s whom the Boss also
owns and through whom he blackmails the great corporations. But--and
when they had got to this point in the talk there was an abrupt pause,
and then Hofer turned to me and said: 'Even if you don't come in and
join us, which I always hope you will do, I know a man that can keep his
mouth shut when I see him. So fire away.'

"And then they discussed the fact that one of their number had recently
gone to Washington to ask the President to send out an able man of the
Government Secret Service; they have every reason to believe that this
request will be complied with. With sufficient evidence they would then
make a quiet crusade in the hope of rousing public spirit to the extent
of forcing in a grand jury that could not be bought by the Boss.
Needless to say he has controlled every grand jury that has met during
his reign, and one might as well hope to convict a wind for unroofing a
house, even were he not master of every legal trick himself, and had he
taken less pains to cover up his tracks. In this detective lies their
chief hope at present; but what a slender hope it is, when you consider
the devil-may-care character of these San Franciscans, who would dance
on the edge of hell, with equal nonchalance, if only there were a screen
between. There is not an outstanding excuse for forming a vigilance
committee, as there was during the Dennis Kearney-Anti-Chinese riots of
1879, and there is no such aroused public spirit and indignation as
sustained the Vigilantes of the Fifties. These rascals take good care to
be non-sensational in their methods, and what the San Franciscan doesn't
see doesn't worry him. The city is rich, prosperous, famous, tourists
are pouring in, the best in drama and opera comes yearly--to be
presented in fire-traps whose owners pay toll to the Boss; they already
have the handsomest hotels in the world, the finest cooking, climate;
even earthquakes--severe ones--have moved elsewhere. What can you do
with a people like that? They are fairly insolent in their sense of
security. Let the political gang make their share. There is enough for
all. But don't bother us. Let us be happy. _Vive la bagatelle._ There
you have the motto of San Francisco.

"By the time they had threshed the subject out, explaining details and
plans to me, as if I were already one of them, I was feeling pretty
uncomfortable. Naturally, I blurted out that I could no longer accept
their hospitality and confidence on f