Part 19

"Yes; that is, for other persons."

"What shall we do, then?" said Rollo.

"Why, you must vote again."

So the children wrote votes again, and brought them in to the president. She smiled as she looked them over. Then she said,

"Now there is a tie."

"A tie, Mary!" said Rollo; "what is a tie?"

"Why, there are two votes for Rollo, and two for Lucy; that makes it exactly balanced, and they call that a tie."

"And now what shall we do with the tie?" said Rollo.

"Why, you must vote again."

Just as the children were preparing to vote again, they heard a noise of footsteps at the door, and, looking up, they saw Nathan coming in. He had his little straw hat upon his head, and his whip in his hand. He was playing market-man, and wanted to know if they wished to buy any potatoes.

The children all laughed. Mary said, "No, Thanny, this is a society; come, don't you want to belong to the society?"

"Yes," said Nathan; and down went his whip upon the floor, and he came trotting along towards Mary. Mary told him to sit down upon the seat next to Rollo.

Nathan took his seat, and began to look around with an air of great curiosity, wondering what they were going to do; and by this time the votes were ready. Mary looked them over and counted them, and then said that they were just as they were before, two for Rollo, and two for Lucy.

"What shall we do now?" said Rollo.

"We must vote again," said James.

"That won't do any good," said Henry.

"There's Thanny," said Lucy; "let him vote."

"Well," said Mary, "and that will break the tie."

"O, Thanny can't vote," said Rollo; "he can't write a word."

"He can vote without writing," said Mary. "Thanny, come here. Which do you think will make the best secretary, Rollo, or Lucy?"

"Why--Lucy," said Thanny, after some hesitation.

"Lucy, he says; so Lucy is chosen," said Mary. "Now, Lucy, you must be secretary; but I forgot to bring out some paper."

Rollo looked a little disappointed. He had hoped to have been secretary himself. So when Nathan came back to his seat, he began to punch him a little, good-naturedly, with his thumb, saying, "Me--why didn't you say me, Thanny? Hey, Thanny! Why did not you say me?"

Just then, Mary asked Rollo to go into the house and get a sheet of paper for the secretary; and when he came back, Lucy asked her what she should write. Mary gave her the necessary directions, and then Lucy went to the bench, and standing there, near the president's chair, she went on writing the record, while the rest of the society proceeded with their business. The next thing was to choose a cabinet keeper.

"You may prepare your votes for cabinet keeper."

"I think Jonas would be the best cabinet keeper," said Henry; "he made the cabinet."

"O, Jonas does not belong to the society," said Rollo.

"But we can let him in," said Lucy.