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Show BBBBI' -1 'j BBBl ' m - H . Uhc ffetv Mayor BBBl Btid on G. II. Broulhurtt't Successful BBJ ' ri I The Man H of The Hour B j By ALBERT PAYSON TERHUNE. BBBJ ' Co) right, lW7t by George II. Ilrondliurtl. B C!IAlTi:U IV. BBBJ; . r I 'Hi: next few mouths were ii pe Br I iIcmI of unprecedented toll mid BBS I excitement fur Alwjti Dennett. BBBJj ' He sometimes vvoiideied nt liN BBS own cloipience. Speech after speech BBS lie ttimlu In every section of tin- city BBB In liiilf littllt ruIiiiIi, In hnlh ulierc BBBJ) nine-truths of lilt heuiers were In BBBJ, evening dicss nml ulierc familiar BBB' fnees dotted Ilio place; In ovoicrovvded, BBB smoke reeking nudltorlums where not BBS' one limn In three wore n collar and BBS when- n store of nationalities vied for BBS precedence. BBS With n versatility Unit delighted BBS, Hotilguu the candidate munnged to BBS' ndnpt himself to every ntldicuce nnd, BBS j moreover, to Impress hit hearers with BBS , n sense of his uhsolutc sincerity nnd BBB r honesty. In the crowded, polyglot BBB meetings he lilt on the plan of speak- BBB Ing to representatives of each race In BBB their own language. In n single oven- BBB lng, ho the pnpcis recorded, be had made r eeliM In Uiiglifih. !'ietiUi, t.'en.ian, Itnliim ami i'p.mlHi At 0!m ineit'ti4 to'!f,ht hud tiled to eoirutc hi in h) luteiiilptlng Willi ipieHtloiri. Joklns coniiuciit or Insult. Tor eicti Alwjti. without hrcaUiiK the thrcntl of hU dlpcouisc. toiiuil Foitie ililcl; r ply mi apt nh to thru the laugh on his tor-ifientor tor-ifientor and turn the atldlence'H Kjm patliy In himself At last election da.v came un 1 went And Alwjn lteunett liy u fair nmlor-Itj nmlor-Itj can led hirt entire ticket to litory l'veu Ids n crest critics In the ur,$ii-Iratlon ur,$ii-Iratlon weie forced to admit that Bennett, Ben-nett, nnd Bennett alone, had saved th p,ntj freix ncte defeat. Ilorrlpui's jiidgiueut nnd choice of men for the thousandth time In the boss croo'ted political lareer wan vindicated, nnd HoirlfMi) himself as oerJojed, he yond nie.iHilie. Nor did the fact that he had failed to oust Alderman I'he-lull I'he-lull In the primaries wholly cloud the boss delight. There wan, however, n slight cloud on Ahv.Mi's triumph, for Dallas Wnln-w Wnln-w right was not present to share that triumph. Within n few dajs after Hor-r Hor-r I can's visit to thu Waluwrlght place Dallas had gone with an aunt on an eight mouths' tour of Kuropo nnd the Mediterranean. Hut 1'orry, who nt her secret request lind kept her posted on every detail of the stirring campaign, cabled her the result on election night, nnd the following day a reply message mes-sage of congratulation crossed the Atlantic At-lantic to gladden Alvvyn's heart. In a letter that followed n week later Dallas Dal-las asked the llrst political favor the future mayor was called upon to grant. She begged that In his otllcc Bennett would try to find n place for Cynthia Garrison. In consequence of which when the young man made up his list of personal appointments MUs Garrison Garri-son found heiself listed as assistant private sectetary nt n decidedly comfortable com-fortable salary. It was while she was working In that capacity In the mayor's private room in the city hall during Bennett's lunch hour one day In midwinter that her solitude wns broken by tho entrance of a visitor. Terry Wnluwilgbt, ledulciit of bandbox band-box and so.ip as ever, found his way past tho doorkeeper nnd burst Into the sanctum. "Hello!" was his greeting. "Ills honor Isn't around?" "No," answered Cynthia demurely, looking up from her work with the most businesslike air she lould assume, as-sume, "lie's out at lunch." "I knew he would be," grluued Perry. Per-ry. "I timed It tine, didn't I?" "If jou knew he wns out, why did you come?" she nsked severely. "You know I never recele cnllers during business hours. If on didn't come to see Mr. Bennett" "But I did. Honest 1 did. .1 have u message for hhn. It's awfully Important, Impor-tant, lie mustn't iuIsb It." "Perhaps , ou'll lenve It with me? I , can" "No; It's got an answer fo It. I'll hnte to wait, I suppose." He sat down, uninvited, with an air of mock resignation that was too much for Cyuthln's gravity. "Perry Wnlhw right," she