Ana entered town hall in a raincoat（雨衣）/ˈreɪnˌkoʊt/ to observe the ballot count（旁听并观察计票）/əbˈzərv ðə ˈbælət kaʊnt/. The poll（投票）/pәul/ would choose a mayor（市长）/'mєә/ and decide whether to regulate（规范）/'regjuleit/ riverside building. Chen, the election teller（计票员）/'telә/, found numerous（很多的）/'nju:mәrәs/ papers with a clumsy（笨拙的）/'klʌmzi/ mark halfway between two boxes. The result was not clear-cut（并不明确）/nɑt ˈklɪrˌkət/. Under the local accord（协议）/ә'kɒ:d/, such votes required a dual（双重的）/'dju:әl/ review and consent（同意）/kәn'sent/ from both counting teams. “The public is waiting. Proclaim（宣布）/prә'kleim/ the result now, and examine those few ballots（选票）/'bælәt/ later.”

“I must halt the count（暂停计票）/hɔlt ðə kaʊnt/. No deputy（副手）/'depjuti/, senator, or mayor may interfere with this procedure（干预这一程序）/ˌɪnərˈfɪr wɪθ ðɪs prəˈsiʤər/.” Mr. Bell chose to allege（声称）/ә'ledʒ/ that delay would provoke（激怒）/prә'vәuk/ suspicion and overwhelm（使不堪重负）/.әuvә'hwelm/ volunteers. He was an earnest（认真的）/'ә:nist/ but impatient member of the municipal congress（议会）/ˈkɑŋgrəs/. Chen replied that speed could not constitute（构成）/kәn'stitjut/ democracy（民主）/di'mɒkrәsi/ by itself. Amid（在其间）/ә'mid/ growing noise, Chen kept an inward（内心的）/'inwәd/ focus on the rules. A transparent（透明的）/træns'pærәnt/ process mattered farther（更远的）/'fɑ:ðә/ beyond this room, because one careless decision could trigger（引发）/'trigә/ a dispute across the federation（联邦）/fedә'reiʃәn/.

“Could each team quantify the doubtful marks（统计存疑标记）/kˈwɑntɪˌfaɪ ðə ˈdaʊtfəl mɑrks/ and record why a ballot is accepted or rejected?” Chen agreed. Observers from a liberal（自由派的）/'libәrәl/ alliance and its conservative ally（盟友）/'ælai. ә'lai/ stood at parallel tables. They were told not to manipulate（操纵）/mә'nipjuleit/ papers, distract（分散注意力）/dis'trækt/ tellers, or incline（使倾斜）/in'klain/ the tray toward oneself（自己）/ˌwənˈsɛlf/. A scout（联络员）/skaut/ carried copies between the rooms. The work began to lag（落后）/læg/, but no one took a vain（徒劳的）/vein/ leap（跳跃）/li:p/ toward a quick answer.

Outside, reporters compared the council to parliament（议会）/ˈpɑrləmɛnt/ and the senate（参议院）/ˈsɛnɪt/, although its power was much smaller. One radical（激进的）/'rædikl/ speaker wanted to abolish（废除）/ә'bɒliʃ/ the review; another would propose（提议）/prә'pәuz/ that the council legislate（制定法律）/'ledʒisleit/ a new standard immediately. A retired diplomat（外交官）/'diplәmæt/ and statesman（政治家）/'steitsmәn/ advised calm. A mistress（女主角）/'mistris/ from a local play and an actor in comic underwear（内衣）/'ʌndәwєә/ passed through on their way to rehearsal, briefly distracting the crowd. “I withdraw my demand. Procedure must come before my temper（脾气）/'tempә/ or political stride（步伐）/straid/.”

The recount produced a small but inevitable（不可避免的）/in'evitәbl/ surge（增加）/sә:dʒ/ for one proposal. Chen could not veto（否决）/'vi:tәu/ the result; his role was to apply the convention（惯例）/kәn'venʃәn/, not control it. Ana's summary explained the uncertain marks, the review method, and the final total without taking sides（偏袒一方）/ˈteɪkɪŋ saɪdz/. She also noted how patient observers protected the count without directing it. The meeting showed that public confidence does not arise from a dramatic victory. It grows when officials resist pressure（抵抗压力）/rɪˈzɪst ˈprɛʃər/ and make every step open to inspection（可供检查）/ˈoʊpən tɪ ˌɪnˈspɛkʃən/.