In the face of all his handicaps, Jurgis was obliged to make the
price of a lodging, and of a drink every hour or two, under penalty of
freezing to death. Day after day he roamed about in the arctic cold,
his soul filled full of bitterness and despair. He saw the world of
civilization then more plainly than ever he had seen it before; a world
in which nothing counted but brutal might, an order devised by those who
possessed it for the subjugation of those who did not. He was one of
the latter; and all outdoors, all life, was to him one colossal prison,
which he paced like a pent-up tiger, trying one bar after another, and
finding them all beyond his power. He had lost in the fierce battle of
greed, and so was doomed to be exterminated; and all society was busied
to see that he did not escape the sentence. Everywhere that he turned
were prison bars, and hostile eyes following him; the well-fed, sleek
policemen, from whose glances he shrank, and who seemed to grip their
clubs more tightly when they saw him; the saloon-keepers, who never
ceased to watch him while he was in their places, who were jealous
of every moment he lingered after he had paid his money; the hurrying
throngs upon the streets, who were deaf to his entreaties, oblivious of
his very existence--and savage and contemptuous when he forced himself
upon them. They had their own affairs, and there was no place for him
among them. There was no place for him anywhere--every direction he
turned his gaze, this fact was forced upon him: Everything was built
to express it to him: the residences, with their heavy walls and bolted
doors, and basement windows barred with iron; the great warehouses
filled with the products of the whole world, and guarded by iron
shutters and heavy gates; the banks with their unthinkable billions of
wealth, all buried in safes and vaults of steel.

And then one day there befell Jurgis the one adventure of his life. It
was late at night, and he had failed to get the price of a lodging. Snow
was falling, and he had been out so long that he was covered with it,
and was chilled to the bone. He was working among the theater crowds,
flitting here and there, taking large chances with the police, in his
desperation half hoping to be arrested. When he saw a blue-coat start
toward him, however, his heart failed him, and he dashed down a side
street and fled a couple of blocks. When he stopped again he saw a man
coming toward him, and placed himself in his path.

"Please, sir," he began, in the usual formula, "will you give me the
price of a lodging? I've had a broken arm, and I can't work, and I've
not a cent in my pocket. I'm an honest working-man, sir, and I never
begged before! It's not my fault, sir--"

Jurgis usually went on until he was interrupted, but this man did not
interrupt, and so at last he came to a breathless stop. The other had
halted, and Jurgis suddenly noticed that he stood a little unsteadily.
"Whuzzat you say?" he queried suddenly, in a thick voice.

Jurgis began again, speaking more slowly and distinctly; before he was
half through the other put out his hand and rested it upon his shoulder.
"Poor ole chappie!" he said. "Been up--hic--up--against it, hey?"

Then he lurched toward Jurgis, and the hand upon his shoulder became an
arm about his neck. "Up against it myself, ole sport," he said. "She's a
hard ole world."

They were close to a lamppost, and Jurgis got a glimpse of the other. He
was a young fellow--not much over eighteen, with a handsome boyish face.
He wore a silk hat and a rich soft overcoat with a fur collar; and he
smiled at Jurgis with benignant sympathy. "I'm hard up, too, my
goo' fren'," he said. "I've got cruel parents, or I'd set you up.
Whuzzamatter whizyer?"

"I've been in the hospital."

"Hospital!" exclaimed the young fellow, still smiling sweetly, "thass
too bad! Same's my Aunt Polly--hic--my Aunt Polly's in the hospital,
too--ole auntie's been havin' twins! Whuzzamatter whiz you?"

"I've got a broken arm--" Jurgis began.

"So," said the other, sympathetically. "That ain't so bad--you get over
that. I wish somebody'd break my arm, ole chappie--damfidon't! Then
they'd treat me better--hic--hole me up, ole sport! Whuzzit you wamme
do?"

"I'm hungry, sir," said Jurgis.

"Hungry! Why don't you hassome supper?"

"I've got no money, sir."

"No money! Ho, ho--less be chums, ole boy--jess like me! No money,
either--a'most busted! Why don't you go home, then, same's me?"

"I haven't any home," said Jurgis.

"No home! Stranger in the city, hey? Goo' God, thass bad! Better come
home wiz me--yes, by Harry, thass the trick, you'll come home an'
hassome supper--hic--wiz me! Awful lonesome--nobody home! Guv'ner gone
abroad--Bubby on's honeymoon--Polly havin' twins--every damn soul gone
away! Nuff--hic--nuff to drive a feller to drink, I say! Only ole Ham
standin' by, passin' plates--damfican eat like that, no sir! The club
for me every time, my boy, I say. But then they won't lemme sleep
there--guv'ner's orders, by Harry--home every night, sir! Ever hear
anythin' like that? 'Every mornin' do?' I asked him. 'No, sir, every
night, or no allowance at all, sir.' Thass my guv'ner--'nice as nails,
by Harry! Tole ole Ham to watch me, too--servants spyin' on me--whuzyer
think that, my fren'? A nice, quiet--hic--goodhearted young feller like
me, an' his daddy can't go to Europe--hup!--an' leave him in peace!
Ain't that a shame, sir? An' I gotter go home every evenin' an' miss
all the fun, by Harry! Thass whuzzamatter now--thass why I'm here! Hadda
come away an' leave Kitty--hic--left her cryin', too--whujja think of
that, ole sport? 'Lemme go, Kittens,' says I--'come early an'
often--I go where duty--hic--calls me. Farewell, farewell, my own true
love--farewell, farewehell, my--own true--love!'"