exclaimed In exasperation, "how often nm'l to tell jou you mustn't bother mo here In oilice hours?" ' I "Now jou'tc hui,t my feelings," un-nounccd un-nounccd Perry In solemn conviction. "But," he added generously, "I'll forgive for-give jou, and to prove It I'll give you n 1 peace uffei Ing. Hoe? Your old Boston terrleis Betty and Prince Charllot and 1 me holding them." And he InVd before her a photograph. .She caught It up. with a little cry or pleasure. "Oh, the beautlesl" she exclaimed. "We do look well In that pose." he admitted modestly. "I was speal.lng of the dogs," bIic reproved him. with lofty seoin. "But I'm in the picture, too." ho explained. ex-plained. "I'm the one with the lint on. And" "Thank jou so much for the picture. I shall keep It always. They're tho nicest dogs I ever had." "I'm nice too. And it Isn't my mult I'm not a dog. 1" "I told jou once before uot to give up hope. You'll grow. "I" "I told that to some fellows at thu club, and we tiled to figure it out. nnd we decided jou weie guying me." "What clever men jou must be at that club! Are jou going to the administration ad-ministration hall next week?" ''Are you?" "Why?" "Beeauso that's the answer. I've never been to an administration ball, but If you're thcro I guess It" "Don't bo silly. The administration ball is n very great function Indeed. 1'vo been asking questions about It. Not only' every one connected with the administration goes, but all sorts of capitalists and other people llko that. I'vo henrd that some of tho biggest financial deals are arranged during that ball. Isn't It queer?" "Not especially. There's n deal I'm thinking of putting through myself that night If I don't get n good chance earlier a deal that means a lot to me." "Then why wait till the ball? Why not" "I'd do It now, only Bennett might come In bofoio" "Whut n worker .Mr. lteunett Is!" broke In Cjuthla. turning very pin!: nnd hastening to change thu subject, "In the old dajs wo thought he was the soul of laziness, but now he's w oi king hero night and dnj He's not only tho jonngest major this city ever had, but I think he's, the busiest too Ho"- , The eulogy on thu now mayor wus cut short by that dlgultury's appear-nnco appear-nnco from the center room. As Alwyn paused to hang up his coat nnd hat nnd pull off his gloves Cynthia fiont onco inoro over her work, whIloPerry i straightened up nnd tried to look an , yr-"4T,- .yT r fw. r .. .w.'iw - -. W.iii.IH. ,. though he rwiilj had business oppressing oppress-ing Importance with his honor. The months had brought changes to Bennett. There were enro lines on Ills face, and his eyes were tired. A few silver ft rands, too, had crept Into the darker hair on his temples. There was llttlo now about him to suggest the Idler. "Well, old ninu,'' he exclaimed on seeing Perry, "what's the excuse this time?" "Tho what?" nsked tho jouth un easily. "The excuse. You come heto when I'm likely to be out about four times a week, and alvvajs with a perfectly new excuse for j-our Intrusion. I tolerate tol-erate you for the originality of those excuses. What Is today's?" "I have no need of an excuse." ic-plied ic-plied Perry, with nn air of hurt dignity. dig-nity. "I nm tho hearer of a most Important Im-portant message to jou." "From whom?" "From from Dallas Is home; landed land-ed this morning." A light came Into the mayor's tired eyes nt the news. "And the messnge?" ho nsked eagerly. ea-gerly. "That's the message. She's home." "She sent you to tell mo that?" "No; not oxnetly that," evaded Per-rj Per-rj wriggling uncomfortnbly. "Well, whnt wns her message then?" "She she didn't send any." "Then who sent the message that she has come home?" "Well, tho fnct Is I sent It myself. Thnt's why 1 brought It." "Oh. you poor Idiot!" laughed Bennett. Ben-nett. "Tho snmo old excuse In a new shape! Well, now j-ou're here, you enn stny Just five minutes. I'm too busy to piny with llttlo boys todaj-." "Little boys! I'll bo twenty-two next spring. I" ' "Any messages while I wns out. Miss Garrison?" "Yes, one," nnswercd Cynthia "Your mother telephoned that she would I c hero nt half past 2. She said she hud n surprise for you." "Sny," remnrked Perry, feeling he wns being excluded from the talk. "I'd go easy on that surprise If I were you. Alwyn. I've