The maid had seen him there and had held back dinner
until he should awaken. Perhaps Jane's entrance roused him; or,
perhaps it was the odor of the sachet powder wherewith her
garments were liberally scented, for he had a singularly delicate
sense of smell. He lifted his head and, after the manner of aged
and confirmed cat-nappers, was instantly wide awake.
``Why didn't you tell me Victor Dorn was coming for dinner?''
said she.
``Oh--he's here, is he?'' said Hastings, chuckling. ``You see I
took your advice. Tell Lizzie to lay an extra plate.''
Hastings regarded this invitation as evidence of his breadth of
mind, his freedom from prejudice, his disposition to do the
generous and the helpful thing. In fact, it was evidence of
little more than his dominant and most valuable trait--his
shrewdness. After one careful glance over the ruins of his plan,
he appreciated that Victor Dorn was at last a force to be
reckoned with. He had been growing, growing--somewhat above the
surface, a great deal more beneath the surface. His astonishing
victory demonstrated his power over Remsen City labor--in a
single afternoon he had persuaded the street car union to give up
without hesitation a strike it had been planning--at least, it
thought it had been doing the planning--for months. The Remsen
City plutocracy was by no means dependent upon the city
government of Remsen City. It had the county courts--the
district courts--the State courts even, except where favoring the
plutocracy would be too obviously outrageous for judges who still
considered themselves men of honest and just mind to decide that
way.
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