This last was a song, and the young gentleman's voice rose mournful
and wailing, while he swung upon Jurgis's neck. The latter was glancing
about nervously, lest some one should approach. They were still alone,
however.

"But I came all right, all right," continued the youngster,
aggressively, "I can--hic--I can have my own way when I want it, by
Harry--Freddie Jones is a hard man to handle when he gets goin'! 'No,
sir,' says I, 'by thunder, and I don't need anybody goin' home with me,
either--whujja take me for, hey? Think I'm drunk, dontcha, hey?--I know
you! But I'm no more drunk than you are, Kittens,' says I to her. And
then says she, 'Thass true, Freddie dear' (she's a smart one, is Kitty),
'but I'm stayin' in the flat, an' you're goin' out into the cold, cold
night!' 'Put it in a pome, lovely Kitty,' says I. 'No jokin', Freddie,
my boy,' says she. 'Lemme call a cab now, like a good dear'--but I can
call my own cabs, dontcha fool yourself--and I know what I'm a-doin',
you bet! Say, my fren', whatcha say--willye come home an' see me, an'
hassome supper? Come 'long like a good feller--don't be haughty! You're
up against it, same as me, an' you can unerstan' a feller; your heart's
in the right place, by Harry--come 'long, ole chappie, an' we'll
light up the house, an' have some fizz, an' we'll raise hell, we
will--whoop-la! S'long's I'm inside the house I can do as I please--the
guv'ner's own very orders, b'God! Hip! hip!"

They had started down the street, arm in arm, the young man pushing
Jurgis along, half dazed. Jurgis was trying to think what to do--he knew
he could not pass any crowded place with his new acquaintance without
attracting attention and being stopped. It was only because of the
falling snow that people who passed here did not notice anything wrong.

Suddenly, therefore, Jurgis stopped. "Is it very far?" he inquired.

"Not very," said the other, "Tired, are you, though? Well, we'll
ride--whatcha say? Good! Call a cab!"

And then, gripping Jurgis tight with one hand, the young fellow began
searching his pockets with the other. "You call, ole sport, an' I'll
pay," he suggested. "How's that, hey?"

And he pulled out from somewhere a big roll of bills. It was more money
than Jurgis had ever seen in his life before, and he stared at it with
startled eyes.

"Looks like a lot, hey?" said Master Freddie, fumbling with it. "Fool
you, though, ole chappie--they're all little ones! I'll be busted in
one week more, sure thing--word of honor. An' not a cent more till the
first--hic--guv'ner's orders--hic--not a cent, by Harry! Nuff to set a
feller crazy, it is. I sent him a cable, this af'noon--thass one
reason more why I'm goin' home. 'Hangin' on the verge of starvation,' I
says--'for the honor of the family--hic--sen' me some bread. Hunger will
compel me to join you--Freddie.' Thass what I wired him, by Harry, an' I
mean it--I'll run away from school, b'God, if he don't sen' me some."

After this fashion the young gentleman continued to prattle on--and
meantime Jurgis was trembling with excitement. He might grab that wad of
bills and be out of sight in the darkness before the other could collect
his wits. Should he do it? What better had he to hope for, if he waited
longer? But Jurgis had never committed a crime in his life, and now he
hesitated half a second too long. "Freddie" got one bill loose, and then
stuffed the rest back into his trousers' pocket.

"Here, ole man," he said, "you take it." He held it out fluttering. They
were in front of a saloon; and by the light of the window Jurgis saw
that it was a hundred-dollar bill! "You take it," the other repeated.
"Pay the cabbie an' keep the change--I've got--hic--no head for
business! Guv'ner says so hisself, an' the guv'ner knows--the guv'ner's
got a head for business, you bet! 'All right, guv'ner,' I told him, 'you
run the show, and I'll take the tickets!' An' so he set Aunt Polly to
watch me--hic--an' now Polly's off in the hospital havin' twins, an' me
out raisin' Cain! Hello, there! Hey! Call him!"

A cab was driving by; and Jurgis sprang and called, and it swung round
to the curb. Master Freddie clambered in with some difficulty, and
Jurgis had started to follow, when the driver shouted: "Hi, there! Get
out--you!"

