The Machine | Page 6

Yes; I've been told so.
JACK. It was last election day, in a polling place on the Bowery. I was
a watcher for the Socialists, and this Montague was one of the watchers
for the reform crowd. The other one was drunk, and so he had the work
all to himself. It was in the heart of Leary's district, and the crowd there
was a tough one, I can tell you. It was a close election.
LAURA. Yes; I know.

JACK. There'd been all kinds of monkey-work going on, and the box
was full of marked and defective ballots, and Montague set to work to
make them throw them out. I didn't pay much attention at first. I was
only there to see that our own ballots were counted; but pretty soon I
began to take interest. He had every one in the place against him. There
was a Tammany inspector of elections and four tally clerks . . . all in
with Tammany, of course. There were three or four Tammany
policemen, and, outside of the railing, the worst crowd of toughs that
ever you laid eyes on. To make matters worse, there were several men
inside who had no business to be there . . . one of them a Judge of the
City Court, and another a State's attorney . . . and all of them storming
at Montague.
JULIA. What did he do?
JACK. He just made them throw out the marked ballots. They were
willing enough to put them to one side, but wanted to count them in on
the tally sheets. And, of course, Montague knew perfectly well that if
they ever counted them in they'd close up at the end, and that would be
all there was to it. He had the law with him, of course. He's a lawyer
himself, and he seemed to know it all by heart; and he'd quote it to
them, paragraph by paragraph, and they'd look it up and find that he
was right, and, of course, that only made them madder. The old Judge
would start up in his seat. "Officer!" he'd shout (he was a red- faced,
ignorant fellow . . . a typical barroom politician, "I demand that you put
that man out of here." And the cop actually laid his hand on Montague's
shoulder; if he'd ever been landed on the other side of that railing the
crowd would have torn him to pieces. But the man stayed as cool as a
cucumber. "Officer," he said, "you are aware that I am an election
official, here under the protection of the law; and if you refuse me that
protection you are liable to a sentence in State's prison." Then he'd
quote another paragraph.
JULIA. It's a wonder he ever held them.
JACK. He did it; he made them throw out forty-seven ballots . . . and
thirty- eight of them were Tammany ballots, too. There was one time
when I thought the gang was going to break loose, and I sneaked out

and telephoned for help. Then I came back and spoke up for him. I
wanted them to know there'd be one witness. You should have seen the
grateful look that Montague gave me.
LAURA. I can imagine it.
JULIA. And how did it end?
JACK. Why, you see, we kept them there till eleven o'clock at night,
and by that time everybody knew that Tammany had won, and the
ballots were not needed. So the old Judge patted us on the back and
told us we were heroes, and invited us out to get drunk with him.
Montague and I walked home together through the election din, and got
acquainted. I don't know that I ever met a man I took to more quickly.
LAURA. You are making a Socialist out of him, of course?
JACK. Oh, he's coming on. But he is not the sort of man to take his
ideas from any one else . . . he wants to see for himself. He hasn't been
in New York long, you know . . . he comes from the South . . . from
Mississippi.
LAURA. [Startled.] From Mississippi! What's his first name?
JACK. Allan.
LAURA. [Betraying emotion.] Allan Montague!
JACK. Do you know him?
LAURA. Yes; I know him very well, indeed. Oh . . . I didn't . . . that
is . . . I have not seen him for a long time. [Recovering her poise.] Is he
surely coming?
JACK. He generally keeps his engagements.
JULIA. How did you come to know him?
LAURA. He's Ollie Montague's brother.

JACK. Who's Ollie Montague?
LAURA. He's one of those pretty boys that everybody knows in society;
he brought his brother up from the South to introduce him. He was in