had been 
 forced to use every weapon and every inducement at 
 his command; to threaten some, cajole others, and 
 apportion patronage with a lavish hand. It was 
 decidedly mortifying to be forced to such extremities 
 by a combination of mushroom growth and to 
 gain so little by it, for he realized that it would take 
 watchful care to retain his advantage : a momentary 
 lapse might lose him all. 
 
 " And to think," he muttered, " that Sidway is at 
 the bottom of all this! A man who learned what 
 little he knows of practical politics from; me ! How 
 did he get McHugh, the practical man? How did 
 he convince him that there was a chance of win- 
 ning? How did he make him think they could ac- 
 complish anything with the material he had col- 
 lected? And why didn't they use the rest of it? " 
 
 Carroll scowled. The affair certainly had been 
 cleverly managed. They had used only the facts 
 that he dared not try to refute, although he knew 
 that they had the names and ages of many of the
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 279 
 
 child-workers in Radburn's factory, in addition to 
 the photographs. If they had followed Sidway's 
 original plan of circulating these facts, he could have 
 come back with the age certificates, but to produce 
 those before definite charges were made would be 
 folly. He could score a point if the charges were 
 made, but it would be suspicious and hurtful for him 
 to make the first move. 
 
 But the primary election had given him control of 
 the convention, even though the margin was small, 
 and much might be made of that advantage. A man 
 must feel deeply before he cares to be identified with 
 a losing cause, so there was a chance to get some of 
 the unpledged candidates. The moment the result 
 was known he began his work. 
 
 " Well, we win," he said to Neil Harmon. 
 
 " Yes," admitted Harmon. 
 
 " Will you be with us? " he asked. 
 
 " No," answered Harmon ; " at least not now." 
 
 There was something of promise in this, so Carroll 
 persisted. 
 
 " You will be later? " he insinuated. 
 
 " Perhaps." 
 
 " On the second ballot? " 
 
 Harmon hesitated. Carroll certainly had a major- 
 ity of the convention as matters stood, and Harmon
 
 280 Slaves of Success 
 
 did not wish to be left stranded. He had confidence 
 in McHugh, but all men are fallible, and he did not 
 care to go down to defeat with any one, especially 
 when he had no deep personal interest in any partic- 
 ular candidate. He had promised to hold his men 
 unpledged and deliver them to McHugh, if McHugh 
 could nominate, but the first ballot would be suffi- 
 cient to redeem that promise. The details of Mc- 
 Hugh's plan were unknown to him, and the outlook 
 was not bright for those who opposed Carroll. 
 
 " If you can nominate on the first," he said,' 
 evasively, " why do you want me on the second? " 
 
 " I want vindication," replied Carroll, with con- 
 siderable feeling. " I have been viciously assailed in 
 this campaign, and I want the slanders refuted by 
 the vote of the convention; I want a majority so 
 big that no one can say I forced this thing. Promise 
 to come to me on the second, and I'll see that there 
 is no nomination on the first." 
 
 "What's your plan?" 
 
 "Will you be with me?" 
 
 Again Harmon hesitated. Here was a chance to 
 play both ways to win, no matter what the con- 
 vention did. If McHugh could nominate on the first 
 ballot (which seemed to be out of the question), he 
 would be with him; if he could not, his promise
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 281 
 
 would be redeemed, and he could swing to Radburn 
 and still be with the victor. 
 
 " If you have your eye on anything in politics," 
 insinuated Carroll, " you can count on my support. 
 As a matter of self-protection, I've simply got to put 
 Radburn through by a good majority." 
 
 " I'll do it," said Harmon. " If there's no nomi- 
 nation on the first, I'm with you on the second. 
 Now, what's your plan ? " 
 
 Carroll gave a sigh of relief. He had evolved the 
 plan during the conversation, and it seemed to him 
 a good one. 
 
 " I'll have Blakeley put in nomination as a dark 
 horse," he explained. " Some of the unpledged 
 delegates will vote for him while waiting to see how 
 the wind blows, and that will weaken McHugh. I'll 
 have some of my men vote for him, also. 4 Then, on 
 the second ballot, my men will jump to Radburn, 
 you'll swing into line, and with that start we'll catch 
 every waverer and sweep the convention. Why, 
 Harmon, if it works right, we can come pretty near 
 to making it unanimous ! The average man can be 
 mighty easily stampeded by one who knows how 
 to do it." 
 
 Carroll now felt that he had the battle fairly won, 
 but he was not a man to take any chances. So he
 
 282 Slaves of Success 
 
 sounded Sidway and McHugh. In view of the pri- 
 maries they might be more tractable, and it would be 
 a double victory and a double vindication if he could 
 bring them to the support of Radburn. No one 
 knew better than Carroll how the campaign had 
 weakened him; no one knew better than he how 
 necessary to his future it was to carry the convention 
 by more than a narrow margin, and thus apparently 
 disprove the charges made against him. 
 
 But Sidway was defiant. 
 
 " I tell you now what I told you before," he said. 
 " If Radburn is nominated, I'll fight him at the 
 polls." 
 
 " You're a fool ! " exclaimed Carroll. 
 
 " But I'm not a knave ! " retorted Sidway. 
 
 "You're a dead duck politically! " asserted Car- 
 roll, hotly, "for somehow this young man, more than 
 any other, could rouse his anger. 
 
 " You're going to be reasonably busy looking out 
 for yourself," answered Sidway. " If you're wise, 
 you won't waste any time on my affairs." 
 