Jurgis hesitated, and was half obeying; but his companion broke out:
"Whuzzat? Whuzzamatter wiz you, hey?"

And the cabbie subsided, and Jurgis climbed in. Then Freddie gave a
number on the Lake Shore Drive, and the carriage started away. The
youngster leaned back and snuggled up to Jurgis, murmuring contentedly;
in half a minute he was sound asleep, Jurgis sat shivering, speculating
as to whether he might not still be able to get hold of the roll of
bills. He was afraid to try to go through his companion's pockets,
however; and besides the cabbie might be on the watch. He had the
hundred safe, and he would have to be content with that.

At the end of half an hour or so the cab stopped. They were out on
the waterfront, and from the east a freezing gale was blowing off the
ice-bound lake. "Here we are," called the cabbie, and Jurgis awakened
his companion.

Master Freddie sat up with a start.

"Hello!" he said. "Where are we? Whuzzis? Who are you, hey? Oh, yes,
sure nuff! Mos' forgot you--hic--ole chappie! Home, are we?
Lessee! Br-r-r--it's cold! Yes--come 'long--we're home--it ever
so--hic--humble!"

Before them there loomed an enormous granite pile, set far back from the
street, and occupying a whole block. By the light of the driveway lamps
Jurgis could see that it had towers and huge gables, like a medieval
castle. He thought that the young fellow must have made a mistake--it
was inconceivable to him that any person could have a home like a hotel
or the city hall. But he followed in silence, and they went up the long
flight of steps, arm in arm.

"There's a button here, ole sport," said Master Freddie. "Hole my arm
while I find her! Steady, now--oh, yes, here she is! Saved!"

A bell rang, and in a few seconds the door was opened. A man in blue
livery stood holding it, and gazing before him, silent as a statue.

They stood for a moment blinking in the light. Then Jurgis felt his
companion pulling, and he stepped in, and the blue automaton closed the
door. Jurgis's heart was beating wildly; it was a bold thing for him to
do--into what strange unearthly place he was venturing he had no idea.
Aladdin entering his cave could not have been more excited.

The place where he stood was dimly lighted; but he could see a vast
hall, with pillars fading into the darkness above, and a great staircase
opening at the far end of it. The floor was of tesselated marble, smooth
as glass, and from the walls strange shapes loomed out, woven into
huge portieres in rich, harmonious colors, or gleaming from paintings,
wonderful and mysterious-looking in the half-light, purple and red and
golden, like sunset glimmers in a shadowy forest.

The man in livery had moved silently toward them; Master Freddie took
off his hat and handed it to him, and then, letting go of Jurgis'
arm, tried to get out of his overcoat. After two or three attempts he
accomplished this, with the lackey's help, and meantime a second man had
approached, a tall and portly personage, solemn as an executioner. He
bore straight down upon Jurgis, who shrank away nervously; he seized him
by the arm without a word, and started toward the door with him. Then
suddenly came Master Freddie's voice, "Hamilton! My fren' will remain
wiz me."

The man paused and half released Jurgis. "Come 'long ole chappie," said
the other, and Jurgis started toward him.

"Master Frederick!" exclaimed the man.

"See that the cabbie--hic--is paid," was the other's response; and he
linked his arm in Jurgis'. Jurgis was about to say, "I have the money
for him," but he restrained himself. The stout man in uniform signaled
to the other, who went out to the cab, while he followed Jurgis and his
young master.

They went down the great hall, and then turned. Before them were two
huge doors.

"Hamilton," said Master Freddie.

"Well, sir?" said the other.

"Whuzzamatter wizze dinin'-room doors?"

"Nothing is the matter, sir."

"Then why dontcha openum?"

The man rolled them back; another vista lost itself in the darkness.
"Lights," commanded Master Freddie; and the butler pressed a button, and
a flood of brilliant incandescence streamed from above, half-blinding
Jurgis. He stared; and little by little he made out the great apartment,
with a domed ceiling from which the light poured, and walls that were
one enormous painting--nymphs and dryads dancing in a flower-strewn
glade--Diana with her hounds and horses, dashing headlong through a
mountain streamlet--a group of maidens bathing in a forest pool--all
life-size, and so real that Jurgis thought that it was some work of
enchantment, that he was in a dream palace. Then his eye passed to
the long table in the center of the hall, a table black as ebony, and
gleaming with wrought silver and gold. In the center of it was a huge
carven bowl, with the glistening gleam of ferns and the red and purple
of rare orchids, glowing from a light hidden somewhere in their midst.

"This's the dinin' room," observed Master Freddie. "How you like it,
hey, ole sport?"

He always insisted on having an answer to his remarks, leaning over
Jurgis and smiling into his face. Jurgis liked it.

"Rummy ole place to feed in all 'lone, though," was Freddie's
comment--"rummy's hell! Whuzya think, hey?" Then another idea
occurred to him and he went on, without waiting: "Maybe you never saw
anythin--hic--like this 'fore? Hey, ole chappie?"