had surprises over the telephone myself, nnd the 're punk. Once a girl" ""Aldcrmnn Phclnu would like to speak to j-our honor," said Ingram, the old doorkecer, popping out of tho anteroom, "Show him lu." answered Bennett. "Now, then. Perry" "Wcro you nliout to ask me to stay nwhtle longer?" nsked the boj "Because "Be-cause I'm sorrj', but I can't, ttoodby. Good afternoon, Miss Garrison. Glad you liked the photo. So long. Majhe I'll bring another messnge ftotu Dallas tomorrow." "What can Phelan wnut of me. I 'wonder," mused Bcunett, half n)oud. "He nnd I senrcelj' Good afternoon. alderman! I think this Is the first time you've honored me with a visit." "Then lie lenient with a llrst offense, your honor," suggested Phelan, shaking shak-ing ha nils with the mayor nnd nodding plcnsnntly to Cynthia ns she passed out to her own oftlce. "Something Important, I suppose." hazarded Bennett. "Mnybe It Is Important, and maybe It Isn't." returned Phelan. "It all depends de-pends on whether that was n truo story In the Chronicle todny about your vetoing veto-ing the Horough Street rallwny bill. If you've really vetoed that bill all I'll have to do Is to say, 'Sorry I enn't stay longer.' nnd get out." "No," said Bennett, "that announcement announce-ment wasn't authorized. I haven't vetoed ve-toed the Borough Street rallwny bill. In fnct, I haven't made public any decision de-cision on it. Why?" "I'm glad to hear It. nnd. thnt being the case, I'll Invito myself to n sent and stay nwhlle. Snj your houor. on tho level, that Borough bill was the rawest thing thnt ever came across. Gee. but they did their work with n inent nxl" "Then you w-eien't one of the nldcr-men nldcr-men who voted for It?" "Me? Nothln doing. 1 don't belong to Dick Horrlg.m's 'solid thirteen.' He can't buy and sell me at his own terms like he does them thirteen geezers." geez-ers." "And jet, nldermnn, from your rep-utntlon" rep-utntlon" ' "Prom mj reputation I'm a crook, hey? Well, there's ciooks nnd crooks. Aim rirt one or tho other kind. If I'm crooked at all. which I deny most en-thoosins.tlcully. en-thoosins.tlcully. At least I follow no Horiigan whistle." "Then why are jou hcio In regard to tho Borough bill?" ' "Perhaps It's on tho theory of 'set n thief to catch n thief.' " "Well," laughed Bennett, amused lu splto of himself by the nldermnn'a frankness, "nt least you call n spado, n spade." "I sure don't refer to It ague. but us n 'utensil.' You don't need any footnote foot-note explanations In one sj llnhlc- vv hen Jimmy Phelnn's talking. Cvery move n picture. If I hadn't been thiough tho gamo from shuffle to cash In. would I be wise to what tho Ilonlgan crowd Is frnmlug up on you now? Say, I'vo dono sonio raw work In my time, but this Borough business Is the courscst yet. They must think jou'ie the original Mr. Good Thing." "You speak as if 1 were to be made responsible for" "And nln't you?" crh-d Phclau. "Sure jou are. When tho people get wise to what the 'to up against mid commence com-mence to tlo their scicani will they ic-meinber ic-meinber that So-nnd-so framed the, bill and that such and such nldcimcu voted vot-ed for It? Not them. What the public will remember Is that joq signed It. I It'll go scieechhf down the von Mora of time as 'the Inliiultons Borough franchise bill that liennett signed.' Catch the Idea?" t "Yes," said Bennett gilmly: "I tin-deisland, tin-deisland, But what I don't see Is why you should Iihvii taken the troublo to come here nnd vvntu me of this. i ir, in,,,, m.-. .. You've never shown any special fondness fond-ness for mo hitherto." "That's "right. But I't- shown bunches of un fondness for Chesty Dick Horrlgnn. And Horrlgai''i the man who's rushing the Borough bill through. Lord, whnt n bill I It's so crooked thnt If It was laid out llko n street the mini who tried to wnlk nlong It would meet himself coming bnck. Why, jour honor, hon-or, I"- ' "Mr. Wnlnvvrlglit, jour honor." Bald Ingram nt the door; "says he won't detain de-tain jou long." "Let him In If you like," suggested Phelan. "I can wait. Shall I go Into the other" "No. Walt here If you ehoostv His business Isn't likely to be private." "I'm sorry to break In on your rush hours," snld Wnlnwrlght ns he nd-vnnecd nd-vnnecd to greet the mayor. "I won't keep jou loirg. Good