“Brayle’s always looking for soft places,” observed Caleb dryly. “And he ain’t the only one. Such fellers gen’rally end up in a soft place, all right. Only it’s apt to be a swamp, and that’s——”
“Jericho County complete returns,” translated the operator aloud, as his machine began again to click out its news, “Conover 7,910, Standish 5,495.”
“Why don’t we hear from Grafton?” asked Staatz.
“They’re patching up the connection now,” answered the operator. “It’s farthest city on the line. You’ve got all the rest of the returns from its county.”
“That place is a regular nest of reformers, from the mayor down,” commented Bourke. “And besides, Standish won a lot of votes by his grand-stand scrap in the op’ra house there last month. It looks bad.”
“Most reform places do after they’ve tried a dose of their own medicine for awhile,” answered Caleb. “But we’ve spent enough good dough there to square the whole noble army of martyrs. I guess Grafton’s O. K.”
“Boss,” said Billy Shevlin, “you’re the only man in this whole shootin’ match what ain’t all hectic over this fight. An’ you’re the one man who’s It or out in th’ woolly white snow accordin’ to th’ way that genial beast of prey th’ free an’ independent an’ otherwise bought-up voters jumps. Ain’t you worried none?”
“What good’d that do? No use paying twice, if there’s anything to worry about. And if there ain’t, what’s the use of wasting a lot of good anxiety? Start my phonograph going.”
“Phonograph?” hotly protested Staatz. “At a time like this, when everything hangs on the next half hour and——”
“Well,” drawled Caleb, and if his words were light, his steady eyes fixed the district leader’s vexed gaze as a wasp might pierce an angry, blundering bumblebee, “I don’t believe the voters of the Mountain State’ll rise in arms to any extent and demand a new election and a new Boss just because they hear I wanted a little music. I like the phonograph. It’s the only musical instrument I ever had time to learn to play. And it’s the only one that’ll play over the pieces I like as often as I want to hear ’em, and won’t make me listen to a lot of opera war-whoops in Dutch and Dago. But, say, Staatz, I’m not forcing other folks to listen to it. If you’re not stuck on the way I amuse myself, there ain’t nobody exactly imploring you to stay on here.”