"No," said Jurgis.

"Come from country, maybe--hey?"

"Yes," said Jurgis.

"Aha! I thosso! Lossa folks from country never saw such a place. Guv'ner
brings 'em--free show--hic--reg'lar circus! Go home tell folks about it.
Ole man Jones's place--Jones the packer--beef-trust man. Made it all
out of hogs, too, damn ole scoundrel. Now we see where our pennies
go--rebates, an' private car lines--hic--by Harry! Bully place,
though--worth seein'! Ever hear of Jones the packer, hey, ole chappie?"

Jurgis had started involuntarily; the other, whose sharp eyes missed
nothing, demanded: "Whuzzamatter, hey? Heard of him?"

And Jurgis managed to stammer out: "I have worked for him in the yards."

"What!" cried Master Freddie, with a yell. "You! In the yards? Ho, ho!
Why, say, thass good! Shake hands on it, ole man--by Harry! Guv'ner
ought to be here--glad to see you. Great fren's with the men,
guv'ner--labor an' capital, commun'ty 'f int'rests, an' all that--hic!
Funny things happen in this world, don't they, ole man? Hamilton, lemme
interduce you--fren' the family--ole fren' the guv'ner's--works in the
yards. Come to spend the night wiz me, Hamilton--have a hot time. Me
fren', Mr.--whuzya name, ole chappie? Tell us your name."

"Rudkus--Jurgis Rudkus."

"My fren', Mr. Rednose, Hamilton--shake han's."

The stately butler bowed his head, but made not a sound; and suddenly
Master Freddie pointed an eager finger at him. "I know whuzzamatter wiz
you, Hamilton--lay you a dollar I know! You think--hic--you think I'm
drunk! Hey, now?"

And the butler again bowed his head. "Yes, sir," he said, at which
Master Freddie hung tightly upon Jurgis's neck and went into a fit of
laughter. "Hamilton, you damn ole scoundrel," he roared, "I'll 'scharge
you for impudence, you see 'f I don't! Ho, ho, ho! I'm drunk! Ho, ho!"

The two waited until his fit had spent itself, to see what new whim
would seize him. "Whatcha wanta do?" he queried suddenly. "Wanta see
the place, ole chappie? Wamme play the guv'ner--show you roun'? State
parlors--Looee Cans--Looee Sez--chairs cost three thousand apiece. Tea
room Maryanntnet--picture of shepherds dancing--Ruysdael--twenty-three
thousan'! Ballroom--balc'ny pillars--hic--imported--special
ship--sixty-eight thousan'! Ceilin' painted in Rome--whuzzat
feller's name, Hamilton--Mattatoni? Macaroni? Then this place--silver
bowl--Benvenuto Cellini--rummy ole Dago! An' the organ--thirty thousan'
dollars, sir--starter up, Hamilton, let Mr. Rednose hear it. No--never
mind--clean forgot--says he's hungry, Hamilton--less have some supper.
Only--hic--don't less have it here--come up to my place, ole sport--nice
an' cosy. This way--steady now, don't slip on the floor. Hamilton, we'll
have a cole spread, an' some fizz--don't leave out the fizz, by Harry.
We'll have some of the eighteen-thirty Madeira. Hear me, sir?"

"Yes, sir," said the butler, "but, Master Frederick, your father left
orders--"

And Master Frederick drew himself up to a stately height. "My father's
orders were left to me--hic--an' not to you," he said. Then, clasping
Jurgis tightly by the neck, he staggered out of the room; on the way
another idea occurred to him, and he asked: "Any--hic--cable message for
me, Hamilton?"

"No, sir," said the butler.

"Guv'ner must be travelin'. An' how's the twins, Hamilton?"

"They are doing well, sir."

"Good!" said Master Freddie; and added fervently: "God bless 'em, the
little lambs!"

They went up the great staircase, one step at a time; at the top of it
there gleamed at them out of the shadows the figure of a nymph crouching
by a fountain, a figure ravishingly beautiful, the flesh warm and
glowing with the hues of life. Above was a huge court, with domed roof,
the various apartments opening into it. The butler had paused below but
a few minutes to give orders, and then followed them; now he pressed a
button, and the hall blazed with light. He opened a door before them,
and then pressed another button, as they staggered into the apartment.

It was fitted up as a study. In the center was a mahogany table, covered
with books, and smokers' implements; the walls were decorated
with college trophies and colors--flags, posters, photographs and
knickknacks--tennis rackets, canoe paddles, golf clubs, and polo sticks.
An enormous moose head, with horns six feet across, faced a buffalo head
on the opposite wall, while bear and tiger skins covered the polished
floor. There were lounging chairs and sofas, window seats covered with
soft cushions of fantastic designs; there was one corner fitted in
Persian fashion, with a huge canopy and a jeweled lamp beneath. Beyond,
a door opened upon a bedroom, and beyond that was a swimming pool of the
purest marble, that had cost about forty thousand dollars.

