"Yes," said Brassfield, "most everybody will be. You've run your eye over the line-up: can we win?"
"It depends," said Alvord, "on the two men down in the restaurant—Sheehan and Zalinsky. You know their following, and what they want. Our crowd stands in with the better element. McCorkle can't hold more than half his own church, and we're as strong as horseradish with the other gospel plants. The A. O. C. M. gang Edgington won't try to split, but will leave to us, and through them we'll get the liberal element in line—the saloons, and the seamy side generally, I mean, of course. The labor vote we need help with, and I've brought in Sheehan and Zalinsky to sort of arrange a line of policy that'll round 'em up. With their help we'll control the caucuses. After the caucuses, it's plain sailing."
Brassfield made a few figures on a card, and handed it to Alvord, who looked at it attentively and nodded approvingly.
"That ought to be an elegant sufficiency," said he.
"All right," said Brassfield, "you handle that end of it, and I'll discuss the interests of labor. We'll show Colonel McCorkle what a fight without interests means in this town. Are the wine and cigars here? Then go down and bring the patriots up, Jim."
XVII
THE HONOR NEARS ITS QUARRY
And every man, and woman, too, was forged at Birmingham,
And mounted all in batteries, each on a separate cam;
And when one showed, in love or war or politics or fever,
A sign of maladjustment, why you just pulled on his lever,
And upside down and inside out and front side back he stood;
And the Inspector saw which one was evil, which was good.
Chorus: