meat! It must be a
good business. I guess you'll have to excuse me now, Colonel Guthrie,
I've got visitors down from Clarence."

The Colonel's steps dragged as he walked home. Never had Miss Sally
said so many good words for his rival. She had almost rebuffed his good
offices in the attempt to sell the fire-extinguishers, and had praised
Skinner to his face.

Early the next morning he "dropped up" into the office of Attorney
Toole, and as that young man lay back in his chair, with his feet on
his desk, he told him the whole story. The attorney smiled. This was the
kind of split in the ranks of the Citizens' Party that he had hoped to
promote.

"After that, Colonel," he said, when the Colonel had told him that
Skinner had ordered him out of the shop, "you ought to MAKE him buy
them."

"I wisht I could, dog take him!" cried the Colonel. "I'd like to make
him eat 'em."

"Colonel," said Toole, "I see you are, as always, guided by a spirit of
conservative kindness. You hesitate to force that butcher to do what he
does not want to do. The feeling does you honor, but is it business? You
hesitate even when you see how easily your could force him to do what he
is in duty bound to do to protect the lives of our trustful citizens.
I admire your gentleness, but I deplore your unbusinesslike moderation.
You lack public spirit."

The Colonel grinned savagely. He felt that the attorney was teasing him,
but he could not quite tell how.

"You," said Toole easily, "knowing that our town council can, and
should, pass an ordinance compelling all owners of opera houses to
install nickel-plated fire-extinguishers--to install four of them in
each opera house in Kilo--for the protection of our people, hesitate to
ask them to pass such an ordinance. You hesitate because you do not wish
to appear malevolent toward a rival. Now, don't you?"

"Me be kind to that fat, pig-stealing, sausage-grinding----" snorted the
Colonel, but the attorney stopped him with a lifted hand.

"Just what I said," exclaimed the attorney. "You are too kind; too
considerate; too regardful of his feelings. But would he be so kind and
considerate and regardful of your feelings, if he was in your place?"

He lowered his feet and his voice, and placed his hand on the Colonel's
knee.

"No!" he whispered hoarsely. "No!" he cried loudly and defiantly. "No!
He would not! He would use the influence you have with the city
council and the mayor to have an ordinance p