captains pleaded and begged and promised and threatened in their efforts
to make them withdraw and release their followings to the main battle.
Through roll call after roll call the tally never varied. With two
hundred and ten members voting, the count stood: Frost, ninety-two;
Hawke, ninety; Swinger, fifteen; Patch, thirteen. Of the twenty-eight
who voted for Messrs. Patch and Swinger, it was understood that Mr.
Hawke would take three-fourths upon a breakaway. For this reason the
Hawke captains labored and moiled with Messrs. Patch and Swinger to
withdraw and cast those twenty-eight votes into the general caldron.

[Illustration: At the Door of the Caucus Room]

On the touch of three, and while the fourth roll-call was in progress,
the first of Senator Hanway's prepared messages were received and signed
for at the caucus door. Ten minutes later, and something like forty more
were given entrance. During the sixth roll-call sixty messages came in,
and a rickety little representative, with a beard like a goat and terror
tugging at his heart, arose and changed his vote to Mr. Frost. The
rickety little man had been for Mr. Hawke, and this sudden turning of
his coat provoked a tempest of cheers from the Frosts and maledictions
from the Hawkes. A dozen men of both factions crowded about the little
rickety man, some to hold him for Mr. Frost and others to drag him back
to Mr. Hawke. The rickety little man was well-nigh torn in two. Kingdoms
and thrones were being gambled for and the players were in earnest.

In the height of the uproar over the rickety little man, two more of the
flock of Hawke arose, and with faltering lip stated that, by the demands
of constituents whom they were there to represent and whose wishes they
dared not disregard, they would also change their votes to Mr. Frost.
The cheers of the Frosts and the curses of the Hawkes were redoubled;