It had been nearly two years since Halpert McCormack and Ben Barriscale enlisted for service in the National Guard. They had one more year to serve, yet neither of them had a thought of leaving the service when the period of their enlistment expired. They had not only not tired of the militiaman’s life with its duties and its tasks, they had found pleasure and profit in it. For each of them, in a different way, it had had its compensations and its satisfactions. And each of them had merited and received promotion. First they had been advanced to the grade of corporal. And when, by reason of contemporaneous enlistment, the terms of the first and second sergeant expired simultaneously, and it became known that they would not reënlist, it was generally conceded that the two places would go to McCormack and Barriscale. But which one of them he would make his first sergeant was still a problem in the mind of Captain Murray. Both young men were excellent soldiers. Both of them had mastered every detail of company drill, and there were few movements, exercises or duties for the enlisted man to perform with which both men were not entirely familiar. But the office of first sergeant is a most important one. A well-known military authority has written: “It has been said the captain is the proprietor of the company, and the first sergeant is the foreman. Under supervision of the captain he has immediate charge of all routine matters pertaining to the company.” Captain Murray knew that whichever one of the two men he selected he would have an intelligent and efficient first sergeant. His hesitation was due to the fact that he wished to avoid any appearance of favoritism. Finally, remembering and following the still unfulfilled purpose and plan of Benjamin Barriscale, Sr., he decided to award the office as a prize to the man who should most successfully pass an examination in military tactics. In order to be entirely fair the test was thrown open to every enlisted man; and in order still further to secure absolute justice in the matter, Captain Cowperthwaite from Company M was called in to conduct the examination. But, as every one knew would be the case, Corporals McCormack and Barriscale were the only ones who took the test. It was unusually thorough and severe, and was a combination of written, oral and physical exercises. Three days after it was held Captain Cowperthwaite made his report which was to the effect that Corporal Barriscale had won out by three points, the score standing nine-five and ninety-eight.