“I'm the City,” replied Big Kennedy; “an' will be while I'm on top of Tammany, an' Tammany's on top of th' town.” Then, with a friendliness of humor: “Here, I like you, an' I'll go out o' my way to educate you on this point. You're fly to some things, an' a farmer on others. Now understand: The City's a come-on--a sucker--an' it belongs to whoever picks it up. That's me this trip, d'ye see! Now notice: I've got no office; I'm a private citizen same as you, an' I don't owe no duty to th' public. Every man has his pull--his influence. You've got your pull; I've got mine. When a man wants anything from th' town, he gets his pull to work. In this case, my pull is bigger than all th' other pulls clubbed together. You get that franchise or you don't get it, just as I say. In short, you get it from me--get it by my pull, d'ye see! Now why shouldn't I charge for th' use of my pull, just as a lawyer asks his fee, or a bank demands interest when it lends? My pull's my pull; it's my property as much as a bank's money is th' bank's, or a lawyer's brains is the lawyer's. I worked hard to get it, an' there's hundreds who'd take it from me if they could. There's my doctrine: I'm a private citizen; my pull is my capital, an' I'm as much entitled to get action on it in favor of myself as a bank has to shave a note. That's why I take forty per cent. It's little enough: The franchise will be four-fifths of th' whole value of th' road; an' all I have for it is two-fifths of five-ninths, for you've got to take into account them eight millions of preferred.” Young Morton was either convinced of the propriety of what Big Kennedy urged, or saw--the latter is the more likely surmise--that he must agree if he would attain success for his enterprise. He made no more objection, and those forty per cent, in favor of Big Kennedy were looked upon as the thing adjusted. “You spoke of four hundred thousand dollars as precedent to the franchise,” said young Morton. “Where will that go?” “There's as many as thirty hungry ones who, here an' there an' each in our way, must be met an' squared.” “How much will go to your fellows?” “Most of th' Tammany crowd I can beat into line. But there's twelve who won't take orders. They were elected as 'Fusion' candidates, an' they think that entitles 'em to play a lone hand. Whenever Tammany gets th' town to itself, you can gamble! I'll knock their blocks off quick. You ask what it'll take to hold down th' Tammany people? I should say two hundred thousand dollars. We'll make it this way: I'll take thirty per cent, instead of forty of th' common, an' two hundred thousand in coin. That'll be enough to give us th' Tammany bunch as solid as a brick switch shanty.” “That should do,” observed young Morton thoughtfully. When young Morton was about to go, Big Kennedy detained him with a final query.