Dick Prescott's Third Year at West Point Part 40

s.n.a.t.c.hing up his rifle, Haynes stepped out and joined the others.

Haynes did not receive even as much as a cold glance.

"I'm less than a bit of mud to them!" thought the turnback bitterly.

"These fellows would step around a patch of mud, just to avoid dirtying their shoes."

It was a relief to hear the command to fall in. Haynes felt still better when the battalion stepped away at its rhythmic step.

He did not have to look at any of his contemptuous comrades now, nor did he need a word from them.

Somehow, though in a daze, the turnback got through dress parade without reproof from any of the watchful cadet officers. Then, almost immediately after dress parade, came the hardest ordeal of all.

Once more, this time in fatigue uniform, the turnback had to fall in at supper formation. With the rest he marched away to cadet mess ball, found his place at table and occupied it.

During the meal merry conversation ran riot around the tables.

Haynes was the only man among the gray-clad cadets who was left absolutely alone.

After supper, while Pierson lounged outside, Haynes went back to his room.

Pacing the floor in his deep misery and agitation, he took this vow to himself:

"I won't let myself be driven from the Military Academy! No matter what these idiots try to do to me---no matter what indignities they may heap upon me, I'll keep silent and fight my way through the Military Academy! I will receive my commission, and go into the Army. But that fellow Prescott shall never become an officer in the Army, no matter what I have to risk to stop him!"

CHAPTER XXIV

CONCLUSION

For most of the young men at West Point the academic year now came swiftly and joyously to an end.

True, some score and a half of plebes were found deficient, and sent back to their homes.

The same thing happened to a few of the third cla.s.smen.

All of the members of the first cla.s.s succeeded in pa.s.sing and in graduating into the Army.

The poor plebes who had failed had been mournfully departing, one at a time.

These unhappy, doleful young men felt strangely uncouth in the citizens' clothes that they had regained from the cadet stores.

Yet everyone of these plebes received many a handshake from the upper cla.s.smen and a hearty good wish for success in life.

More doleful still felt the dropped third cla.s.smen, who had been at the Military Academy for two years, and who had thoroughly expected to "get through" into the Army somehow.

It was now a little before the time when cadets must hasten to quarters to attire themselves for dress parade.

Several score of cadets still lingered in the quadrangle when Greg Holmes and Pierson suddenly appeared, heading straight for one of the largest groups, in which d.i.c.k Prescott stood.

"Heard any news lately?" asked Greg, a pleased twinkle in his eyes.

"Nothing startling. We've been supplying new, dry handkerchiefs to the poor, late plebes," answered Brayton.

"Haven't heard about that fellow Haynes?" asked Greg.

"Nothing," admitted Brayton.

"Well, you see," exclaimed Pierson, "Haynes made up his mind to disregard the grand cut. He determined to stick it out, anyway, even for a whole year."

"He'll have a sweet time of it, then," put in Spurlock dryly.

"I never heard of a fellow who got the general cut lasting a whole year here before."

"That was Haynes's decision, anyway," went on Pierson. "This is no guess work. The fellow told me so himself."

"I reckon, suh, maybe we'll be able to change his mind," drawled Anstey.

"No you won't," broke in Greg decisively. "Haynes got in bad on the last two days of general review. Chemistry and Spanish verbs threw him. So he was ordered up for a writ (written examination) in both subjects. He fessed frozen on both of them.

He applied for a new examination in a fortnight, but the fact that Haynes was already a turnback went against him."

"He's 'found,' eh?" questioned Brayton, smiling gleefully.

"Dropped," nodded Pierson.

"Fired!" added Greg, with a look of satisfaction. "There's no getting around the truth of the old superst.i.tion, fellows!"

The "old superst.i.tion" to which Holmes referred is one intensely believed in the cadet corps. While there is nothing whatever to prevent a sneak from being admitted to the United States Military Academy, the cadets believe firmly that a dishonorable fellow is bound to be caught, before he graduates, and that he will be kicked promptly out of the service by one means or another.

"Has the fellow gone yet?" inquired Spurlock.

"He'll slip away while the rest of us are away at dress parade, I guess," responded Pierson. "Haynes is in cit. clothes already, and is just fussing around a bit."

"He must feel fine!" muttered Brayton musingly. "I could almost say 'poor fellow.'"

"So could I," agreed Prescott, with a good deal of feeling. "It would break my heart to be compelled to leave the corps, except at graduation, so I can imagine how any other fellow must feel."

"Oh, well, he'd never be happy in the Army, anyway," replied Spurlock.

"Out in the Army the other officers can take care of a dishonorable comrade even more effectively than we do."

"What made Haynes fess out, I wonder?" pondered Brayton aloud.

"Being sent to Coventry got on his nerves so that he couldn't pull up enough at review and the writs," replied Pierson. "He wasn't one of the bright men, anyway, in the section rooms."

"By Jove, suh! There's the fellow now!" muttered Anstey.

The others turned slightly to see Haynes, out of the gray uniform that he had disgraced, wearing old cit. clothes and carrying a suit case, step out and cross the quadrangle to the office of the K.C.

A few minutes later, Haynes came out of the cadet guard house.

Knowing that he would never have the ordeal to face again, Haynes summoned all his "bra.s.s" to the surface and stepped down the length of the quadrangle. He pa.s.sed many groups of curious cadets, none of whom, however, sent a look or a word to him.