declared the Virginian warmly. "When we were plebes, who stood up most staunchly as our cla.s.s champion? Why, suh, why did we choose Mr. Prescott as our cla.s.s president? Was it not because we believed, with all our hearts, that in Richard Prescott lay all the best elements of n.o.ble, upright and manly cadethood?

Do you remember, suh, and fellow cla.s.smen, the wild enthusiasm that prevailed when we, by our suffrages, had declared Mr. Prescott to be our ideal of the man to lead the cla.s.s in all the paths of honor?"

Anstey paused for an instant. Then, lowering his voice somewhat, he continued, with scathing irony:

"_And now you give this best man of our cla.s.s the silence, and seek to remove him from the presidency of the cla.s.s_!"

"It's a shame!" roared another cadet.

There were cheers.

"It is a shame," cried Anstey in a ringing voice. "And now you seek to deepen the shame by further degrading Prescott, who has always been the champion of our cla.s.s. Mr. President, I move that we lay the motion on the table indefinitely. As soon as that has been done I shall make another motion, that we remove the silence from the grand, good fellow who has had it put upon him."

There were others, however, with nearly Anstey's gift for oratory.

One of them now took the floor, pointing out that the cla.s.s would not have rebuked Prescott for having reported Jordan in the tour of pontoon bridge construction.

"That may have been justified," continued the speaker. "But, afterwards, Mr. Jordan and Mr. Prescott had words. There must have been some bitterness in that. That same night Mr. Jordan was caught and reported by Mr. Prescott, who was not cadet officer of the day, and who therefore must have deliberately shadowed Mr. Jordan in order to catch him."

"Prescott did not shadow Mr. Jordan, or do anything of a sneaky nature," shouted Anstey.

"He refused to explain to our cla.s.s committee how he happened to be on band at just the time to catch Jordan," shouted Durville.

"Then be a.s.sured he had a good military, a good soldierly, a good manly reason for his silence," clamored Anstey.

The meeting was an excited one from all points of view. In the end the best that the staunch friends of d.i.c.k could secure was that action on the resignation of the cla.s.s presidency be deferred until a cooler hour, but that the silence be continued for the present.

And so the meeting broke up. Jordan had been dismayed, fearing that Anstey's impa.s.sioned speech might result in putting his enemy back into greater popularity than ever.

But now Jordan was rea.s.sured. He was satisfied that things were still moving in his direction, and that Prescott's proud spirit would soon lead him into some action that must make the breach with the cla.s.s wider than ever.

At noon the next day Prescott returned from the second drill of the forenoon. In his absence a mail orderly had been around. An envelope lay on the table addressed to d.i.c.k.

"From Laura," he exclaimed in delight.

"That'll cheer you some," smiled Greg.

"Why it's postmarked from New York," continued d.i.c.k swiftly.

"Whew! She must be headed this way!"

Hurriedly Prescott tore the envelope open.

"It couldn't have happened at a worse time," he muttered, turning white.

"What?"

"Laura, Mrs. Bentley and Belle Meade are in New York, and will reach here this afternoon. Laura says they have learned that there is a hop on to-night, and they are bringing their prettiest frocks."

"Whew! That is a facer!" breathed Greg in perplexity.

"Of course I can't take Laura to the hop."

"You can, if you have the nerve," insisted Greg.

"And I have the nerve!" retorted d.i.c.k defiantly. "But how about Laura? She would discover, within a few minutes, that I am on strained terms with the other fellows. That would do worse than spoil her evening."

"Well," demanded Greg thoughtfully, "why do you need to take her to the hop?"

"Because she says that's what the girls have come for."

"Bother! Do you suppose it's you, or the hop, that Laura comes for?"

But d.i.c.k, instead of being cheered by this view, turned very white.

"I've got to tell her," he muttered hoa.r.s.ely, "that I'm in eclipse.

That the fellows have voted that I am not a fit a.s.sociate for gentlemen."

"And I'll tell her a heap more," retorted Cadet Holmes. "d.i.c.k, do you think either of the girls would go back on you, just because a lot of raw, half-baked cadets have got you sized up wrong?

Is that all the faith you have in your friends? And, especially, such a friend as Laura Bentley? Was that the way she acted when you were under charges of cribbing? You were in disgrace, then, weren't you? Did Laura look at you with anything but sympathy in her eyes?"

"No; heaven bless her!"

"Now, see here, d.i.c.k. If the girls are up here this evening, we won't take 'em to the hop. Instead, we'll sit out on the north porch at the hotel, with Mrs. Bentley near by. We'll have such a good old talk with the girls as we never could have at a hop."

"Everything in life would be easy, Greg, if you could explain it away," laughed d.i.c.k Prescott, but his tone was bitter.

"Well, as you can't take the girls to the hop, with any regard for their comfort, my plan is best of all, isn't it?"

"I---I suppose so."

"So make the best of it, old ramrod. There's nothing so bad that it couldn't be a lot worse."

There was a long tour of work with the field battery guns that afternoon. For once Prescott found his mind entirely off his work. Nor could he rally his senses to his work. He got a low marking, indeed, in the instructor's record for that afternoon's work.

Then, hot, dusty and tired, this detachment of cadets came in from work.

In the visitors' seats, near headquarters, d.i.c.k and Greg espied Mrs. Bentley and the girls. How lovely the two latter looked!

The instant that ranks were broken Laura. and Belle were on their feet, glancing eagerly in the direction of their cadets. d.i.c.k and Greg had to go over, doff their campaign hats and shake hands with Mrs. Bentley and the girls.

"We've given you a surprise, this time," laughed Laura. "I hope you're pleased."

"Can you doubt it?" asked d.i.c.k so absently, so reluctantly, that Laura Bentley shot a swift, uneasy look at the handsome young cadet captain.

"You don't seem over delighted," broke in Belle Meade. "Gracious!

I hope we haven't been indiscreet in coming almost unannounced?

See here, you haven't invited any other girls to to-night's hop, have you?"

Both girls, flushed and rather uneasy looking, were now eyeing the two ill-at-ease young first cla.s.smen.

"No; we haven't invited anyone else. But there's something to be explained," replied d.i.c.k lamely. "Greg, you explain, won't you? And you'll all excuse me, won't you, while I hurry away to tog for dress parade?"