 McHugh was not so aggressive, but neither was 
 he tractable. 
 
 " Now that the thing is settled," Carroll said to 
 him, " I'd like to make Radburn's majority some- 
 thing worth while, and, now that you've made your
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 283 
 
 little fight, I suppose you're ready to come back into 
 camp." 
 
 " Who said it was settled ? " demanded McHugh. 
 
 " We have the delegates," asserted Carroll. 
 
 " But can you keep them ? " asked McHugh. 
 
 This fairly took Carroll's breath away. That Sid- 
 way could be obstreperous was not surprising, but 
 McHugh was a practical man, who was not disposed 
 to let sentiment sway him. 
 
 " Now, Larry," urged Carroll, " I'm giving you 
 your last chance, and, just to show you how strong 
 we are, I'll tell you that we have some of your people 
 pledged to come to us on the second ballot." 
 
 " Carroll," returned McHugh, " there isn't going 
 to be any second ballot." 
 
 Carroll was confident that he knew better than 
 that, but he was up late that night, nevertheless, per- 
 fecting his plans for the convention the following 
 day, and occasionally asking himself, " Now, what 
 the devil can I have overlooked?" For, although 
 his reason told him that he would control and win, 
 there was something in the attitude of the two men 
 that made him anxious. He could think of no possi- 
 ble move that would give them victory, but he was 
 sure they had some plan. 
 
 " And they're not conducting this campaign along
 
 284 Slaves of Success 
 
 the beaten lines that I know so well," he growled. 
 " They keep me guessing most of the time." 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Carroll discovered what he had overlooked at 
 breakfast the next morning. When he opened his 
 paper he fairly jumped out of his chair, for there 
 on the first page was a reproduction of one of the 
 pictures of Radburn's child-workers. The birth and 
 baptismal records of many of the children were 
 given, also, and in large type there was the text of 
 a circular. This circular handled both Radburn and 
 Carroll " without gloves." It began with the ques- 
 tion, " Are you going to have this man forced upon 
 you?" Then it referred in strong terms to Rad- 
 burn's dealings with the city and apparent contempt 
 for the child-labour laws, and asked, " Shall Carroll 
 rule ? " After that, it told of the dissatisfaction with 
 Radburn, of Carroll's arbitrary and domineering 
 stand, and inquired, " What is there in it, Car- 
 roll?" 
 
 " Are the sentiments and wishes of the Twelfth 
 District being defied for nothing? " it continued. 
 " Is this would-be Czar doing this for love of either 
 Radburn or the public? Is he flying in the face of
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 285 
 
 public opinion that good may come of it? Is he that 
 kind of a man ? Does his record make such a motive 
 seem probable or even possible ? Study the situation 
 carefully, consider his arbitrary course, think of 
 Radburn's child-workers, and the same old question 
 must inevitably come to mind, 
 
 " ' What is there in it, Carroll ? ' " 
 
 " Damn the man who invented that question ! " 
 muttered Carroll. " Damn Sidway ! " 
 
 For it hurt. In view of the pledges, there was 
 little likelihood that it would affect the vote of the 
 convention, but it might. In any event, it added to 
 the difficulty of holding unwilling men in line. He 
 knew that he would have to face and answer many 
 arguments before the vote ; that he would be urged 
 to drop Radburn. 
 
 His wife noticed that he was not very hungry 
 that morning. A little toast and coffee was all he 
 wanted, and he disposed of that in just about three 
 minutes. Then he hastened to his office, and, as he 
 expected, found a number of men awaiting him. 
 
 " Those circulars are all over town," said one of 
 them. 
 
 " Where are the ones that you prepared ? " asked 
 Radburn, who was visibly nervous and anxious. 
 " There's yet time to put those out, isn't there? "
 
 286 Slaves of Success 
 
 " They were never printed," answered Carroll. 
 " They were of no use to us as long as Sidway held 
 his back, and I had only a few proofs." 
 
 " Hell ! " ejaculated Radburn, and ordinarily 
 Radburn was far from a profane man. 
 
 " But they're in type," added Carroll. " I told 
 the printer to be ready to put them to press at a 
 moment's notice." 
 
 " Oh, McHugh has only done this to annoy," 
 urged Dixon, a cool and calculating politician. 
 " He knows it won't win, for we've got the dele- 
 gates." 
 
 " But it hurts," protested Radburn. " I want the 
 charge answered." 
 
 " I'm going to have it answered," asserted Car- 
 roll, and he called up the printer and ordered the 
 circulars put to press. 
 
 " As soon as a thousand are ready," he instructed, 
 " rush them over to me." 
 
 " Can't get them out much before noon," the 
 printer replied. 
 
 " Then send them to me at the convention-hall," 
 ordered Carroll. 
 
 Turning to the others, he outlined a plan for 
 action. 
 
 " We must round up all our delegates," he said,
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 287 
 
 " and see that they understand the situation. Tell 
 them this slander will be refuted ! Don't give them 
 a chance for any possible excuse to break away, for 
 we haven't any too strong a grip on some of them. 
 Lay down the law to them, if necessary! Remind 
 them that they're pledged, and that it's their finish 
 if they desert. I don't think they'd dare do it, any- 
 way, but we don't want to take any chances ! Tell 
 them that Harmon's men are coming to us on the 
 second ballot, and that it isn't intended to nominate 
 on the first, but that they must keep in line." 
 