Master Freddie stood for a moment or two, gazing about him; then out
of the next room a dog emerged, a monstrous bulldog, the most hideous
object that Jurgis had ever laid eyes upon. He yawned, opening a mouth
like a dragon's; and he came toward the young man, wagging his tail.
"Hello, Dewey!" cried his master. "Been havin' a snooze, ole boy? Well,
well--hello there, whuzzamatter?" (The dog was snarling at Jurgis.)
"Why, Dewey--this' my fren', Mr. Rednose--ole fren' the guv'ner's! Mr.
Rednose, Admiral Dewey; shake han's--hic. Ain't he a daisy, though--blue
ribbon at the New York show--eighty-five hundred at a clip! How's that,
hey?"

The speaker sank into one of the big armchairs, and Admiral Dewey
crouched beneath it; he did not snarl again, but he never took his eyes
off Jurgis. He was perfectly sober, was the Admiral.

The butler had closed the door, and he stood by it, watching Jurgis
every second. Now there came footsteps outside, and, as he opened the
door a man in livery entered, carrying a folding table, and behind him
two men with covered trays. They stood like statues while the first
spread the table and set out the contents of the trays upon it.
There were cold pates, and thin slices of meat, tiny bread and butter
sandwiches with the crust cut off, a bowl of sliced peaches and cream
(in January), little fancy cakes, pink and green and yellow and white,
and half a dozen ice-cold bottles of wine.

"Thass the stuff for you!" cried Master Freddie, exultantly, as he spied
them. "Come 'long, ole chappie, move up."

And he seated himself at the table; the waiter pulled a cork, and he
took the bottle and poured three glasses of its contents in succession
down his throat. Then he gave a long-drawn sigh, and cried again to
Jurgis to seat himself.

The butler held the chair at the opposite side of the table, and Jurgis
thought it was to keep him out of it; but finally he understand that
it was the other's intention to put it under him, and so he sat
down, cautiously and mistrustingly. Master Freddie perceived that the
attendants embarrassed him, and he remarked with a nod to them, "You may
go."

They went, all save the butler.

"You may go too, Hamilton," he said.

"Master Frederick--" the man began.

"Go!" cried the youngster, angrily. "Damn you, don't you hear me?"

The man went out and closed the door; Jurgis, who was as sharp as he,
observed that he took the key out of the lock, in order that he might
peer through the keyhole.

Master Frederick turned to the table again. "Now," he said, "go for it."

Jurgis gazed at him doubtingly. "Eat!" cried the other. "Pile in, ole
chappie!"

"Don't you want anything?" Jurgis asked.

"Ain't hungry," was the reply--"only thirsty. Kitty and me had some
candy--you go on."

So Jurgis began, without further parley. He ate as with two shovels, his
fork in one hand and his knife in the other; when he once got started
his wolf-hunger got the better of him, and he did not stop for breath
until he had cleared every plate. "Gee whiz!" said the other, who had
been watching him in wonder.

Then he held Jurgis the bottle. "Lessee you drink now," he said; and
Jurgis took the bottle and turned it up to his mouth, and a wonderfully
unearthly liquid ecstasy poured down his throat, tickling every nerve of
him, thrilling him with joy. He drank the very last drop of it, and then
he gave vent to a long-drawn "Ah!"

"Good stuff, hey?" said Freddie, sympathetically; he had leaned back in
the big chair, putting his arm behind his head and gazing at Jurgis.

And Jurgis gazed back at him. He was clad in spotless evening dress, was
Freddie, and looked very handsome--he was a beautiful boy, with
light golden hair and the head of an Antinous. He smiled at Jurgis
confidingly, and then started talking again, with his blissful
insouciance. This time he talked for ten minutes at a stretch, and in
the course of the speech he told Jurgis all of his family history. His
big brother Charlie was in love with the guileless maiden who played the
part of "Little Bright-Eyes" in "The Kaliph of Kamskatka." He had been
on the verge of marrying her once, only "the guv'ner" had sworn to
disinherit him, and had presented him with a sum that would stagger the
imagination, and that had staggered the virtue of "Little Bright-Eyes."
Now Charlie had got leave from college, and had gone away in his
automobile on the next best thing to a honeymoon. "The guv'ner" had made
threats to disinherit another of his children also, sister Gwendolen,
who had married an Italian marquis with a string of titles and a dueling
record. They lived in his chateau, or rather had, until he had taken to
firing the breakfast dishes at her; then she had cabled for help, and
the old gentleman had gone over to find out what were his Grace's terms.
So they had left Freddie all alone, and he with less than two thousand
dollars in his pocket. Freddie was up in arms and meant serious
business, as they would find in the end--if there was no other way of
bringing them to terms he would have his "Kittens" wire that she was
about to marry him, and see what happened then.

