t. James had been selected by Carver for this work because of proved
ability and shrewdness. He had no sooner attached himself to the lodge,
and made himself known as an active member, than his personality, without
any noticeable effort on his part, began to make itself felt. Up to this
time Grady had had full swing, for there had been no one among the
laborers with force enough to oppose him.

The first collision took place at an early meeting after Grady's last talk
with Bannon. The delegate, in the course of the meeting, bitterly attacked
Bannon, accusing him, at the climax of his oration, of an attempt to buy
off the honest representative of the working classes for five thousand
dollars. This had a tremendous effect on the excitable minds before him.
He finished his speech with an impassioned tirade against the corrupt
influences of the money power, and was mopping his flushed face, listening
with elation to the hum of anger that resulted, confident that he had made
his point, when James arose. The new man was as familiar with the tone of
the meetings of laborers as Grady himself. At the beginning he had no wish
further than to get at the truth. Grady had not stated his case well. It
had convinced the laborers, but to James it had weak points. He asked
Grady a few pointed questions, that, had the delegate felt the truth
behind him, should not have been hard to answer. But Grady was still under
the spell of his own oratory, and in attempting to get his feet back on
the ground, he bungled. James did not carry the discussion beyond the
point where Grady, in the bewilderment of recognizing this new element in
the lodge, lost his temper, but when he sat down, the sentiment of the
meeting had changed. Few of those men could have explained their feelings;
it was simply that the new man was stronger than they were, perhaps as
strong as Grady, and they were influenced accordingly.

There was no decision for a strike at that meeting. Grady, cunning at the
business, immediately dropped open discussion, and, smarting under the
sense of lost prestige, set about regaining his position by well-planned
talk with individual laborers. This went on, largely without James'
knowledge, until Grady felt sure that a majority of the men were back in
his control. This time he was determined to carry through the strike
without the preliminary vote of the men. It was a bold stroke, but
boldness was needed to defeat Charlie Bannon; and nobody kn