 " Have you got Harmon ? " asked Radburn, sur- 
 prised and pleased. 
 
 " They're promised on the second," said Carroll. 
 Then, turning to Dixon : " Have you got a good 
 grip on your delegates ? " 
 
 " They're like so many puppets," answered Dixon. 
 
 " Can you vote them for Blakeley on the first, 
 and bring them to Radburn on the second ? " 
 
 " Sure." 
 
 " Then do it. I've got the matter fixed with 
 Blakeley. Morris will put him in nomination, and 
 we'll try to catch some of the unpledged men. On 
 the second, vote your men for him first, and then 
 change the vote at the last moment. Harmon will 
 swing to him from Taylor, and your sudden switch
 
 288 Slaves of Success 
 
 will give impetus to the movement. We'll start the 
 cheering- then, and in the excitement and enthusiasm 
 others will be falling over themselves to get into the 
 band wagon." 
 
 "Is it safe?" asked Radburn, doubtfully. "If 
 we can nominate on the first, why not do it? " 
 
 "Safe!" cried the others. "Why, it's a 
 'cinch'!" 
 
 " I want the vindication of a big majority, and 
 so do you," asserted Carroll. 
 
 " And Carroll," said Dixon, admiringly, " usually 
 gets what he wants. He certainly has this framed 
 up just right to put you through with such a hurrah 
 that you'll think you're the most popular man in the 
 district." 
 
 About the same time McHugh, Sid way, and 
 Taylor were having a conference. 
 
 " Do you think those child-labour circulars will 
 do any good at this late day ? " asked Taylor. 
 
 " They will prepare the minds of the delegates 
 for what is to follow," answered McHugh. "Of 
 themselves they amount to little, but as a curtain- 
 raiser for the big show they are sure to have an 
 effect. They turn thoughts into the right channel.
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 289 
 
 I think, too, they will have a tendency to make some 
 of the Radburn delegates restive." 
 
 " That's a certainty," asserted Sidway. " They 
 serve to concentrate attention on the one thing, and 
 the Twelfth District is not one to hold such offences 
 lightly. I'll bet a lot of the delegates are worried 
 right now to know how they are going to excuse 
 themselves to their neighbours and friends for vot- 
 ing for such a man. They are in just the right 
 frame of mind for us." 
 
 " But can't the circulars be answered now as 
 well as they could have been a week or so ago ? " 
 persisted Taylor. 
 
 McHugh's brow clouded. 
 
 " I've thought of that," he said. " We're taking 
 a chance, but I think we'll win, for I don't believe 
 Carroll's circulars have been printed. If we had put 
 ours out earlier he would have wanted fifty thousand 
 of his at least, but he had to wait for us. If he had 
 had fifty thousand printed and we had made no 
 move, it would have been a waste of money. I 
 think he has been waiting and watching." 
 
 " This is no holiday," suggested Taylor. " The 
 printers are working." 
 
 For a moment McHugh remained buried in 
 thought.
 
 290 Slaves of Success 
 
 " Ballard & Co. have always done the printing 
 for Carroll," he said, musingly. " If those circulars 
 are being run off, Ballard & Co. are doing the job." 
 Again he was silent for a moment. " I think I can 
 fix it," he announced at last. " I'll meet you at the 
 convention-hall at eleven o'clock. That will give 
 us an hour to see that everything is in shape." 
 
 McHugh hunted up a resourceful youth of his 
 acquaintance, to whom he gave a five-dollar bill and 
 some instructions. 
 
 The youth hired a cab, and went to the ofHce of 
 Ballard & Co., but did not enter. Instead, he waited 
 in the cab at a point where he had a good view 
 of the entrance to the building. An hour passed, 
 an hour and a half, and still he waited. A little 
 after eleven o'clock a boy emerged from the building 
 carrying a bundle with a printed sheet on the out- 
 side of it. Instantly the youth leaped from his cab. 
 
 " Is that for Mr. Carroll ? " he asked. 
 
 " Yes," replied the boy. 
 
 " Give it to me quick ! " ordered the youth. " I've 
 come for it with a cab. Don't you people know that 
 time is money with us to-day ? " 
 
 " Sign this," said the boy, presenting his book. 
 
 The youth signed the first name that came into his 
 head.
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 291 
 
 In an anteroom of the convention-hall Carroll 
 was pacing nervously back and forth, while McHugh 
 was waiting with equal impatience for some mes- 
 sage. It was almost time for the convention to be 
 called to order, and neither had heard from those 
 circulars. McHugh was a delegate, but Carroll was 
 not. McHugh handled his men in the hall, Carroll 
 manipulated his from the anteroom. Both would 
 be uneasy until some word came from the printer. 
 
 Presently a man that Carroll had sent out to a 
 telephone returned. 
 
 " The printer says they were delivered to your 
 messenger, who came for them in a cab," said the 
 man. 
 
 Thereupon Carroll made some lurid remarks, for 
 he had sent no man in a cab. 
 
 "That's McHugh," he said, finally. " Sidway 
 never would have been up to a trick like that." 
 
 A moment later a note was handed to McHugh, 
 and, after reading it, McHugh gave a sigh of relief 
 and then chuckled, for the scrawl was to the follow- 
 ing effect : 
 
 " MR. McHucH : I chucked them in the sewer. 
 
 " JIM."
 
 292 Slaves of Success 
 
 IX. 
 
 Developments at the convention-hall did not 
 please Carroll. He had arrived early, in order that 
 he might thoroughly study the situation, and almost 
 immediately Neil Harmon had asked to be released 
 from his second-ballot pledge. 
 
