Q: CHAPTER XXIII.

THE TOWN ORDINANCE.

The news which Dick carried to Sawyer was sufficient to create a great excitement in that naturally quiet little town. In addition to what looked like an attempted murder, was the fact that George Harnett, whom they had all respected before the conflagration, and admired after it, was the intended victim.

There was no need for Dick to urge that officers be sent to try to effect the capture of the scoundrels, for almost before he had finished telling the story, a large party of citizens started in search of the men, determined that they should answer for their crime.

Therefore, when Dick returned, it was with so large a following that the physicians rushed out in the greatest haste to insist on their keeping at a respectful distance from the house, lest the noise might affect their patient.

Bob and his partners were anxious to join in the search, and urged Ralph to accompany them, since he could do no good to George by remaining; but he refused to leave his friend, even though he could not aid him, and the party started without him, a look of determination on their faces that boded no good to the professed oil prospectors in case they should be caught.

During all of that night Ralph remained with George, listening to his delirious ravings, as he supposed he was still battling for his life with the men, and just at daybreak Bob returned alone. The search had been even more successful than any of the party had dared to hope for when they set out, for the men had been captured in the woods about four miles from the place where the assault had been made and in the pocket of one of them was the paper from which one corner had been left in George's hand.

1. Ralph
2. all of that night

Numbered questions:
1. Who stayed with George?
2. When?

Q: (CNN) -- Early this year, Michael Sam made news by announcing he is gay. On Saturday, he made history as the first openly gay player to be drafted by a National Football League team. Seconds later, he made waves kissing his boyfriend in celebration as cameras looked on.

Now, Sam has one goal in mind -- to make the St. Louis Rams' roster.

"I'm determined to be great," he told reporters Tuesday in St. Louis. "So I'm going to train hard and try to make the team."

As a selection in the seventh and last round in the NFL draft, Sam playing for the Rams or any other NFL team this upcoming season is hardly a lock.

And with standouts like Chris Long and Kendall Langford, the fact that St. Louis boasts one of the league's best defensive lines -- the place where Sam starred at the University of Missouri -- makes his task even harder.

That challenge isn't lost on Sam, who some experts thought might not fit in the NFL not because of his sexual orientation but because they characterized him as a "tweener" -- too small to play on the defensive line, too slow to be a linebacker.

Still, he sees the chance to learn from his Rams coaches and teammates things that can help improve his game. And he seemed careful Tuesday not to get too far ahead of himself, expressing thanks for being given "the opportunity to play" but professing no certainty that he will be on the sidelines come opening day.

1. Michael Sam
2. Early this year
3. yes
4. yes
5. the first openly gay player to be drafted
6. make the Rams' roster
7. yes
8. reporters
9. Tuesday
10. train hard
11. one of the best
12. Chris Long and Kendall Langford
13. no
14. tweener
15. not as a linebacker
16. no
17. no
18. Rams coaches and teammates
19. yes
20. yes

Numbered questions:
1. Who announced that he is gay?
2. When he did that?
3. Was he drafted by a NFL team?
4. Did he make a history of some sorts?
5. What?
6. What is his goal now?
7. Does he want to be great?
8. Whom did he tell that?
9. When?
10. What he is going to do to achieve that?
11. How is Ram's defensive lines?
12. Who are their standout players?
13. Will all these will be easy for Sam?
14. What some characterized him as?
15. Is he fast enough?
16. Is he a big guy?
17. Do the experts think his sexual orientation matters?
18. From whom he can still learn?
19. Is he careful about his acts?
20. Did he thank everyone?

Q: (CNN) -- Only two Republican presidential candidates will appear on the ballot in Virginia next year, regardless of how many are in the race.

Mitt Romney and Ron Paul will have the Dominion State all to themselves. Supporters of Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Jon Huntsman and Michele Bachmann will have to be content with yard signs or donations as ways of cheering on their favorite would-be nominee.

That's because their campaigns failed to gain the requisite 10,000 signatures. It is, to be sure, a self-inflicted wound, a measure of some organizational chaos. But it is also a function of illogically restrictive local laws. They not only impede ballot access but end up denying open representative democracy to operate on the road to the Oval Office.

The United States is the only nation in the world, save Switzerland, that does not have uniform federal ballot access laws, according to Ballot Access News, a website run by Richard Winger that is dedicated to the issue. This may reflect the country's closely held federalism, but it can create chaos in a presidential year. In many cases, the rules are imposed by state party bosses who are less interested in democracy than in rigging the system to benefit their favored candidates.

Take, for example, my home state of New York. It votes reliably Democratic in presidential years, at least since Ronald Reagan thrashed Walter Mondale in 1984. But the state's primary delegates can still be a prize in a protracted Republican nomination fight. In 1999, John McCain had to sue to even have his name appear on the ballot alongside George W. Bush because the Republican state party chair and his committee essentially decided that Bush would be their nominee without the inconvenience of putting it to a vote. Local laws allowed them to restrict ballot access until public pressure and a court injunction overruled their attempted end-run around democracy. Each presidential cycle, the corrupt kabuki continues.

1. Virginia
2. two
3. 10,000

Numbered questions:
1. What state is the Dominion State?
2. How many republicans will show up on the ballot?
3. How many signatures are needed to get on?