“They must have been, or I should have heard something about it,” replied Paul, innocently.

“No one but ourselves has known a thing about it till now.  They have formed a kind of secret society, and know each other by certain signs.”

“But what was the voting for?”

“For orator of the day.”

“For the fellow who is to present the pitcher and make the speech?” added Paul.

“Yes.”

“And Shuffles was chosen?”

“Yes, by a trick.”

“You mean that no one but subscribers ought to have voted?”

“Precisely so.”

“It was a mean trick.”

“It was a sort of practical joke upon me, I suppose”

“I don’t believe in practical jokes which need a lie to carry them through.”

“Well, Shuffles has the position, unless some of you fellows will help me out.  I wanted to make the speech, and without the nine votes which you and other outsiders put in, I should have been chosen.”

“What can we do?”

“I have a right to consider all the fellows that voted as members of the society.  The fact of their voting makes them members.”

“I don’t know anything about that.”

“It’s clear enough to me, and in a talk I had with Shuffles just now, he didn’t pretend to deny the correctness of my position.”

“If he agrees, it must be all right,” laughed Paul.

“If you had understood the matter, for whom should you have voted?”

“I don’t know? but after the trick Shuffles played off upon you, I should not vote for him.”

“Very well; then you can change your vote.”

“How shall I change it?”

“Go to Shuffles; and the other eight fellows who voted in the dark must do the same.”

“What shall I say to him?”

“You must go to him as a member of the society, and salute him as such.”

“I don’t know how.”

“I’ll tell you.  When you meet him, scratch the tip end of your nose with the nail of your second finger on the right hand; in this manner,” continued Pelham giving the first sign.

“That’s it—­is it?” said Paul, as he imitated the action of Pelham.

“Yes; that’s right He will reply by taking the lower part of his left ear between the thumb and first finger of the left hand—­so,” added Pelham.

“I have it,” answered Paul, as he made the motions.

“Then you will scratch your chin with the thumb nail of the left hand, and he will reply by blowing his nose.”

“Let’s see if I can do all that,” laughed Paul, very much amused at the mystic indications of membership In the secret association.

He made the signs to Pelham, who replied to them, several times, until he was perfect in his part.

“All right.  I will remember them,” said Paul.

“But you haven’t got the whole of it yet.  When you have made the signs, and he has answered them, he will say, ‘Is that so?’ with strong emphasis on the first word.”