and answered to their names when they were
called. The Barrington boy supposed that nominations would now be in
order, but it seemed that they had already been made from captain down
to fourth corporal. The Rangers were faced to the right and ordered to
march up one at a time and deposit their votes for captain in the
ballot-box (a cigar box with a slot in the cover), beside which stood
the three "inspectors of election" who were to count the votes after
they were all in, and who had been chosen before Rodney arrived on the
ground. When the balloting was completed the company had countermarched
twice, and stood on the same ground it occupied before the ceremony
began. One of the inspectors emptied the contents of the cigar box on
the table, another opened the first ballot that came to his hand and
called out the name that was written upon it, and the third kept count.
The result was just what Rodney's friend told him it would be.

"There were sixty-five votes cast, and they one and all bear the name of
our popular friend Robert Hubbard," said the inspector and the
announcement was received with cheers.

"Speech! Speech!" shouted the Rangers.

"No, no!" replied the newly elected captain. "There are two lieutenants,
one orderly sergeant, five duty sergeants and four corporals yet to be
elected, and we don't want to waste any time in foolishness."

"Have you got your ballots ready for first lieutenant?" inquired the
deputy sheriff, who continued to act as master of ceremonies. "Then face
to the right again and march yourselves around here and put 'em in the
box. Laugh away, Rodney," he added, smiling good-naturedly and shaking
his head at the Barrington boy. "We'll get the hang of these things
after a while."

The voting was gone through with the same as before, and there was more
cheering and clapping of hands when the inspector announced that Hiram
Odell had been unanimously elected to the office of first lieutenant;
but following the example of his superior he declined to waste time in
speech-making.

And now Rodney Gray began to take a deeper interest in what was going
on. The second lieutenant would be voted for next, and Tom Randolph,
whose father had done so much for the company, had had the impudence to
bring himself forward as a candidate. It couldn't be possible, Rodney
thought, that such an ignorant upstart stood any chance of election when
his opponent was so popular a young man as Albert Percy. He stood