mply say, 'It's ready.'"

Jane went in search of her father, found him asleep in his chair in the
little office, one of his dirty little account books clasped in his
long, thin fingers with their rheumatic side curve. The maid had seen
him there and had held back dinner until he should awaken. Perhaps
Jane's entrance roused him; or, perhaps it was the odor of the sachet
powder wherewith her garments were liberally scented, for he had a
singularly delicate sense of smell. He lifted his head and, after the
manner of aged and confirmed cat-nappers, was instantly wide awake.

"Why didn't you tell me Victor Dorn was coming for dinner?" said she.

"Oh--he's here, is he?" said Hastings, chuckling. "You see I took your
advice. Tell Lizzie to lay an extra plate."

Hastings regarded this invitation as evidence of his breadth of mind,
his freedom from prejudice, his disposition to do the generous and the
helpful thing. In fact, it was evidence of little more than his
dominant and most valuable trait--his shrewdness. After one careful
glance over the ruins of his plan, he appreciated that Victor Dorn was
at last a force to be reckoned with. He had been growing,
growing--somewhat above the surface, a great deal more beneath the
surface. His astonishing victory demonstrated his power over Remsen
City labor--in a single afternoon he had persuaded the street car union
to give up without hesitation a strike it had been planning--at least,
it thought it had been doing the planning--for months. The Remsen City
plutocracy was by no means dependent upon the city government of Remsen
City. It had the county courts--the district courts--the State courts
even, except where favoring the plutocracy would be too obviously
outrageous for judges who still considered themselves men of honest and
just mind to decide that way. The plutocracy, further, controlled all
the legislative and executive machinery. To dislodge it from these
fortresses would mean a campaign of years upon years, conducted by men
of the highest ability, and enlisting a majority of the voters of the
State. Still, possession of the Remsen City government was a most
valuable asset. A hostile government could "upset business," could
"hamper the profitable investment of capital," in other words could
establish justice to a highly uncomfortable degree. This victory of
Dorn's made it clear to Hastings that at last Dorn was about to unite
the labor vote under his banne