Brassfield walked up and down the room for a few moments, wringing his hands and alternately hardening and relaxing the muscles of his arms as if engaged in some physical culture exercise, but saying never a word. This blank Cimmeria of his past, into which he had stared vainly for five years, seemed about to deliver up its secret, or a part of it. Already, it was clear, it had disgorged this man Blodgett, and these other questionable characters at the inn. But they would find him ready for them. This man that was looking over his books would discover that what Eugene Brassfield wanted he took, and what he took he held. They were after his money, no doubt. Well, he would see. And in the meantime, Edgington's defection should not be allowed to disarrange matters. The business interests involved were too great. When he turned to answer Alvord, he was pale as death, but calm as ever. "Oh, Edgington misconstrued entirely what I said," he answered. "I can't just repeat it--we had some talk along the lines he mentioned, but I never said anything that he ought to have understood in that way. Is he on the square, do you think?" "On the dead square," said Alvord. "I'll stake my life on that." "Well, what has he done?" "He's got McCorkle out for the nomination." "To stay?" asked Brassfield. "Can't we give Mac something else, later?" "No, Edgington says not: you see, the colonel has wanted to be mayor a long time. Edgington can't pull him off, and as long as he sticks, Edge's got to stick by him. Edgington's for you as hard as ever after the caucuses--if you win." "Yes," said Brassfield, "most everybody will be. You've run your eye over the line-up: can we win?" "It depends," said Alvord, "on the two men down in the restaurant--Sheehan and Zalinsky. You know their following, and what they want. Our crowd stands in with the better element. McCorkle can't hold more than half his own church, and we're as strong as horseradish with the other gospel plants. The A. O. C. M. gang Edgington won't try to split, but will leave to us, and through them we'll get the liberal element in line--the saloons, and the seamy side generally, I mean, of course. The labor vote we need help with, and I've brought in Sheehan and Zalinsky to sort of arrange a line of policy that'll round 'em up. With their help we'll control the caucuses. After the caucuses, it's plain sailing." Brassfield made a few figures on a card, and handed it to Alvord, who looked at it attentively and nodded approvingly. "That ought to be an elegant sufficiency," said he. "All right," said Brassfield, "you handle that end of it, and I'll discuss the interests of labor. We'll show Colonel McCorkle what a fight without interests means in this town. Are the wine and cigars here? Then go down and bring the patriots up, Jim." XVII THE HONOR NEARS ITS QUARRY