Jack Hagle rose to his feet. “I—I want to nominate Trojan Walker,” he said, unsteadily.
Sam whirled in his seat to stare at Hagle, who took special pains to avoid his eye.
“Nomination seconded?” asked the president briskly.
Sam sent a warning glance at his club-mates. His wits were working, and realizing that the Trojan could not be elected, he meant to do his best to spare him the humiliation of a defeat.
“Seconded!”
Again it was a contribution from the back of the room; Sam was not sure which of a group of half a dozen boys spoke.
“Any further nominations?” queried the president. “If not, we will proceed to vote.”
Sam sprang up. “I wish to withdraw Walker’s name,” he said. “He is not a candidate.”
A murmur of surprise greeted the statement. Plainly enough, this was an unexpected development.
The president’s face betrayed perplexity. Sam made a shrewd guess at the situation: Joe Carson had won the presidency by courting popularity, and this seemed to be turning into an affair in which that popularity might suffer.