to use
the party, but when the party wants service in return, up goes Mr. Cass'
snout and tail, and off he lopes. He's what I call a cast iron--" I
shall omit the vigorous phrase wherein he summarized Cass. His
vocabulary was not large; he therefore frequently resorted to the
garbage barrel and the muck heap for missiles.

I showed in my face my scorn for the Cass sort of selfishness and
insubordination. "The leader has all the strings in his hand," said I.
"He's the only one who can judge what must be done. He must be trusted
and obeyed."

"I see you've got the right stuff in you, young man," said Dominick
heartily. "So you want the job?"

I hesitated,--I was thinking of him, of his bestial tyranny, and of my
self-respect, unsullied, but also untempted, theretofore.

He scowled. "Do you, or don't you?"

"Yes," said I,--I was thinking of the debts and mother and Betty. "Yes,
indeed; I'd esteem it a great honor, and I'd be grateful to you." If I
had thrust myself over-head into a sewer I should have felt less vile
than I did as my fears and longings uttered those degrading words.

He grunted. "Well, we'll see. Tell the boys at the other table to come
back." He nodded a dismissal and gave me that moist, strong grip again.

As I went toward the other table each man there had a hand round his
glass in readiness for the message of recall. I mentally called the
roll--wealth, respectability, honor, all on their knees before Dominick,
each with his eye upon the branch of the plum tree that bore the kind of
fruit he fancied. And I wondered how they felt inside,--for I was then
ignorant of the great foundation truth of practical ethics, that a man's
conscience is not the producer but the product of his career.

Fessenden accompanied me to the door. "The old man's in a hell of a
humor to-night," said he. "His wife's caught on to a little game he's
been up to, and she's the only human being he's afraid of. She came in
here, one night, and led him out by the ear. What a fool a man is to
marry when there's a chance of running into a mess like that! But--you
made a hit with him. Besides, he needs you. Your family--" Buck checked
himself, feeling that drink was making him voluble.

"He's a strong man, isn't he?" said I; "a born leader."

"Middle-weight champion in his day," replied Fessenden. "He can still
knock out anybody in the organization in one round."

"Good night and thank you," said I. So I went my way, not elated