So the cheerful youngster rattled on, until he was tired out. He smiled
his sweetest smile at Jurgis, and then he closed his eyes, sleepily.
Then he opened them again, and smiled once more, and finally closed them
and forgot to open them.

For several minutes Jurgis sat perfectly motionless, watching him, and
reveling in the strange sensation of the champagne. Once he stirred,
and the dog growled; after that he sat almost holding his breath--until
after a while the door of the room opened softly, and the butler came
in.

He walked toward Jurgis upon tiptoe, scowling at him; and Jurgis rose
up, and retreated, scowling back. So until he was against the wall, and
then the butler came close, and pointed toward the door. "Get out of
here!" he whispered.

Jurgis hesitated, giving a glance at Freddie, who was snoring softly.
"If you do, you son of a--" hissed the butler, "I'll mash in your face
for you before you get out of here!"

And Jurgis wavered but an instant more. He saw "Admiral Dewey" coming
up behind the man and growling softly, to back up his threats. Then he
surrendered and started toward the door.

They went out without a sound, and down the great echoing staircase,
and through the dark hall. At the front door he paused, and the butler
strode close to him.

"Hold up your hands," he snarled. Jurgis took a step back, clinching his
one well fist.

"What for?" he cried; and then understanding that the fellow proposed to
search him, he answered, "I'll see you in hell first."

"Do you want to go to jail?" demanded the butler, menacingly. "I'll have
the police--"

"Have 'em!" roared Jurgis, with fierce passion. "But you won't put
your hands on me till you do! I haven't touched anything in your damned
house, and I'll not have you touch me!"

So the butler, who was terrified lest his young master should waken,
stepped suddenly to the door, and opened it. "Get out of here!" he said;
and then as Jurgis passed through the opening, he gave him a ferocious
kick that sent him down the great stone steps at a run, and landed him
sprawling in the snow at the bottom.

Jurgis is only barely able to keep warm by giving a few pennies for the price of lodging and a drink when he can. He wanders the cold streets of Chicago begging for money or food. Jurgis realizes that he is "lost in the fierce battle of greed" and is now "doomed to be exterminated. Jurgis sees that all of society has their own lives and that they cannot be bothered to care about a person as lowly as he is. There is no place for him in this city. One evening, Jurgis begs in front of the theater crowds, trying to stay away from the police. One policeman starts to come towards him and so Jurgis runs down an alley. At the end of the alley is a man and Jurgis starts to beg from him, asking for just a few cents for boarding. The man, who is young and well dressed, puts his hand upon Jurgis's shoulder and lets Jurgis tell his whole story. The man tells Jurgis that he has been "up against" the whole world himself. The young man then goes into a garbled story. He hiccups and burps through the whole thing, and it is apparent that he is drunk. The young man tells about how his father, the "guv'ner" has gone abroad and how he has left him here in Chicago with very little money. He tells Jurgis that he has been out all night with Kitty, defying his father's orders to stay in the house while he is away. The young man tells him that his name is Freddie Jones. Jurgis and the young man begin to walk down the street. Freddie asks Jurgis to come to his house and get a bite to eat. Freddie tells Jurgis to call a cab, and he drunkenly hands Jurgis a $100 bill. Jurgis sees that he has a whole fistful of bills, and he momentarily thinks about grabbing the money and running, but the cab pulls up, and Jurgis just takes the one hundred. They ride for almost half an hour to an address on Lake Shore Drive. The house they pull up to looks like a castle, and Jurgis cannot believe that someone could live in such a place. They walk up to the front door, Freddie pushes a button, and they are let in. A team of butlers and servants meets Jurgis and Freddie. They take Freddie's coat off. One of them, Hamilton, attempts to make Jurgis leave, but Freddie tells them that he wants him to stay. He begins to show Jurgis the house. It is filled with extravagant and expensive items, many of which cost tens of thousands of dollars. Freddie tells Jurgis that all this belongs to Jones, the owner of the meatpacking factory. He asks Jurgis if he had ever met Jones, and Jurgis tells him that he had actually worked for him in the stockyards. This greatly amuses the drunken Freddie. He continues to show him the house and takes him up to his own apartment. In that room, Freddie orders a meal of "cold pates, and thin slices of meat, tiny bread and butter sandwiches with the crust cut off, a bowl of sliced peaches and cream , little fancy cakes, pink and green and yellow and white, and half a dozen ice-cold bottles of wine. He tells Jurgis to eat, and he eats the entire spread and washes it down with one of the bottles of wine. Freddie tells him of his family's story, about how his brother had wanted to marry a girl that was not rich, so his father had bribed him with a large sum of money to stay single. His sister had married an Italian marquis who was now becoming upset, so Mr. Jones had gone to Italy to see how to calm the situation. This left only Freddie, with only an allowance of two thousand dollars for the entire time he was alone. Freddie falls asleep, and soon Hamilton, the head butler enters. He makes it known that he wants Jurgis to leave. He threatens him with violence and tells Jurgis that he must search him for stolen items. Jurgis fights back and tells him that he would rather be arrested than searched. As he walks out the front door, the butler kicks him and he tumbles down the steps

