the committee come to take him to the State house!" exclaimed old Aaron
Rockharrt as he stepped out of the carriage, and helped his feeble
little wife to alight. He led her up the steps, followed by the other
three men of his party.

"Good morning, Judge Abbot. We are just in time, I find. We came up by
the night train, and a close shave it has been. Well, a miss is as good
as a mile, and we are safe to see the whole of the pageant," said the
old man, speaking to a tall, thin, gray-haired gentleman, who wore a
rosette on the lapel of his coat.

"Yes, sir; but here is a very strange difficulty--very strange, indeed,"
replied the official, with a deeply troubled and perplexed air, which
was shared by all the gentlemen who stood with him.

"What's the trouble, gentlemen? Is the chief justice ill, that his honor
cannot administer the oath, or what?"

"It is much worse than that--if anything could be worse," gravely
replied one of the committee.

"What is it then? A contested election at this late hour?"

"The governor-elect cannot be found. No one has seen him since eleven
o'clock last night. He is missing."




CHAPTER II.