“I am astonished,” continued the chairman, “that members of this company should have been guilty of such a breach of military etiquette as this, or should have indulged in such an unsoldierly demonstration. I am here to conduct your election, not to settle your quarrels. I will say, however, that if the person who receives a majority of your votes is not approved by my superior officers, he will be denied a commission. Of that you may rest assured. The clerk will now call the roll, and you will come forward and deposit your ballots as your names are spoken.” There was no more quarreling; there were no more charges or counter-charges. The time for action had come. The clerk began calling the roll, and, as he called the several names, the men responded, advanced to the table, put their ballots into the box and resumed their seats. When the voting had been completed the counting began. One by one the ballots were removed from the box by Lieutenant Brownell, exhibited in turn to Major Huntington and Captain Murray, and the name on them announced to Corporal Manning, the clerk, in a voice loud and distinct enough to be heard by every person present. But the clerk was not the only one in the room who was keeping tally as the votes were counted. Fully half of the men there, with pencils and paper, were keeping their own record as the count progressed, and the other half were looking over their shoulders. It was an absorbing occupation for all of them. The two candidates were running almost neck and neck. Now Barriscale was ahead, and now McCormack. After a few minutes the first sergeant began to forge a little farther to the front. When the fortieth ballot had been removed from the box and counted, his vote stood twenty-three to McCormack’s seventeen. Surrounded by his friends, at the right of the first row of seats, Barriscale watched with intense interest the tally as Stone carried it along in blocks of five. He had never doubted his ultimate success in the election; now, with the vote standing as it did, he was more confident than ever. He did not see how it was possible, with the lead he had, for McCormack to overtake him. Already a smile of triumph began to overspread his face. But the next two votes went to McCormack, and the lead was reduced to four. However, Barriscale got numbers forty-three, forty-five and forty-eight, thus holding his lead of four. But forty-nine and fifty went to McCormack, leaving Barriscale a majority on the fiftieth count of only two. Things began to look serious for the first sergeant. Stone and Hooper were keeping tally with trembling fingers. Barriscale, himself, was still optimistic concerning his success, and when the next three votes were recorded for him, carrying his lead up to five, the confident smile reasserted itself in his face, and he foresaw an easy victory. There were only fourteen more ballots to be counted, and it was hardly within the range of possibility that he could now be defeated.