In Chapter Twenty-Four, Sinclair notes that Jurgis's journey to the home of the rich meat packer is the greatest adventure of his life. This is an ironic statement since Jurgis finds no real adventure there and, in fact, is once again subject to a string of events that is out of his control yet is deterministic for his fate. On the surface, the descriptions of the lavish settings, the carefully prepared food, and the way in which Freddie Jones unthinkingly spends money, provides as stark a contrast as possible between the lives of the rich and the lives of the poor. It shows the disconnect between those that own the packing plants and those that work there. Freddie Jones finds it humorous that Jurgis had once worked in the plants owned by his father. Jurgis finds it just as incomprehensible, however, that his labor is used to provide such a lavish estate. Notably, neither Freddie Jones, nor Jurgis, makes broad generalized judgments of the other during the scene. The servants, who have presumably moved up in social standing because of the jobs they have been able to attain, do judge Jurgis a tramp and throw him out of the house. On another level, Sinclair recreates the setting of eighteenth-century France. In several of the passages, Sinclair has Jones allude to fine French things and to practices of the French aristocracy. For Sinclair, the French Revolution of 1789 best epitomized the collective power of the people used to overthrow the extravagances of aristocracy and to claim power. By using this scene of Chicago aristocracy, Sinclair is suggesting that a similar time will come in which the people will be made aware of the lifestyle their labor and toil produces for those that own the means of production. This, Sinclair hopes, will result in revolution. The novel continues in its narratives of descent. It should be noted the order of events into which Jurgis descends. Some critics have noted that the novel can be read as a kind of modern re-telling of Dante's Inferno, in which Dante descends through the levels of hell, witnessing the horrors of each and reasons for such punishment. Significantly, Jurgis ventures into the world of criminals, then politicians, before being turned out of each, which might mean that Sinclair sees politicians as even worse criminals than those that actively participate in criminal activities. Jurgis's time with Mike Scully's political machine is an opportunity for Sinclair to describe in detail the corrupt ways that politicians and business people controlled the political and economic systems of Chicago. Sinclair notes how neither of the major political parties, Democrats or Republicans, stand up for any kind of political value. Instead, they are each engaged in a race to hold onto the power they already have. Scully, who is head of the Democratic Party, works to elect a Republican candidate so that he himself will be able to hold onto his seat in the next election. The Republican policies will be no different from the Democratic ones and that neither party will actually work towards improving the lives of those that vote for them. This cynicism will be contrasted in future chapters with the convictions of the Socialist Party and their insistence that there be no political leadership. Jurgis soon becomes a participant of the Beef Strikes. The Beef Strikes were a series of historical strikes that occurred in the first decade of the twentieth century. On July 12, 1904, almost 30,000 packing plant workers left their jobs to strike for better wages and conditions. The packers had not willingness to concede to these demands, and so they instituted a program of bringing poor labor, many of them poverty stricken African Americans from the US South, to the plants. They had higher wages than normal workers did, even though they were unskilled. These tactics proved successful and packing plant workers such as Jurgis returned to their jobs without gaining concessions from the packers. These scenes in the novel have been criticized as being racist and inaccurate in depicting immigrant and racial strife in the stockyards. Sinclair's purpose is to show the way in which workers devolve into animals and how the conditions of Packingtown come to mirror the stockyards full of animals. These poor workers, Sinclair suggests, became sacrifices so that the packers might break the strike and, one day, produce larger profits.

