Chief Justice Bobbitt did not participate in the hearing or disposition of this case. The six members of the Court who heard the appeal were equally divided on the question whether the decision of the Court of Appeals should be affirmed or reversed. This equal division requires that the decision of the Court of Appeals be affirmed without becoming a precedent. Parrish v. Piedmont Publishing Co., 271 N.C. 711, 157 S.E. 2d 334; James v. Rogers, 231 N.C. 668, 58 S.E. 2d 640; Gardner v. McDonald, 223 N.C. 854, 25 S.E. 2d 397; Smith v. McDowell Furniture Co., 221 N.C. 536, 19 S.E. 2d 17.

Affirmed.