d be able to traffic votes."

"No officering for me," Cuthbert laughed. "In the first place I have no
greater qualifications for the post than anyone else, and in the second
place, I am English, and though I might be elected--thanks to your
votes--I should never be liked or trusted; besides, I have not a shadow
of ambition that way. I am going to fight if necessary. I shall have my
note-book in my pocket, and I have no doubt that when we are lying
waiting for our turn to come, I shall have lots of opportunities for
jotting down little bits that will work into the great battle picture
which is to have the place of honor some day in the Salon. I think it
will certainly be pleasant to have one of our own number among the
officers, and I propose that each of us puts down on a slip of paper the
name of the man he thinks will make the best leader and throw it into a
hat; then, whoever gets the most votes, we will all support, and, as
you say, by a little traffic in the votes, we ought to be able to get
him in among the three."

"Are you absolutely determined not to stand?"

"Absolutely and positively. So please do not any of you put my name
down, two or three votes thrown away like that might alter the
decision."

He tore up a sheet of paper into small slips and passed them round.

"Before we begin to write," he said, "let it be understood that no one
is to vote for himself. I don't mind telling you who I am going to vote
for. It is Henri Vancour. This is a matter in which it should be no
question of personal liking. We should choose the man who appears to us
best fitted for the post."

The name came as a surprise upon the others, for Henri was one of the
last whom it would have occurred to them to choose. Pencils were already
in their hands and they were on the point of writing when he spoke, and
almost all would have given their votes either for Rene Caillard or
Pierre Leroux, who were the two most popular men among the party. There
was a pause for some little time before the pencils went to work.

They had not thought of Henri, but now they did think of him they
acknowledged to themselves that there was a good deal to be said in his
favor. He was a Norman--quiet, hard-working, and even-tempered. His
voice was seldom heard in the chorus of jokes and laughter, but when
asked for an opinion he gave it at once concisely and decidedly. He was
of medium height and squarely built. His face was cast in a rough mould
and an