Wrapping our votes in _metani_ leaves we dropped them in the ballot
shell. Whinney was teller. It was an anxious moment until he looked up
and said with a hysterical quiver in his voice:

"Unanimously green."

"Let's go!" shouted Swank, but I stopped him.

"Hold on," I said. "Triplett is in on this. We agreed that it must be
unanimous."

My companions' faces lengthened like barrel-staves.

"Damn," muttered Whinney. "I hadn't thought of him."

You can imagine our disgust when we interviewed the Captain.

"Not on your life!" he said decidedly. "Why, boys, I got two a 'em
a-ready, one in Noo Bedford--she's my lawful,--and one--a sort of
'erdeependence, in Sausalito. But boys, I don't go for to commit
trigonometry, no sir!"

Thunder rested on our brows but the Captain continued,--

"But you--you boys, you ain't married, leastways if you are I don't
know about it, and if you ain't"--he looked at us severely,--"if you
ain't, it's high time you was. And what's more, if you want to be, I
kin do it for you." "What do you mean?" we gasped.

"Justice of the peace," he said proudly, "dooly signed and registered