“Well, I should say not!” cried Merry warmly. “Old man, if you’d had Clan and Billy in their regular positions to steady things down, you’d have won in a hand down!”
“Thanks,” said Randall, and turned away. “It’s—it’s mighty good of you, Chip.”
There were fifteen men present, counting the substitutes, who, of course, each had a vote. When the last ballot had been handed in, Coach Trayne read them one by one. Then he held up his hand.
“Men,” he said, “I received fifteen ballots in the vote for a captain of the regular team to succeed Captain Ted Crockett, who leaves Fardale to-night. The results are as follows: One vote for Randall, the other fourteen votes are all for Merriwell, so I guess we can claim that the new captain has been unanimously elected.”
A shouting mob surrounded Chip, who had, in truth, been surprised. His thoughts had all been with Colonel Carson, and he had failed utterly to consider the captaincy. Through the crowd pushed Randall, his eyes shining.
“And I want to congratulate you, Merry,” he said simply, holding out his hand to Frank. “You’re the man for the job!”
“Thank you, old man,” said Merry, as he met Randall’s eyes. “I’m proud to have you behind me!”
And their hands met, amid a renewed storm of cheers.