afternoon, alderman." alder-man." "Howdy," returned Phelan, walking over to the far end of tho office, where, by falling Into deep nnd admiring study of a particularly atrocious portrait por-trait of some earlier tnnyor. ho denoted thnt he was temporarily nut of tho conversation. "I'll come to the point nt oncej Mr. Bennett," began Wnlnwrlght. "I called call-ed to see jou about the Borough Street rallwny bill." "Thnt's nn odd coincidence," nnswercd nnswer-cd Bennett. "1 w-ns going to call j-ou up this afternoon and ask j our opinion of It. Whnt do j-ou think of the measure?" meas-ure?" "What does he think of It?" muttered mutter-ed Phelan, addressing the portrait in nn nsldo that was perfectly audible. "Whnt does ho think of it? And him ownln' the rlvul road! Oh, easy! Ask him a real hard one!" "You're mistaken, alderman," returned re-turned Wnlnwrlght blandly. "I am Inclined In-clined to fnvor tho passngc of the Borough Bor-ough bill." Phelan shot one kceu glance of Incredulity In-credulity nt'tho financier, then wheeled about nnd resumed his rapt study of tho portrnlt. "Yes," continued Waluwrlght, "I ml-mlt ml-mlt thnt my City Surface lino Is In a way the rival of tho Borough Street rallwny, but In n big city like tills thero's surely room for both lines to cany on n prosperous business, so why should they try to Injure ench other?" "Why, oh, why?" echoed Phclnu, again addressing the portrnlt. "Can 1 bo gettln' so old that I've begun hear-In' hear-In' queer things thnt's neer said?" Wnlnwrlght paid no heed to the Interpolation, In-terpolation, but went on: "Of course the franchise will bo u good thing for the Borough load, but- It needn't hurt the City Surface line. Besides, the passing of tho bill made Borough stock rise from CI to 81. Then when that unauthorized announcement wns nindo todny that your honor would veto it tho stock tumbled from 81 to 73. .lust see hnt power rests vvfth you, Mr. Bennett! If jou should veto ... ,. the hill, tho 1 Borough stock i II will slump to JSi t.v3Q almost nothing. .BB TrWS Tlllllk bat that ASi y A will mean to BSu4 . U widows nnd or-SBSfffftV) or-SBSfffftV) l-y phans nnd all BBjBto(I IjQI sorts of poor sgBWHMjvwXp people who tin ve ' i0''"lJS Investedall their I savings hi thnt . "''" ',c I'enr- ""') In' hnrps twnng- "I'll bchcurln' harp in' next." groan- t.ck," s,ili I'lulun." tHl ,.ll0,n, , wonder. "Hns the poor, dear man got BvvclJIn' of thu heart, or Is he maybe tho advance ugent of the millennium? To think or old Tightwad Wain-vvrlght"- Ingrntn forestalled any leply rrom the ilnunclcr by entering with the tidings tid-ings thnt Thompson wns hi the unte-room unte-room with' nn Important tncssnge for-Wnlnwrlght. for-Wnlnwrlght. ' "May I see him hi here?" nsked the isltor. "It Is my prlvnto secretary, nnd" "Certnlnlyj" asserted Bennett. "Show him in, Ingram." "I'd like to see a private secretary or mine come buttln' In like this." con? tided Phelnn to the picture. "I'd chnso him so rar he'd discover n new street. I'd"- The nldermnn broke off shoit. Ills eje had fallen on Thompson us the latter entered. Phelnn stood tlgld. with mouth open nnd ejes bulging, taking In every detnll of the quiet, pallid young man's nppeuronee. The secretary meanwhile bud gone up to Wnlnwrlght nnd begun to deliver his message. "Mr. Horrlgan culled jou up. sir." said he. "Just n minute or so after jou left the otllce. He wishes you to come nnd seo him Immediately If possible." "All right." answered the fin iiu-ler. "I'll come at once. I'm souy, jour honor, thnt I am called nwny Just now, for I'd like to discuss this Borough bill further with jou. But what I wished to express can bo said lu n nutshell. If I.who own tho rival road, am hi favor of granting tho Borough franchise. fran-chise. I can't seo why any ouo else should object to It. Come on, Thompson. Thomp-son. Good day, your honor. Good day, nldermnn." Tho linnucier passed out. Thompson was following' when Phelan. who hnd never once removed his ejes from the secretary, stepped In front of him. "Well, joung mau!" said he. "Well, sir!" said Thompson In mild surprise. "You remember me?" "I don't think so. sir." "Huh! That's queer! I'm Alderman Phelnn of tho Hlghtb." "I'ye read about you, of course, sir, but 1"- "But jou don't know me? Never