 " My people," he said, " don't like that child- 
 labour business. We think a good deal of children 
 over our way. We aren't particularly emotional, 
 but we have hearts and we have children of our 
 own. For the most part our children don't have to 
 work, but the fact that we have them leads us to 
 think of the fate of others, and it's going to be 
 mighty hard to explain a vote for Radburn to some 
 of those who sent us to this convention." 
 
 " Don't you worry about that," replied Carroll. 
 " That campaign lie will be answered before the con- 
 vention is called to order. We've got proof that 
 everything is all right. I'm expecting stuff from 
 the printer's that will make a roorback of this attack 
 on Radburn." 
 
 Harmon still grumbled, but Carroll insisted upon 
 holding him to his promise. If he didn't swing to 
 Radburn on the second ballot, according to agree- 
 ment, he would be out in the cold, for they had
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 293 
 
 enough to nominate anyway. All they asked of him 
 was to make the majority a big enough one to fully 
 vindicate them in the fight they had made. 
 
 Others seemed to feel much as Harmon did, and 
 Carroll and his lieutenants were busy every minute 
 of the time. They overlooked nothing in their 
 efforts to hold the men in line, even producing the 
 original age certificates as a last resort. But it was 
 possible for only a few of the delegates to see these, 
 and Carroll fully appreciated the instability of his 
 position. Some there were who would be with him 
 and his man through thick and thin, but others were 
 unquestionably wavering. They feared to desert 
 him, however. In his talk he was so confident of 
 success that they felt that their political salvation 
 depended on their loyalty to him. He always had 
 won ; why should he lose now ? He always had re- 
 warded his friends and punished his enemies; why 
 should they run the risk of being numbered among 
 the latter? But the reasoning did not fully satisfy. 
 Even in victory they would have much to explain. 
 
 Under these conditions the failure to receive the 
 expected circulars was a hard blow to Carroll ; but 
 he put a bold face on the matter. He was fighting 
 for his political life. Up to the moment that the 
 convention was called to order he insisted that they
 
 294 Slaves of Success 
 
 were coming, and he did it with such earnestness 
 and apparent confidence that he succeeded in secur- 
 ing a permanent organization that was satisfactory 
 to him. McHugh tried hard to win this point, but 
 he was neither disturbed nor surprised when he was 
 unsuccessful. 
 
 " That helps some," commented Carroll. " A 
 good deal can be done with a chairman who can be 
 relied upon at a critical moment." 
 
 " We forced Carroll to show his full strength," 
 was McHugh's comment, " and he has a mighty slim 
 majority." Then he turned to one of his lieutenants 
 and asked, " Have you seen Sidway? " 
 
 " He and Taylor are in the janitor's room at the 
 back of the hall," was the reply. " I smuggled them 
 in myself." 
 
 " Good," said McHugh. " When I speak, stand 
 by the door and give Sidway the word." Then he 
 added, with a laugh, " We may not win, but there'll 
 be something doing before this convention ad- 
 journs." 
 
 After the permanent organization, the business 
 of the convention proceeded without a hitch. Every- 
 thing was cut and dried. All had been so com- 
 pletely prepared in advance that the necessary com- 
 mittees were appointed quickly, and were able to
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 295 
 
 report with unusual promptness. In fact, they re- 
 tired for consultation only as a matter of form. 
 There were no contests. Carroll had grounds for 
 none, and McHugh had seen the futility of making 
 any. He would have to win with the delegates 
 already on the floor of the convention. He kept 
 close watch of these, and he noted that Carroll was 
 using every possible effort to strengthen his lines. 
 The fact that he had succeeded in organizing the 
 convention was used with good effect. He remained 
 in the anteroom, but he had men on the floor to 
 point out that this demonstrated his power and fore- 
 told his success. So well was this work done that 
 when the time came for the nominating speeches he 
 was reasonably confident. Many of the wavering 
 had ceased to waver, having convinced themselves 
 that the result was already practically settled, and 
 that it would be folly to desert to a losing cause. 
 
 Blakeley was the first man put in nomination, but 
 the nominating speech was a perfunctory affair. 
 Blakeley was merely a stalking-horse for Radburn. 
 If, for any reason, Radburn should fail at the criti- 
 cal moment to get the necessary votes, a serious at- 
 tempt might be made to put Blakeley through, but 
 for the moment he was only a convenience a man 
 for whom delegates could vote while awaiting de-
 
 296 Slaves of Success 
 
 velopments. So he was nominated according to the 
 regulation convention formula and without much 
 enthusiasm. If he succeeded in catching a few Tay- 
 lor votes on the first ballot, in addition to those that 
 Carroll had assigned to him from the Radburn 
 ranks, he would have served the purpose for which 
 he was put up. 
 
 Radburn's name was the next presented, and now 
 there was enthusiasm. The Carroll men took ad- 
 vantage of every opportunity for cheering. When 
 Radburn was pictured as an ideal public-spirited 
 citizen, they made the hall ring. When reference 
 was made to the " vicious slanders " that had been 
 circulated, they roared their approval. When it was 
 explained that Radburn had at all times been ready 
 to pay for the use he made of alley and street, if 
 others did, and that his check was now in the hands 
 of the proper city official, they stood on their seats 
 and waved hats and canes. 
 
