It was after the drill was over and the company had been dismissed, and while Hal stood talking to a little group of his friends on the drill floor, endeavoring not only to dissuade them from putting forth any efforts in his behalf as a candidate, but also to smother, if possible, any efforts that might be put forth by others, that Barriscale approached him. This was an unusual thing for the first sergeant to do. Heretofore the two men had been “on official terms,” that was all. Outside the ranks the second sergeant had been studiously ignored by the orderly. It was something of a surprise, therefore, when Barriscale came up and asked Hal for the privilege of speaking to him a moment in private. The request was willingly granted, and the two men walked away to a remote corner of the drill-hall. When they were well out of ear-shot of the others Barriscale said: “The reason I want to speak to you is that I want to know your real attitude concerning this election. I want to get it straight. Do you propose to stand for the election or don’t you?” Notwithstanding the somewhat imperative form of the question, and the somewhat domineering manner of the questioner, Hal replied good-naturedly: “There’s no secret about my attitude. I’ve said over and over again that I’m not a candidate.” “I know you’ve said so. But what I want to know is whether or not you mean it?” Hal looked down at him in surprise. “Why do you ask such a question as that?” he said. “Because it’s come to me pretty straight that all this talk about your not running is simply to pull the wool over my eyes, catch me off my guard, make me think I’ll have no opposition, and come in at the last minute with a whirlwind campaign and sweep me off my feet. If there’s any game of this kind on foot I want to know it.” For a moment Hal was too greatly shocked and too deeply amazed to reply. He could not quite understand why he should be accused of such trickery. “Would you suspect me,” he said at last, “of being guilty of playing this kind of politics?” “I don’t know,” replied Barriscale bluntly. “I wouldn’t have thought it of you two years ago; but it’s said that a man is no better than the company he keeps. And the crowd you’ve been running with lately will bear watching every hour of the twenty-four. But that is neither here nor there. What I want to know is whether you are going to stand as a candidate for the first lieutenancy?” At last Sergeant McCormack’s wrath was roused. “Do you think,” he asked angrily, “that your insolent manner and language entitle you to that information?” “I think,” was the equally angry reply, “that I was a fool to expect decent treatment from a Guardsman who has no respect for his country or his flag.”