He found many of his party friends in the district, not excluding such men as Gallagher, Kennedy and others of the more prominent rank.

He made himself very pleasant to those whom he knew, chatting with them on the trip down.

He went into the water with the men and boys, and though there were many good swimmers, Peter's country and river training made it possible for him to give even the "wharf rats," a point or two in the way of water feats.
Then came the regulation clam-bake, after which Peter talked about the tenement-house question for twenty minutes.

The speech was very different from what they expected, and rather disappointed them all.
However, he won back their good opinions in closing, for he ended with a very pleasant "thank you," to Blunkers, so neatly worded, and containing such a thoroughly apt local joke, that it put all in a good humor, and gave them something to tell their neighbors, on their return home.

The advantage of seldom joking is that people remember the joke, and it gets repeated.