The Detroit times., 1913-08-07
CHAPTER XIV.
(Continued)

All right I'd like 10 see him. I'm
curious But his friendship won't
help you. Wiley"
Wiley smiled in turn But thus II
came about that Harlan and Arne
Vance came over 20 the seventy
cent table de'hote dinner at the Ho-
tel MetrOpole 10 meet Mike Mcbride.
The dining-room OF the Hotel Metro
pole, all excessively new and Earl
william, with tapestried wall of stiff
necked steeplechasers. gorgeous dogs
in four colors climbing a fence; while
over a bullying and lavender hill
dashed motor-car, the cloud of dust
and the ladies' wells forming a dia-
phanous perspective in five more col
efs, which, with the Hunt Club dogs
and the riders coats. made the pie
ture OF General Parsons above the
Parsons House mantel over in Rome,
seem old and faded You would un-
derstand at once that il belonged in
town which had an interurban, and
an Elks club and pressed it's trous-
ers, along with other cocky modern
ity But neither Arne Vance nor
Wiley T. Curran let on to being inn
pressed, for they had dined In num-
her OF the beplastered and multi-col-
oied cafes of ambitious western cities.
And Harlan, on his first visit TO the
Metropole, looked about with a smile
and then at Mcbride as he stirred
lis demitasse--even the girl walters
said demi-tasse-n in Earlvlle.
This is a llve-wire town" Mcbride
was saying and when IL gets through
laying out parks and boosting fac
tories, it's going to go after you Eel
lows over In Rome whove run the
county so long He was short
thick, red.browed man TO whom one
would rather break disagreeable
news over the telephone His fingers
were hard and stubby, and he dug
sugar ont OF the bowl and dumped II
into his demi-tasse without so much
rs a glance at the dogs done In four
colors. He went after local affairs
like a man who could assimilate more
significant facts in a week than all
the best people OF the county could
discover In a lifetime. That county
ring has run things ever since the
war and long as the tax rate wasn't
too high the business people didn't
growl, and Tanner fixed every board
10 suit himsef-and hogged all the
county work He's a good man, this
Tanner like his method-he gets
things. But we ought 10 get him. A
live grand jury would smoke him out
In no time. And a district attorney
who'd throw the gaff. The one you
got is a crook
Il agree, murmured Wiley-he felt
too amiable after his seventy.five cent
occasion with dogs In four colors. 10
be the zealot. New blood is needed
But there's some good men on our
side the creek, also.
Skunk queried Mcbride.
"Sinsinawa"
Cali it skunk Then Wen get
down to brass tacks | always want
ed to talk with some OF you fellows
from the county seat. State labor is
right with the governor in this pro-
gressive fight That's the reason I'm
down here I'm here until this dis
trict Is organized by the Delroy
crowd The governor wants Fair
child's scat In the senate. and he
wants Jim Halls scalp in congress,
because he thinks Hall will get the
old crowds support for il If Fairchild
can't win out SO he and his people
are going 10 put Curran over and
I'm with EN-. | amt no reformer
but labor is going with EN-. But
first we ought to clean up this coun-
ty."
Wiley mused Arne, his black eyes
swapping. listened as If fresh breath
had come somewhere out of a fight
Ing world. Harlan wondered rather
satlrically why an outsider should
come down here and talk like a man
of authority.
THE Catholic vote In them new
mines where the Poles and dagos have
come in, it'll be for Curran," went
on Mcbride Father Doyle gives il
TO me straight. All that's good And
this new Earlvile contracting COM
pany which is sore over Tanner COB
bling all the work, is going to unload
on tine old ring. Amt any reform
going to get far unless some one ex-
poets to clean up something. Take
IL from me- We're going to elect
Curran"
Harlan had listened more acutely
He had begun to resent Wiley's prob
lematical success Mcbride was worse
than he had dreamed. His fathers
ideals of politics had not encompassed
such brute truth. Mcbride turned
his blue eyes under their red brows
directly on him.
Are you the man they're talking Of
for district attorney"
Harlan stared at him incredulously
The easy ingratiating standards Of his
fathers sort OF men around the court
house, even the rustic geniality OF
the county board members, he felt
equal to, but this ruthless analysis and
militant directness of the man of new
conditions Jared him. He still stared
at Mcbride.
Come out" rasped Mcbride we
can put you over this year hear
you'll do--Vance, Curran, here-put
II up that way
Harlan turned 10 them with laugh.
Since when had Arne and Wiley and
Few unknowns took IL to themselves
10 parcel out the county offices? These
audacious rebels, without authority.
without organization? 1t was actual
ly humorous,
We want TO trim this crook-Tan-
ner-and an honest district attorney
can do IT,"
still Harlan was silent. He knew
that secretly his father deprecated
Thad Tanner. And Jewett. the prose
cutor, was not invited to his fathers
house. Still that did not keep Jew
EFT out of Office. His father was a
m nt,N