but he possessed that exact knowledge of mankind that makes leaders; and his shrewdness was the result of caution and suspicion.  But like all men of his breed, he hated with peculiar venom the well-born; he loved to grapple with them, to wrest their idleness from them, to compel them to work for a living, to humiliate them.  The fiber in McQuade was coarse; he possessed neither generosity nor magnanimity; the very men who feared him held him in secret contempt.

“No, Mr. Warrington, I haven’t any horses for sale to-day,” he began.  “Not very long ago you met Senator Henderson at your club.  He offered you the nomination for mayor this fall, and you accepted it.”

Warrington could not repress a start of surprise.  He had not quite expected this.  He was annoyed.

“That is true.  What mystifies me,” he supplemented, “is how this knowledge came to your ears.”

“I generally hear what’s going on.  My object in asking you to call is to talk over the matter on a friendly basis.”

“I can not see what good that will do.  Politically we have nothing in common.”

“Politically or socially.  But the point is this.  What have you done that you should merit this honor?  I’ll talk frankly.  What have you done toward the building up of your city?  What have you done toward its progress in manufacturing and building?  You have done nothing but buy a house on the fashionable street and pay the taxes.”

“You might add that I once peddled vegetables,” said Warrington.

It was McQuade’s turn to be surprised.  From what he had observed of fashionable people, especially the new-rich, they endeavored to submerge altogether the evidences of past manual and menial labor.

“Then you are not ashamed of the fact that you sold vegetables?”

“In truth, I’m rather proud of it.  It was the first step in the fight.  And I tell you honestly, Mr. McQuade, that I have fought every inch of the way.  And I shall continue to fight, when there’s anything worth fighting for.  I’m not a manufacturer or a builder, but I am none the less eligible for public office.  What little money I have was made honestly, every penny of it.  It was not built on political robbery and the failures of others.  But let us come to the point.  You have something to say.”

“Yes.  I have.  And it is this:  I don’t propose to have you meddle with the politics of this city.  I hope we can come to a peaceful understanding.  I don’t want to war against you.”

“Mr. McQuade, you talk like a man out of his senses.  Who’s going to prevent me from accepting the nomination?”

“I am,” answered McQuade, bringing a fist down on his desk.

The dogs growled.  They seemed to realize that war of some kind was in the air.

“How?” asked Warrington.  The man was a fool!

“You will go to Senator Henderson and tell him that you have reconsidered.”

Warrington laughed.  “I believed I knew all phases, but this one surpasses any I ever heard of.  You have the nerve to ask me, of the opposition party, to refuse the nomination for mayor?”