41.   In the State Department, which for months has faced budgetary uncertainty, demoralization and the threat of layoffs, staff members were beginning to feel the strain.

42.   Individual House members have already begun defending themselves on their own, in direct mail and television advertising.

43.   Its members are beginning to take part in conferences and to publish books and articles, although none have disclosed important secrets they may have learned while serving abroad.

44.   Lawmakers have been quiet on the issue, but some influential members are beginning to speak up in favor of using ground troops.

45.   Late on a Sunday afternoon, the weary family members began to leave.

46.   Meanwhile crew members begin wearing a path between the two houses and small radios crackle as production workers page one another for help.

47.   Members already have begun pressuring the ethics committee to quickly issue a recommendation on any penalties Gingrich should face.

48.   Most members of Congress begin their Thanksgiving vacations, and those who are running for president go to Florida to campaign for votes in a GOP straw poll.

49.   Naturally, after months of this kind of work, some cast members began wondering about their mission.

50.   Now that the invitations have been extended, the prospective new members will begin negotiating the conditions for their entry.