 This nominating speech was not of the ordinary 
 kind, for the circumstances were unusual. Inter- 
 woven with the customary laudatory remarks was an 
 ingenious reply to the charges made against the can- 
 didate. A word-picture was given of him in his 
 home, surrounded by his own children, and mention 
 was made of the fact that he had contributed lib-
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 297 
 
 erally to various charities that had to do with the 
 welfare of children. Could such outrageous stories 
 as had been circulated hurt such a man? Would 
 any one believe them? Was it not proper ay, 
 imperative that they should be refuted by a vote 
 of confidence from his neighbours and friends 
 such a vote as could be given by this convention? 
 Ought it not to be demonstrated that such disgrace- 
 ful methods could not win in politics? 
 
 " It only remains for you," said the orator, in 
 conclusion, " to show your contempt for this auda- 
 cious trickery by giving the people of your district 
 an opportunity to vote for that conscientious, sym- 
 pathetic, and successful citizen, whose name I have 
 the honour to present to this convention." 
 
 The cheering lasted for ten minutes, and Carroll, 
 in the anteroom, grew more cheerful and confident 
 as he heard it. 
 
 " As a nominating speech," he remarked, " that is 
 not exactly according to Hoyle, but it was needed 
 to do the business. This isn't the time to stand on 
 ceremony or bother with precedent. Better a cam- 
 paign speech and victory than a purely nominating 
 speech and defeat." 
 
 But the nomination of Taylor was even more un- 
 usual and sensational. McHugh made the speech.
 
 298 Slaves of Success 
 
 Carroll had expected that Sidway would do it, but 
 Sidway's alternate had his place, and Sidway himself 
 was not to be seen in the hall. This fact had occa- 
 sioned some speculation and uneasiness at first. In 
 the excitement of the proceedings, however, it had 
 been forgotten, and the appearance of McHugh on 
 the platform, from which all the nominating 
 speeches were made, did not worry Carroll. Mc- 
 Hugh, the cautious and calculating politician, 
 had permitted himself to become so thoroughly 
 identified with the Taylor campaign that he had to 
 stand or fall with it. Never before, according to 
 Carroll, had McHugh acted so foolishly; but, his 
 line of retreat being already cut off, there was noth- 
 ing to be gained by keeping in the background. 
 
 McHugh began hrthe customary way, and it was 
 only as he neared his peroration that sensational 
 features began to creep in. Then he went even 
 farther than his predecessor not in defence, but 
 in attack. Indeed, old-timers afterward asserted 
 that never before had they even heard of such an 
 extraordinary convention as this one. 
 
 " I shall present to you," said McHugh, slowly 
 and impressively, as he neared the close, " the name 
 of a man who has been honourable in his dealings 
 with all even the municipality ; a man who would
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 299 
 
 not wait two or three years to pay for a street or 
 an alley that he had appropriated ; a man who would 
 not wait to find out whether his neighbour was 
 honest before he acted honestly himself. I shall 
 present to you the name of a man who has not per- 
 sistently violated the law ; a man who has not made 
 his money by the sweat of children's brows ; a man 
 who has not replied, when asked to carry a child- 
 wreck on his pay-roll temporarily, that he could not 
 afford to establish such a precedent; a man whose 
 success is not made at the cost of the next genera- 
 tion; a man who does not lure parents to perjury 
 that he may profit by the labour of their children." 
 
 This was said with such deliberate emphasis that 
 it held the convention in a silence more telling than 
 the enthusiasm that had preceded it. The effect was 
 so evident that the Radburn men rallied in an effort 
 to overcome it. 
 
 "I protest against these unfounded charges!" 
 one man yelled. 
 
 " Point of order ! " shouted another, and pande- 
 monium followed. 
 
 The Radburn men took the cue and began shout- 
 ing their protests, while the Taylor men answered 
 with cries of " Fair play ! " " Let him go on ! " etc. 
 In various parts of the hall delegates were standing
 
 300 Slaves of Success 
 
 on their chairs, yelling and shaking their fists at 
 each other; the chairman was pounding his desk 
 with the gavel ; McHugh was waving a paper over 
 his head, while waiting for a chance to make him- 
 self heard. 
 
 " I have here," he shouted, when quiet had been 
 partly restored, " the confessions of two women 
 whose children work for this man ! " 
 
 " This is a convention and not a court! " cried a 
 Radburn delegate, and the storm broke again. The 
 Taylor men were yelling for the truth, and the Rad- 
 burn men were protesting against making a jury 
 trial of the proceedings. In the midst of the con- 
 fusion McHugh replaced the papers in his pocket, 
 and that had a quieting effect. The Radburn people 
 thought he was defeated in his purpose; but, as a 
 matter of fact, he had made his point. None knew 
 better than McHugh that it was no time or place to 
 present such documents, and that under no circum- 
 stances would he be permitted to read them. He 
 desired only to add to the force of the circulars, and 
 this he had done in a daring and unprecedented 
 way. 
 
 " I present for your consideration," he added, 
 " the name of a young man too conscientious, too
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 301 
 
 honourable, too humane, to woo fortune by any of 
 the methods I have described, Malcolm Tay- 
 lor." 
 
 Instantly the Taylor men were on their feet 
 again, cheering; the Radburn men, their passions 
 stirred by this extraordinary speech, began to hiss; 
 McHugh, again violating precedent, did not retire, 
 but stood beside the chairman, waiting. 
 
 Suddenly, with a commanding gesture, he pointed 
 to the back of the hall. 
 
 " A product of the Radburn factory ! " he cried. 
 
