The silence was growing painful when Brewster said: "Carlin, Miller wrote back to you; you will have to write to him. Suppose you be the returning board to count the votes and make up the returns."
Carlin arose and went to the table. There he paused, and his face wore a look of extreme trouble; but he shook off the influence, whatever it was, stretched out his hand in an absent-minded way, picked up a ballot and slowly brought it before his eyes. He looked at it, turned it over and looked on the other side, then with a foolish laugh he said: "Why, the ballot is blank."
He transferred it to his left hand, picked up another ballot with his right hand; looked at it; it, too, was blank.
So in turn he took up one after another. They all were blank.
As he called the last one and started to resume his seat, Harding, in a low voice, as to himself, said: "Thank God!"
All looked a little foolish for a moment, and then the Colonel said: "Why, Carlin, you are not much of a returning board, after all."
Said Corrigan: "It sames the convintion moved to make it unanimous."
Said Carlin: "I could not vote to expel Miller. He has long been my friend. I know how sensitive he is. He wronged us a little, but I just could not do it."
Said Brewster: "I could not do it, because that would be the quickest way to cause a man, when on the down grade, to keep on. To make him feel that those who have been most intimate with him, despise him, may be exact justice, but it seldom brings reformation."
Said the Colonel: "I could not do it in his absence. It would have had a look of assassination from behind."