The Office’s order still hung by the gate. Hoff had pinned it under the silver pennant, and nobody had touched it since. Calen walked past without slowing down.
He had not signed it. He would sign on the count, and not before.
Tobin was already on the flags when Calen reached the yard. He stood with his feet apart and his hands at his sides. He had been standing that way since the first bell.
“Sir,” said Tobin. “Is it sixty?”
“It is sixty.”
“Rung one was forty.”
“Rung one was forty counts. You passed it on the day of your Mark,” said Calen.
“Rung two is sixty. The rules are the same as before. Your hands stay off the cut, and nobody speaks during the count.”
