The excitement over the outcome of the bidding was intense. The barroom at O'Leary's was filled with a motley crowd of men, most of whom belonged to the union, and all of whom had hoped to profit in some way had the contract fallen into the hands of the political ring who were dominating the affairs of the village. The more hot-headed and outspoken¹ swore vengeance²; not only against the horse-doctor, who had refused to permit McGaw to smuggle³ in the second bid, but against Crane & Co. and everybody else who had helped to defeat their schemes. They meant to boycott⁴ Crane before tomorrow night. He should not unload or freight another cargo⁵ of coal until they allowed it. The village powers, they admitted, could not be boycotted⁶, but they would do everything they could to make it uncomfortable for the board if it awarded the contract to Grogan. Neither would they forget the trustees at the next election. As to that “smart Alec” of a horse-doctor, they knew how to fix him. Suppose it had struck nine and the polls had closed, what right had he to keep McGaw from handing in his other bid? (Both were higher than Tom's. This fact, however, McGaw had never mentioned.)