"I don't see how we're going to do it. I've talked to every fellow in the school," said Glutts.
"I'm entitled to this captaincy, and if they won't give it to me I don't want anything," growled Gabe Werner. It angered him to think that in spite of all the money he had spent he could muster up only thirty-two votes.
While this was going on, Dan Soppinger had been circulating among those who had been supporting him. Dan was gratified over the showing he had made, but he did not want the position. Now he came up and announced that he was going to withdraw.
"I'm withdrawing in favor of Jack Rover," he declared in a loud voice, and went around the hall repeating this statement. "I want everybody who voted for me to vote for Jack."
"Not much we won't!" cried one cadet. "If you won't run, we'll vote for Walt Baxter."
"We want Bart White to run!" put in another cadet.
"All right, suit yourselves," said Dan, with a shrug of his shoulders. "Just the same, I'm out of it, so I don't want anybody to vote for me again."
It was not long after this that the call came for the next ballot, and once again the cadets filed up and placed their slips of paper in the box. Then the counting began and was soon finished. Both Captain Dale and Professor Brice seemed to be much disturbed over something that had occurred, and the bell for silence rang out sharply.
"This ballot cannot be counted!" declared Captain Dale, in a stern voice. "There are but one hundred and eleven cadets present, but one hundred and fifteen votes have been cast, showing that some person or persons voted more than once. You will immediately prepare new votes and stand in one long line, handing each vote to me as you come up."
"Gee! what do you know about that?" whispered Randy.
"I wager some of the Werner crowd did that," remarked his twin.
"How foolish to do anything of that sort," said Jack. "They ought to have known they couldn't get away with it."
"Maybe they thought because Dan Soppinger retired some of the fellows wouldn't vote," suggested Fred.
"Well, if they thought that, they got left."
The next vote proved correct so far as numbers went, and once more the figures were announced:
"Number necessary to a choice 56 Jack Rover has 54 Gabe Werner has 30 Walter Baxter has 20 Bart White has 7."