 Down the main aisle came Sidway, carrying a 
 frightened, stunted, emaciated child in his arms, 
 a child who, even in her fright, clung to him trust- 
 ingly. 
 
 The delegates climbed on chairs and each other's 
 shoulders to see, and the effect, in view of all that 
 had gone before, was even greater than Sidway or 
 McHugh had anticipated. The convention had been 
 brought to just the right point for this climax; it 
 was as emotional as a gathering of women; it was 
 almost hysterical in its excitement. 
 
 The Radburn men made one effort to cut off Sid- 
 way's advance and force him back, but they were 
 not quick enough. Before they could reach him, he 
 had been surrounded by a body-guard of other dele-
 
 302 Slaves of Success 
 
 gates, and cries of indignation came from; all parts 
 of the hall. 
 
 Carroll, standing in the doorway of the anteroom, 
 saw the danger and acted promptly. His line was 
 broken; he would have to have time to repair the 
 damage. 
 
 " Recognize Dixon," was the message he sent to 
 the chairman, " and put his motion for a recess 
 through under the gavel. We're lost if there is a 
 vote now." 
 
 McHugh, still holding his position on the plat- 
 form, saw the message delivered, and guessed its 
 purport. 
 
 "Look at those delegates!" he said, warningly. 
 " Before you try any trickery, call an ambulance ; 
 you'll need it ! " 
 
 The chairman was white and trembling. The 
 temper of the men before him was apparent; the 
 convention was practically beyond his control; the 
 Radburn men seemed to have become a small minor- 
 ity. But Carroll was his political master. 
 
 " Mr. Chairman ! I move that we take a recess 
 until four o'clock ! " rang out the voice of Dixon. 
 
 " Second that motion ! " came from another part 
 of the hall. 
 
 " No ! no ! no ! Ballot ! ballot ! " cried a score of
 
 The Cupidity of Carroll 303 
 
 voices, and it seemed as if half the convention was 
 moving toward the platform. 
 
 The chairman's knees shook and he leaned heavily 
 on his desk for support, but he put the question. 
 The " ayes " were many, but the " noes " came with 
 a roar that left no room for doubt. 
 
 " Under the gavel," muttered the chairman, in an 
 effort to keep his nerve. Then, with a pretence of 
 confidence, he said : " The ayes seem to have it, 
 the " 
 
 To his startled gaze it seemed as if the convention 
 was coming to him in a body, and the cries that 
 greeted his ears were the cries of thoroughly angry 
 men. They were shouting to each other to pull him 
 from the platform, to drive him out, to stop the 
 high-handed outrage by force; the foremost of 
 them were already climbing to the platform. 
 
 " The noes have it ! " yelled the frightened chair- 
 man. " We will now proceed to ballot." 
 
 The protests of the Radburn men were unheeded ; 
 the delegates returned to their seats; Sidway re- 
 treated up the main aisle with the child still cling- 
 ing to his neck; Carroll retired to the anteroom 
 with an oath. The thing was settled. 
 
 "Done!" muttered Carroll. "Absolutely and 
 finally done! I'm caught with the goods, and
 
 304 Slaves of Success 
 
 haven't the prestige of success to pull me through. 
 ' What is there in it, Carroll ? ' is all that I get out 
 of this campaign, and that will stick." He clenched 
 his hands and swore. " I might as well join Wade 
 for awhile." 
 
 Carroll, discredited, slipping out into the street 
 alone, heard the cheers with which the nomination 
 of Taylor was greeted., 
 
 " Well ? " said Sidway, at Settlement House, a 
 little later. 
 
 " Oh, Allen, I'm so proud of you ! " exclaimed 
 Miss Hoyne. 
 
 " And now for our ward," he said. " It's a little 
 late in the season for that cottage I had in mind, but 
 don't you think a month or six weeks in the South 
 would do her some good ? " 
 
 " Who will take her?" she asked. 
 
 " It would be a nice honeymoon trip," he sug- 
 gested. 
 
 She looked up quickly, and her eyes met his. 
 Then, suddenly, he caught her in his arms. And 
 she only murmured happily, " I'm so proud of you, 
 Allen." 
 
 THE END.
 
 L. C Page and Company's 
 Announcement List 
 of New Fiction 
 
 The Bright Face of Danger. By Robert 
 
 Neilson Stephens, author of " Philip Winwood," " A Gentle- 
 man Player," "The Mystery of Murray Davenport," etc. 
 Illustrated by H. C. Edwards. 
 
 Library I2mo, cloth decorative . . . . $1.50 
 Stephens's most stirring story tells of the adventures of 
 Henri de Launay, son of De Launay de la Tournoire, made 
 famous in " An Enemy to the King." Mr. Stephens has done 
 what Dumas did in " Twenty Years After," except that, 
 unlike the great French novelist, he has written his best 
 story last. Writing, as only he among modern romancers can 
 write, of fair women and brave men, the gay life of the 
 chateaux and the dangers of the road, hairbreadth escapes, 
 thrilling rescues and gallant combat, Mr. Stephens has 
 accomplished, without question, his masterpiece of romantic 
 fiction. 
 
 " Mr. Stephens has fairly outdone himself. We thank him 
 heartily. The story is nothing if not spirited and entertaining, 
 rational and convincing. If there were more stories like it, the 
 historical novel would be in no danger of falling into disrepute." 
 Boston Transcript. 
 
