Globe, Mr. Braxton's paper, was certain that no free rights to the
tunnel should be given, and that a much better route for the loop could
be found--one larger and more serviceable to the public, one that might
be made to include State Street or Wabash Avenue, or both, where Mr.
Merrill's store was located. So it went, and one could see quite
clearly to what extent the interests of the public figured in the
majority of these particular viewpoints.

Cowperwood, individual, reliant, utterly indifferent to opposition of
any kind, was somewhat angered by the manner in which his overtures had
been received, but still felt that the best way out of his troubles was
to follow McKenty's advice and get power first. Once he had his
cable-conduit down, his new cars running, the tunnel rebuilt,
brilliantly lighted, and the bridge crush disposed of, the public would
see what a vast change for the better had been made and would support
him. Finally all things were in readiness and the ordinance jammed
through. McKenty, being a little dubious of the outcome, had a
rocking-chair brought into the council-chamber itself during the hours
when the ordinances were up for consideration. In this he sat,
presumably as a curious spectator, actually as a master dictating the
course of liquidation in hand. Neither Cowperwood nor any one else
knew of McKenty's action until too late to interfere with it. Addison
and Videra, when they read about it as sneeringly set forth in the news
columns of the papers, lifted and then wrinkled their eyebrows.

"That looks like pretty rough work to me," commented Addison. "I
thought McKenty had more tact. That's his early Irish training."

Alexander Rambaud, who was an admirer and follower of Cowperwood's,
wondered whether the papers were lying, whether it really could be true
that Cowperwood had a serious political compact with McKenty which
would allow him to walk rough-shod over public opinion. Rambaud
considered Cowperwood's proposition so sane and reasonable that he
could not understand why there should be serious opposition, or why
Cowperwood and McKenty should have to resort to such methods.

However, the streets requisite for the loop were granted. The tunnel
was leased for nine hundred and ninety-nine years at the nominal sum of
five thousand dollars per year. It was understood that the old bridges
over State, Dearborn, and Clark streets should be put in repair or
removed; but there was "a jo