"No, Dan," I said, "I can't do it. And what's more I won't let you do it if I can help it." "Phot do yez mane?" he asked. "That I'm going to fight you tooth and nail," I said. He turned red. Then he grinned. "Well," he said, "it'll be a foine fight anyhow." I went to the president of the club and told him that here was where we had to stop Rafferty. He listened and then he said, "Well, here's where we do stop him." We went at the job in whirlwind fashion. I spoke a half dozen times but to save my life I couldn't say what I wanted to say. Every time I stood up I seemed to see Dan's big round face and I remembered the kindly things he used to do for the old ladies. And I knew that Dan's offer to take me into partnership wasn't prompted altogether by selfish motives. He could have found other men who would have served his purpose better. In the meanwhile Dan had organized "Social Clubs" in half a dozen sections. For the first few weeks of the campaign I never heard of him except as leading grand marches. But the last week he waded in. There's no use going into details. He beat us. He rolled up a tremendous majority. The president of the club couldn't understand it. He was discouraged. "I had every boy in the ward out working," he said. "Yes," I said, "but Dan had every grandmother and every daughter and every granddaughter out working." Dan came around to the flat one night after the election. He was as happy as a boy over his victory. "Carleton," he said, again, "it's too domd bad ye ain't an Irishmon." After he had gone, Ruth said to me: "I don't think Mr. Rafferty will make a bad alderman at all." CHAPTER XVIII MATURING PLANS