retensions to "family" in
official position in his machine. He used to like to class himself and
me together as "us gentlemen," in contrast to "them muckers," meaning my
colleagues.

Next day, just before the voting began, Dominick seated himself at the
front of the governor's gallery,--the only person in it. I see him now
as he looked that day,--black and heavy-jawed and scowling, leaning
forward with both forearms on the railing, and his big, flat chin
resting on his upturned, stubby thumbs. He was there to see that each
of us, his creatures, dependent absolutely upon him for our political
lives, should vote as he had sold us in block. There was no chance to
shirk or even to squirm. As the roll-call proceeded, one after another,
seven of us, obeyed that will frowning from the gallery,--jumped through
the hoop of fire under the quivering lash. I was eighth on the roll.

"Sayler!" How my name echoed through that horrible silence!

I could not answer. Gradually every face turned toward me,--I could see
them, could feel them, and, to make bad enough worse, I yielded to an
imperious fascination, the fascination of that incarnation of
brute-power,--power of muscle and power of will. I turned my eyes upon
the amazed, furious eyes of my master. It seemed to me that his lips
must give passage to the oaths and filth swelling beneath his chest, and
seething behind his eyes.

"Sayler!" repeated the clerk in a voice that exploded within me.

"No!" I shouted,--not in answer to the clerk, but in denial of that
insolent master-to-dog command from the beast in the gallery.

The look in his eyes changed to relief and contemptuous approval. There
was a murmur of derision from my fellow members. Then I remembered that
a negative was, at that stage of the bill, a vote for it,--I had done
just the reverse of what I intended. The roll-call went on, and I sat
debating with myself. Prudence, inclination, the natural timidity of
youth, the utter futility of opposition, fear, above all else,
fear,--these joined in bidding me let my vote stand as cast. On the
other side stood my notion of self-respect. I felt I must then and there
and for ever decide whether I was a thing or a man. Yet, again and again
I had voted for measures just as corrupt,--had voted for them with no
protest beyond a cynical shrug and a wry look. Every man, even the
laxest, if he is to continue to "count as one," must have a point where
he draws the line beyond which h