then told him that he had a little plan by which a man
who looked like a working-man might make some easy
money; but it was a private affair, and had to be kept
quiet. Jurgis expressed himself as agreeable, and the
other took him that afternoon (it was Saturday) to a
place where city laborers were being paid off. The pay~
master sat in a little booth, with a pile of envelopes before
him, and two policemen standing by. Jurgis went, ac~
cording to directions, and gave the name of "Michael
O'Flaherty," and received an envelope, which he took
around the corner and delivered to Halloran, who was
waiting for him in a saloon. Then he went again, and
gave the name of "Johann Schmidt," and a third time, and
gave the name of "Serge Reminitsky." Halloran had
quite a list of imaginary working-men, and Jurgis got
an envelope for each one. For this work he received five
dollars, and was told that he might have it every week,
so long as he kept quiet. As Jurgis was excellent at
keeping quiet, he soon won the trust of "Buck" Halloran,
and was introduced to others as a man who could be
depended upon.

This acquaintance was useful to him in another way,
also; before long Jurgis made his discovery of the mean~
ing of "pull," and just why his boss, Connor, and also the
pugilist bartender, had been able to send him to jail.
One night there was given a ball, the "benefit" of "One-
eyed Larry," a lame man who played the violin in one of
the big "high-class" houses of prostitution on Clark Street,
and was a wag and a popular character on the "Levee."
This ball was held in a big dance-hall, and was one of the
occasions when the city's powers of debauchery gave
themselves up to madness. Jurgis attended and got half
insane with drink, and began quarreling over a girl; his
arm was pretty strong by then, and he set to work to clean
out the place, and ended in a cell in the police-station.
The police-station being crowded to the doors, and stink~
ing with "bums," Jurgis did not relish staying there to
sleep off his liquor, and sent for Halloran, who called up
the district leader and had Jurgis bailed out by telephone

[[304]]

p303 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p304w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p305

v?