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Page 113
"Don't you say a word to him, unless he proves that he is a member."
"I think he has proved that already by voting."
"You know our rule."
"I do; it requires me to satisfy myself that the person to whom I speak
is a member. I am entirely satisfied now that the captain and Paul
Kendall belong; they would not have voted if they had not belonged."
This was a "clincher," and even Shuffles had not wit enough to escape
the conclusion of the dogmatic reasoner. The captain elect of the League
knew very well that nine persons who were not members had voted--that he
had secured his election by a gross fraud. He was afraid that Pelham,
disappointed by his defeat, would do something to compromise the
enterprise; but his own treachery had placed him in such a position that
he could say nothing without exposing himself.
"Of course it's all right," added Pelham, "I find we have plenty of
friends in the after cabin. As soon as you have any orders to give,
Captain Shuffles, I am in a position to execute them to the best
advantage."
"When I am ready, I will give them to you."
"It will be an easy matter now to obtain possession of the ship; in
fact, all you have to do is to order Captain Gordon to turn the command
over to you. He has been 'toggled,' and must obey his superiors--of
course he has been toggled; he couldn't have voted if he hadn't been."
Shuffles was terribly exercised by the repeated flings of his
disconcerted rival. He was already satisfied that the enterprise had
come to an end, unless Pelham could be quieted; and he was about to
propose a new ballot, when he was ordered by the quartermaster on duty
to take his trick at the wheel.
"What does all this mean?" demanded Pelham of the receivers, when the
captain-elect had gone to his duty.
"I only know that the captain and all the officers of the first part of
the port watch voted, and other fellows who would no more join this
thing than they would jump overboard," replied McKeon.
"How could they vote--how could the captain vote--without understanding
the whole thing?" demanded Pelham, perplexed at the inconsistency of the
facts.
"I think I know something about it," added Grossbeck.
"What do you know?"
"Haven't you heard of the new game?"
"What new game?"
"'Don't know Beans.'"
"Shuffles said something about it, but I did not comprehend his
meaning."
Grossbeck explained the game, whose history had been circulated among
"our fellows."
"And this game was played while the voting was going on?" said Pelham,
who began to see the trick which his rival had put upon him.
"I didn't know anything about it till supper time," answered Grossbeck.
"I see it all," continued Pelham. "The receivers were the 'butts,' and
about a dozen fellows voted for Shuffles, including Gordon and Kendall,
supposing they were simply playing 'Don't know Beans.'"
It did not require a great deal of penetration on the part of the fourth
lieutenant to comprehend the trick of his rival. He was indignant and
angry, and all the more so because he had been outwitted, even while he
was attempting to outwit his unscrupulous competitor.
The next day, the quarter watches off duty played "Don't know Beans" to
their satisfaction. It was found, when everybody was watching the
"butts," that very few could deposit their beans without detection. A
few hours' trial of the new pastime convinced all except "our fellows"
that it was a senseless game, and it was speedily abandoned.
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