There is no work for Jurgis and no place for him to find shelter. One night, though, Jurgis has an adventure. He is walking down a side street when he sees a man coming towards him. Jurgis asks the man for some money to find a bed to sleep in that night. Jurgis soon realizes the man is drunk off his head. Jurgis starts telling the man some of his misfortunes. The guy seems sympathetic . The man invites Jurgis home with him to have dinner. Apparently, this young guy's father is away on business and the servants have been assigned to watch him. Jurgis asks his new friend - Freddie Jones - if he lives far away. Freddie tells Jurgis to call them a cab. He fumbles a huge wad of bills out of his pocket. Jurgis stares at this fortune of money. Freddie says that he'll run through this money in a week - his dad isn't giving him the kind of allowance he needs. Jurgis realizes that he could easily snatch this guy's money and run away. Freddie is way too drunk to stop him. Still, Jurgis has never committed a crime before . Should he do it?! Freddie pulls a hundred dollar bill out of the wad and gives it to Jurgis before putting the rest away. A cab arrives and takes both Jurgis and Freddie in the direction of Freddie's home. Freddie falls asleep curled up against Jurgis. Jurgis is still thinking about robbing Freddie, but he decides to be happy with the hundred - it's too dangerous to go for more. The cab stops in front of a giant mansion the size of a whole city block. Jurgis follows Freddie because he thinks Freddie is so trashed that he has given the cab driver the address to a city hall or something. But no! It's Freddie's house. A butler opens the door. Jurgis follows Freddie. He is extremely nervous because he has never been in such a place before. But Freddie insists that Jurgis can come in. Freddie is so drunk that he can't open the dining room doors by himself. He needs to get his butler, Hamilton, to do it for him. Jurgis is looking around himself at all of this wealth. He has never seen anything as beautiful and rich as this house. Freddie lets slip that his father owns Jones's packing plant. Jurgis admits that he once had a job at that plant. Freddie thinks that Jurgis must know his father, then. Freddie invites Jurgis to spend the night. Freddie insists that the butler, Hamilton, shake hands with Jurgis. The butler obviously Does Not Approve of Jurgis hanging around with young Master Freddie. Freddie orders some wine to be brought to them. Hamilton tries to protest. Freddie won't listen. Freddie takes Jurgis up to his study. There is a large dog waiting for them there. The dog snarls at Jurgis, but Freddie scarcely notices. Hamilton and two servants bring dinner. Freddie dismisses Hamilton Jurgis digs in to the food. Even Freddie, drunk as he is, is impressed by the speed and amount Jurgis is eating. Jurgis finishes at last and looks over at Freddie. Freddie is very good-looking and completely naive. He starts telling Jurgis his whole family history. Apparently, Jones Senior is a tyrant of a father who likes to threaten to disinherit his kids if they do anything he doesn't like. Freddie doesn't seem too bothered, though - he smiles the whole time. Eventually, Freddie falls asleep . The butler comes quietly in and tells Jurgis to get out of the house. Jurgis starts moving towards the door. Once they reach the entrance to the house, Hamilton tries to search Jurgis to make sure that he hasn't stolen anything. Jurgis refuses to let Hamilton search him. Hamilton doesn't want the noise to wake Freddie, so he doesn't try to fight Jurgis. As Jurgis walks out the door of the mansion, though, Hamilton does give Jurgis a sharp kick to the butt that sends him sprawling down the stairs.

One evening, when begging in the theater district, Jurgis encounters a drunken man who invites him back to his house. Along the way, the drunk gives Jurgis a $100 bill to pay the cab fare; Jurgis pockets the bill. The man is Freddie Jones, the son of the packer for whom Jurgis has worked. Freddie provides Jurgis with a feast of food and drink. After Freddie falls asleep, the butler kicks Jurgis out, but Jurgis still has the $100 bill.

narrative, Sinclair dramatizes most of this chapter. For the first time, it appears that chance benefits Jurgis. Not only is Jurgis seemingly fated to meet Freddie Jones, but Freddie forgets that he gives Jurgis a $100 bill. Just as the dramatized scene is now out of place in the novel, the entire meeting seems out of place; however, if chance is responsible for all the misfortune in Jurgis' life, then it can likewise be responsible for this one seeming piece of luck. This encounter enables Sinclair to dramatize how the upper class lives, comparing it to the miserable existence Jurgis has had in America. Not only does this chance meeting serve as contrast of the opulent versus the indigent, it serves as an opportunity to see how Jurgis responds to his newfound wealth. Without a doubt, Jurgis pockets the bill, but what he does next is extremely telling. Glossary subjugate to bring under control or subjection; conquer. benignant kindly or gracious, sometimes in a patronizing way. automaton a person or animal acting in an automatic or mechanical way. tesselated paved in a mosaic pattern of small, square blocks. portiere a curtain, usually heavy, hung in a doorway. livery an identifying uniform such as was formerly worn by feudal retainers or is now worn by servants or those in some particular group or trade. insouciance state of calm; the quality or state of being untroubled and carefree.

That winter, work is scarcer than ever before, and Jurgis must fiercely compete with the other homeless poor for the hiding places and warmth in saloons. One night, while begging, he happens upon a very drunk, well-dressed young man named Freddie Jones. Jones invites him to his house for a meal and offers to pay for the cab ride there. He hands a bill to Jurgis and tells him to pay the cabbie and keep the change for himself. Jurgis finds that it is a one-hundred-dollar bill. The opulence and luxury of Freddie's mansion astound Jurgis. He learns from Freddie's drunken rambling that he is the son of "Jones the packer. Jurgis realizes that the elder Jones owns the factory where he first worked in Packingtown. Freddie gives Jurgis a large dinner despite the obvious disapproval of the butler, Hamilton. Once Freddie falls to sleep, Hamilton orders Jurgis to leave. Hamilton tries to search him, but Jurgis threatens to fight if Hamilton lays a finger on him