The question came out with a snap.
"You should have attended the meeting if you want to know what was done. We are not supposed to talk about it on the outside."
"Yes; no doubt I should have attended, but I did not for the reason I have just given. Why was I deposed and another put in my place?"
"Well, to be candid with you, since you insist, the members did not think you were old enough, nor that you had had experience enough to warrant keeping you in such an important position. You see, they chose you in a moment of intense enthusiasm. After they had thought the matter over more calmly they came to the conclusion that it would be better to have an older man for the place, so they elected another."
"Who?"
"Mr. Caldert."
"Mike Caldert?"
"Yes."
Steve laughed uproariously.
"Why, that man can barely write his name. I'll wager he cannot write correctly the name of the state in which he lives."