 " Mr. Stephens has a liberal share of the intangible verve and 
 charm of Dumas, and he is at his best in 'The Bright Face of 
 Danger.' It is a gay, dashing, youthful tale of dangers dire and 
 escapes gallantly won. The situations are combined in fresh and 
 captivating style. Things are kept moving swiftly, and the denoue- 
 ment is effective." Chicago-Record Herald.
 
 L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY'S 
 
 The Prisoner of Mademoiselle. By charies 
 
 G. D. Roberts, author of The Kindred of the Wild," 
 " Barbara Ladd," " The Heart of the Ancient Wood." 
 Library I2mo, cloth, gilt top, with a frontispiece by 
 Frank T. Merrill $1.50 
 
 In this charming tale Mr. Roberts has come back to the 
 field of his first novels, the land of Acadia. He tells a story 
 which, although by no means a nature story, still has plenty of 
 those vibrant nature-notes which have endeared his " Barbara 
 Ladd " to its readers. Add to that scenes of tenseness 
 and thrill which surpass those in " The Forge in the Forest," 
 and one can see that here is a romance worth the name. 
 
 The Watchers of the Trails. By charies G. 
 
 D. Roberts, author of " Barbara Ladd," " The Kindred of 
 
 the Wild," etc. With illustrations by Charles Livingston 
 
 Bull. 
 
 Square I2mo, decorative cover .... $2.00 
 
 This is a companion volume to " The Kindred of the Wild," 
 and is another collection of Professor Roberts's characteristic 
 stories of nature and animal life, which stand alone in the 
 world of fiction as absolutely sincere and truthful descriptions 
 of existence in the untamed wilderness. They carry one far 
 from the haunts of convention into the very depths of primeval 
 forces, and present the savage instincts of the beasts of the 
 forests and the elemental problems of living which attend 
 those who live near to nature. 
 
 The book is sure to meet the favor accorded its predecessor 
 and companion, of which a few of the criticisms are : 
 
 " Professor Roberts has caught wonderfully the elusive individu- 
 alities of which he writes. His animal stories are marvels of 
 sympathetic science and literary exactness. Bound with the superb 
 illustrations by Charles Livingston Bull, they make a volume which 
 charms, entertains, and informs." New York World. 
 
 " Is in many ways the most brilliant collection of animal stories 
 that has appeared. Well named and well done." John Burroughs. 
 
 " No more perfect achievement of its kind has come from the hand 
 of man." Chicago Tribune. 
 
 " Incomparably the best in literature that has grown up about 
 animals." Brooklyn Eagle.
 
 LIST OF NEW FICTION 
 
 At Home with the Jardines. By Lilian Beii, 
 
 author of " Abroad with the Jimmies," " Hope Loring," etc. 
 Library i2mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . . $1.50 
 
 Here we have the heroine of " Abroad with the Jimmies " 
 (a book already established in the minds of readers as one of 
 the author's best) back to America, married, and trying to 
 settle down. This book relates her experiences as a honey- 
 mooner, a flat-dweller, a housekeeper, and a hostess. Among 
 her guests as well as counsellors and friends are her (and 
 the reader's) old friends, the Jimmies, and her vivacious sister, 
 Bee. These and a score of others of whom the most promi- 
 nent are Mary Jane, a new type of domestic, and " The 
 Angel " make up a pleasing group of folk with whom to 
 pass a genial hour or so. 
 
 Of " Abroad with the Jimmies," the following are but a few 
 of a great many favorable opinions : 
 
 " A deliciously fresh, graphic book. The writer is so original and 
 unspoiled that her point of view has value." Mary Hart-well 
 Catherwood. 
 
 " Full of ozone, of snap, of ginger, of swing and momentum." 
 Chicago Evening Post. 
 
 "... Is one of her best and cleverest novels . . . filled to the 
 brim with amusing incidents and experiences. This vivacious nar- 
 rative needs no commendation to the readers of Miss Bell's well- 
 known earlier books. They will all read it, and they will enjoy it, 
 and that is one of the safest prophecies we have made for some 
 time." N. Y. Press. 
 
 The Sign Of Triumph. A Romance of the Chil- 
 dren's Crusade. By Sheppard Stevens, author of " I Am 
 the King." Illustrated by H. C. Edwards. 
 Library I2mo, cloth decorative .... $1.50 
 
 This is a romantic story, dealing with the incidents of the 
 Children's Crusade, and depicts the pathetic experiences of 
 that army of infant martyrs to the cause of religion. Inter- 
 woven with this account is a delightful romance. 
 
 " The author has utilized to unusual effect the picturesqueness and 
 fanaticism of the Crusading children in a story filled with eager 
 charm and stamped with stern truth." Boston Transcript.
 
 L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY'S 
 
 The Green Diamond. By Arthur Morrison, au- 
 thor of " The Red Triangle," etc. 
 Library I2mo, cloth decorative, with six illustrations $1.50 
 
 " The Red Triangle " proved to be one of the most popular 
 of the year's fiction. " Better than ' Sherlock Holmes,' " 
 " Not to be laid down till the last word has been reached," 
 " A first-class story of crime and mystery," are a few of the 
 observations made upon it. This new story promises to be 
 of equal popularity. 
 
 It deals with the adventures of a famous diamond, " The 
 Green Eye of Goona," mysteriously stolen from an Indian 
 rajah, and supposedly concealed in one of a dozen magnums 
 of Tokay wine. An enterprising young Englishman, Harvey 
 Crook, is the principal seeker for the diamond, and proves 
 himself a worthy disciple of Martin Hewitt and Sherlock 
 Holmes. 
 