met me before?" "I'm sorry, sir. but I can't recall it If I did. Gool day, sir." The secretary hurried out after bis I v t employer. Phelan, with a puzzled shake of tho head, seemed trying to solve some elusive problem. But Bennett, who had not noted' the brief scene between be-tween Thompson and the alderman, broke In on the latter's musings with the remark: "You appeared to be amazed nt Mr. Walnwrlght's attitude toward the Borough Bor-ough Street railway franchise." " 'Amazed' Is n mild, gentle word for my feellug," declared the alderman. "To bear that old dint heart prattlln' about widows nnd orphans nnd fair piny why, say, your honor, 1 know Charles Wnlnwrlght from wny back, and I tell you he has (he same nflcc-tlou nflcc-tlou for the money or widows nnd orphans or-phans thnt a tomcat has for n canary. As for fair piny, he wouldn't recognize It If he was to bear It through a megaphone. mega-phone. He's up to something! I don't know Just whnt. But HI" "Come, cornel" remonstrated Bennett good humorcdly. "I'm sure you do Wnlnwrlght nn Injustice.' He" "He's a fine old bird! Do you chanco to remember tho Garrison case nine years bnck? "President Gnrrlson of the Israel Putnam Trust compnnj" "Who shot himself nftcr being ruined by a financier who wns his denrest friend? Yes. Whnt has that to do with" "With Waluwrlght? Oh. nothln' much. Only Wnlnvvrlglit hnppened to be the financier." "No! You must be mistaken." "Am 1? I ought to know something about It. I wns tho chief of police at the time nnd bandied the ense. It wns I who supptessed Wnlnvv light's name. For a small consideration I" "Wahiw light!" gasped Bennett. "Or nil men! But" v "So jou see why I coppered the mercy' and 'fair play' cards when he dealt V'ln Just now." purred Phelan. "There's something big behind this talk of bis lu favor of the Borough bill. Wasn't It at tils house last sum mer that Horiigan offered jou the nomination? nomi-nation? That's the storj1. and" "Yes. On the iKith of .luly. He" "The I'Mli of Julj hey? That was the day he had me out there. Tho dny I met that fellow Glbbs. By the wnj-. your honor, the papers sny It's Glbbs' linn that's bujln' ny thnt Borough stock. They'vu been bujin' It up on the quiet for months. I begin to sec n lot of runny little lights thnt make this thing dealer. Glbbs Is bujin' Borough stock. Ho's Wnlnvv right's chum. Hor-ilg.ui Hor-ilg.ui and Wulnw right frame up jour nomination; then the minute you come Into power this Borough franchise bill Is flashed on jou by Horrlgnn. nnd Wnlnwrlght begs j-ou to sign It. Tnke my tip Wnlnwrlght owns the Borough rond ns well the City Surfnee, rind Hor-llgan's Hor-llgan's gettln' n fnt wnd of stock for nrrnngln' the franchise. Oh. they're got jour honor nil tied up In ribbons, like rou wus n measly iKiokaj1. You and me ought to get together nnd fight this thing out side by side, and when once I get the Indian sign on Dick Horrlgnn" Hor-rlgnn" "But I've no personal quarrel with Hoirlgan. He" "You've got the same qunriel with hhn thnt the pigeon bus with the muck-int. muck-int. If jou don't use jour wings ou'll be swallowed. Let me put jou on to n few or the little Jokers In thnt bill of his. You see" . "I see mine about thnt bill than jou think," Intel posed Bennett. "I've worked work-ed over it night after night, with mj-lnwj mj-lnwj er. Don't j oil get tho Idea l'v e lieoh s.-cp any Joy to jou yS to know It, .Ilui- my Ph el. i it Uchtltl mtthlKhuuil, HnH .y0-re n! tintllUiiULittjrliiiictl riffiit' ' llcheld out his timid, and Bennett gripped It cordlullj-. Tin glad we had this talk, alderman." alder-man." said he. "We are fighting from dltTcicut points of view, but our uiulu object Is tho snine. I think we enn pull together on this mutter." "We sure can!" ngreed Phelnn. "An1 ns for Horiigan, when I'm done with hhn he'll be rolled up In u nice bundle, nn' I'll print on It In big letters, 'Use nil the hooks jou like.'" "Mrs. Bennett, sir," said Ingram. "I thought you wns single!'' exclaimed exclaim-ed Phelnn. "It's my mother. Show her In." Prom the musty nnteehnmber cumo the iiistlc of feminine nttlre, and Mrs. Bennett cumo lu. Devoted ns he was to his mother, Alwyn now had no eyes for her, for over her shoulder he, had caught n glimpse of another fnce. ' TO BE CONTlWtTED. |