“Well,” said Peter, “I hope they will be passed.  I’ve done my best, whatever happens.”

A very satisfactory thing to be able to say of yourself, if you believe in your own truthfulness.

CHAPTER XXIX.

IN THE MEANTIME.

In spite of nine months’ hard work on the two Commissions, it is not to be supposed that Peter’s time was thus entirely monopolized.  If one spends but seven hours of the twenty-four in sleep, and but two more on meals, there is considerable remaining time, and even so slow a worker as Peter found spare hours not merely for society and saloons, but for what else he chose to undertake.

Socially he had an evening with Miss De Voe, just before she left the city for the summer; a dinner with Mr. Pell, who seemed to have taken a liking to Peter; a call on Lispenard; another on Le Grand; and a family meal at the Rivingtons, where he was made much of in return for his aid to Ray.

In the saloons he worked hard over the coming primary, and spent evenings as well on doorsteps in the district, talking over objects and candidates.  In the same cause, he saw much of Costell, Green, Gallagher, Schlurger and many other party men of greater or less note in the city’s politics.  He had become a recognized quantity in the control of the district, and the various ward factions tried hard to gain his support.  When the primary met, the proceedings, if exciting, were never for a moment doubtful, for Gallagher, Peter, Moriarty and Blunkers had been able to agree on both programme and candidates.  An attempt had been made to “turn down” Schlurger, but Peter had opposed it, and had carried his point, to the great gratitude of the silent, honest German.  What was more important to him, this had all been done without exciting hard feelings.

“Stirling’s a reasonable fellow,” Gallagher told Costell, not knowing how much Peter was seeing of the big leader, “and he isn’t dead set on carrying his own schemes.  We’ve never had so little talk of mutiny and sulking as we have had this paring.  Moriarty and Blunkers swear by him.  It’s queer.  They’ve always been on opposite sides till now.”

When the weather became pleasant, Peter took up his “angle"’ visitings again, though not with quite the former regularity.  Yet he rarely let a week pass without having spent a couple of evenings there.  The spontaneous welcome accorded him was payment enough for the time, let alone the pleasure and enjoyment he derived from the imps.  There was little that could raise Peter in their estimation, but they understood very well that he had become a man of vast importance, as it seemed to them.  They had sharp little minds and ears, and had caught what the “district” said and thought of Peter.

“Cheese it, the cop, Tim,” cried an urchin one evening to another, who was about to “play ball.”

“Cheese it yerself.  He won’t dare tech me,” shouted Tim, “so long as Mister Peter’s here.”