"Dot," replied the brewer, "iss someding I shall tell you." He paused
to contemplate his cigar. "We want you bickoss you are der best man fer
dot positsion."
"Louie, you mustn't make a mistake at the beginning," Joe said,
hurriedly. "I may not be the kind of man you're looking for. If I
went in--" He hesitated, stammering. "It seems an ungrateful thing to
say, but--but there wouldn't be any slackness--I couldn't be bound to
anybody--"
"Holt up your hosses!" Mr. Farbach, once in his life, was so ready to
reply that he was able to interrupt. "Who hef you heert speak off
bounding? Hef I speakt off favors? Dit I say der shoult be slackness
in der city gofer'ment? Litsen to me, Choe." He renewed his
contemplation of his cigar, then proceeded: "I hef been t'inkin' it
ofer, now a couple years. I hef mate up my mind. If some peobles are
gombelt to keep der laws and oders are not, dot's a great atwantitch to
der oders. Dot iss what iss ruining der gountry und der peobles iss
commencement to take notice. Efer'veres in oder towns der iss
housecleaning; dey are reforming und indieding, und pooty soon dot
mofement comes here--shoo-er! If we intent to holt der parsly in
power, we shoult be a leetle ahead off dot mofement so, when it shoult
be here, we hef a goot 'minadstration to fall beck on. Now, dere iss
anoder brewery opened und trying to gombete mit me here in Canaan. If
dot brewery owns der Mayor, all der tsaloons buying my bier must shut
up at 'leven o'glock und Sundays, but der oders keep open. If I own
der Mayor, I make der same against dot oder brewery. Now I am pooty
sick off dot ways off bitsness und fighting all times. Also," Mr.
Farbach added, with magnificent calmness, "my trade iss larchly
owitside off Canaan, und it iss bedder dot here der laws shoult be
enforced der same fer all. Litsen, Choe; all us here beliefs der same
way. You are square. Der whole tsaloon element knows dot, und knows
dot all voult be treated der same. Mit you it voult be fairness fer
each one. Foolish peobles hef sait you are a law-tricker, but we know
dot you hef only mate der laws brotect as well as bunish. Und at such
times as dey het been broken, you hef made dem as mertsiful as you
coult. You are no tricker. We are willing to help you make it a glean
town. Odervise der fightin' voult go on until der mofement strikes here
und all der granks vake up und we git a fool reformer fer Mayor und der
town goes to der dogs. If I try to put in a man dot I own, der oder
brewery iss goin' to fight like hell, but if I work fer you it will not
fight so hart."
"But the other people," Joe objected, "those outside of what is called
the saloon element--do you understand how many of them will be against
me?"
"It iss der tsaloon element," Mr. Farbach returned, peacefully, "dot
does der fightin'."
"And you have considered my standing with that part of Canaan which
considers itself the most respectable section?" He rose to his feet,
standing straight and quiet, facing the table, upon which, it chanced,
there lay a copy of the Tocsin.
"Und yet," observed Mr. Farbach, with mildness, "we got some pooty
risbecdable men right here."
"Except me," broke in Mr. Sheehan, grimly, "you have."
"Have you thought of this?" Joe leaned forward and touched the paper
upon the table.
"We hef," replied Mr. Farbach. "All of us. You shall beat it."
There was a strong chorus of confirmation from the others, and Joe's
eyes flashed.
"Have you considered," he continued, rapidly, while a warm color began
to conquer his pallor,--"have you considered the powerful influence
which will be against me, and more against me now, I should tell you,
than ever before? That influence, I mean, which is striving so hard to
discredit me that lynch-law has been hinted for poor Fear if I should
clear him! Have you thought of that? Have you thought--"
"Have we thought o' Martin Pike?" exclaimed Mr. Sheehan, springing to
his feet, face aflame and beard bristling. "Ay, we've thought o'
Martin Pike, and our thinkin' of him is where he begins to git what's
comin' to him! What d'ye stand there pickin' straws fer? What's the
matter with ye?" he demanded, angrily, his violence tenfold increased
by the long repression he had put upon himself during the brewer's
deliberate utterances. "If Louie Farbach and his crowd says they're fer
ye, I guess ye've got a chanst, haven't ye?"
"Wait," said Joe. "I think you underestimate Pike's influence--"
"Underestimate the devil!" shouted Mr. Sheehan, uncontrollably excited.
"You talk about influence! He's been the worst influence this town's
ever had--and his tracks covered up in the dark wherever he set his
ugly foot down. These men know it, and you know some, but not the
worst of it, because none of ye live as deep down in it as I do! Ye
want to make a clean town of it, ye want to make a little heaven of the
Beach--"
"And in the eyes of Judge Pike," Joe cut him off, "and of all who take
their opinions from him, I REPRESENT Beaver Beach!"
Mike Sheehan gave a wild shout. "Whooroo! It's come! I knowed it
would! The day I couldn't hold my tongue, though I passed my word I
would when the coward showed the deed he didn't dare to git recorded!
Waugh!" He shouted again, with bitter laughter. "Ye do! In the eyes
o' them as follow Martin Pike ye stand fer the Beach and all its
wickedness, do ye? Whooroo! It's come! Ye're an offence in the eyes
o' Martin Pike and all his kind because ye stand fer the Beach, are ye?"
"You know it!" Joe answered, sharply. "If they could wipe the Beach
off the map and me with it--"
"Martin Pike would?" shouted Mr. Sheehan, while the others,
open-mouthed, stared at him. "Martin Pike would?"
"I don't need to tell you that," said Joe.
Mr. Sheehan's big fist rose high over the table and descended crashing
upon it. "It's a damn lie!" he roared. "Martin Pike owns Beaver
Beach!"