 Hemming, the Adventurer. By Theodore 
 
 Roberts. With six illustrations by A. G. Learned. 
 Library I2mo, cloth decorative . . . . $1.50 
 
 The hero of this romance is a typical Englishman, straight- 
 forward and manly, with all the charm and fascination of 
 the cultivated man of the world. His adventures are well 
 worth recording, and introduce many phases of life and many 
 types of people. The atmosphere of the book is that of real 
 life, of things perfectly familiar to the author, of incidents 
 personally known and related in the spirit of remembrance. 
 
 The Hound from the North. By Ridgweii 
 
 Cullom, author of " The Story of the Foss River Ranch." 
 Library I2mo, cloth decorative . . . . $1.50 
 
 This is a story of adventure and mystery, starting in the 
 famous Klondike region, then shifting to the " great north- 
 west" of Canada. Gold escorts, government detectives, 
 ranchmen, and smugglers all play their part, centring around 
 " The Hound from the North," an original and thrilling, if 
 sinister, sketch of animal life. The heroine is sincere and 
 womanly, and the hero a relief to those surfeited with the 
 ordinary " leading man " of fiction.
 
 LIST OF NEW FICTION 
 
 An EvanS Of Suffolk. By Anna Farquhar, author 
 of " Her Boston Experiences," " Her Washington Experi- 
 ences," etc. 
 Library I2mo, cloth decorative . . . . $1.50 
 
 This is a powerful story of modern life. The principal 
 character is a young woman who marries into a conservative 
 Boston family without explaining her antecedents, and is 
 obliged to exercise all her woman's ingenuity to keep un- 
 known the existence of her father, who is the " black sheep " 
 of a distinguished English family. She gradually becomes 
 involved in deception, which grows more and more difficult to 
 maintain, and which threatens to finally overwhelm her. The 
 plot is strong, and the telling is brilliant, while the book has 
 much of the author's gift of social satire, which was so cleverly 
 displayed in " Her Boston Experiences." 
 
 The Motor Pirate. By G. Sidney Paternoster. 
 Library I2mo, cloth decorative, with frontispiece $1.50 
 
 Mr. Paternoster, in his new book, " The Motor Pirate," has 
 quite outdistanced all competitors. The story is a rattling 
 good one. Told by a man who is a rich landowner and 
 motor enthusiast, it rushes from incident to incident in an 
 almost breathless fashion. There is a strong love interest in 
 the book, and all the characters are well drawn. Turpin, in 
 truth, has been out-Turpined by Mr. Paternoster, who must 
 be congratulated on a most successful work of fiction. 
 
 The Second Mrs. Jim. By Stephen Conrad. 
 With a frontispiece by Ernest Fosbery. 
 Large i6mo, cloth decorative .... $1.00 
 
 Here is a character as original and witty as " Mr. Dooley " 
 or the " self-made merchant." The realm of humorous fiction 
 is now invaded by the stepmother. 
 
 A shrewd, middle-aged spinster marries a prosperous farmer 
 with two boys, and makes them a model wife and mother. A 
 clever climax is attained when she pulls the oldest boy out of 
 love with the wrong girl and into love with the right one. 
 Much quaint philosophy is mingled with extremely humorous 
 sayings in dialect. The book will be read with many inward 
 chuckles and outward laughs of appreciation.
 
 L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY 
 
 : A ROMANCE OF OLD JUDEA. By Mark Ashton, 
 author of " She Stands Alone." Illustrated with a colored 
 frontispiece and eight reproductions from rare old plates. 
 Library i2mo, cloth decorative . . . . $1.50 
 
 This is the second of the author's series of novels founded 
 on Biblical history, and has Judea for its background, the 
 infamous Jezebel for its central figure, and her intrigues and 
 ambitions for its motif. It is full of interesting and exciting 
 incidents with vivid descriptions of the life of the times. 
 
 " The story is clear-cut and straightforward, and we feel we are 
 breathing the atmosphere of the period. It is brilliant with descrip- 
 tions, has a wealth of interesting incidents, unique situations, and 
 swift action." Boston Herald. 
 
 Delightful Dodd. By Elliott Flower, author of The 
 Spoilsmen," etc. 
 Library 12010, cloth decorative, illustrated . . $1.50 
 
 From the strenuous whirl of politics to the calm of the back- 
 woods is indeed a far cry ; but Mr. Flower has shown himself 
 as clever in depicting country life in the State of Michigan 
 as in his trenchant portrayal of the doings of the Chicago 
 wards. His principal character, a shrewd old fellow of much 
 wit and ingenuity, is declared by those who have read the 
 manuscript of the story, to " give David Harum cards and 
 spades." 
 
 Rachel Mart. By Morley Roberts, author of " The 
 Promotion of the Admiral," etc. 
 Library i2mo, cloth decorative . . . . $1.50 
 
 In this novel Mr. Roberts has left the humors and tragedies 
 of the sea for a new field. " Rachel Marr " is a romance full 
 of that atmosphere and spirit which have made Thomas Hardy 
 famous. The book has met with not only popular success in 
 England, where it has gone to a tenth impression, but with 
 artistic success. The Daily Telegraph, London's most con. 
 servative literary sheet, says that " This novel is one of the 
 most significant productions of the times ; it is finely 
 conceived."
 
 X *v- 
 
 ' f if &