Dick Prescott's Second Year at West Point, H. Irving Hancock [nice books to read .txt] 📗

must enter no part of the hotel except the parlor. He must see his friends either there, or on the veranda. There is a story told that a general officer's wife visited West Point, for the first time, to see her son, a new cadet at West Point. The plebe son called—-with permission—-sent up his card, and was summoned to his mother's room. He went. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door. The clerk stood there, apologetic but firm.

"I am very sorry, madam, but the regulations provide that your son can visit you only in the parlor."

"But I am the wife of Major General Blank!" exclaimed the surprised lady.

"But, Mrs. Blank, your son is a cadet, and subject to the regulations on the subject. He must either go to the parlor at once, or leave the hotel instantly. If he refuses to do either I am forced to telephone to the tactical officer in charge."

The general's wife was therefore obliged to descend to the parlor with her plebe son.

No other room but the parlor! This prohibition extends even to the dining room. The cadet may not, under any circumstances, accept an invitation from a friend or relative to take a sociable meal with either.

"Tyrannous" and "needlessly oppressive," are terms frequently applied by outsiders to the rules that hedge in cadets, but there is a good reason behind every regulation.

Two or three minutes later a middle-aged woman came slowly down the staircase, gazing about her. At last her glance settled, with some bewilderment on Dick and Greg, who were the only two cadets in the corridor.

"Why, I believe you must be Mr. Prescott and Mr. Holmes!" exclaimed Mrs. Bentley, moving forward and holding out both hands. "Yes; I am certain of it," she added, as Dick and Greg, bowing gracefully from the waistline, smiled goodhumoredly. "Mercy! But how you boys have grown! I am not sure that it is even proper to call you boys any longer."

"If we were boys any longer, Mrs. Bentley, I am sure you would be in doubt," laughed Dick easily. "Yes; you see, cadets, under their training here, usually do shoot up in the air. We have some short, runty cadets, however."

Just then there was a flutter and a swish on the stairs. Laura
Bentley and Belle Meade came gliding forward, their eyes shining.

"Yes; I know you both and could tell you apart," cried Laura, laughing, as she held out her hand. "But what a tremendous change!"

"Do you think it is a change for the better?" asked Dick, smiling.

"Oh, I am sure that it is. Isn't it, Belle? A how wonderfully glad I am to see you both again."

Dick gazed at Laura with pride. He had no right to feel proud, except that she was from Gridley, and that she had come all the way to West Point to see him in his new life.

Laura Bentley, too, had changed somewhat, though not so much as had her cadet friends. She was but a shade taller, somewhat rounder, and much more womanly in an undefinable way. She was sweeter looking in all ways—-Dick recognized that much at a glance. Her eyes rested upon him, and then more briefly upon Greg, in utter friendliness free from coquetry.

"Can't you get excused and take us over to dress parade?" asked
Belle.

Dick turned to look more closely at Miss Meade. Yes; she, too, was changed, and wholly for the better as far as charm of appearance and manner went. Both girls had lost the schoolgirl look. They were, indeed, women, even if very young ones.

"We can hardly get excused from any duty," Dick smiled. "But to-day—-a most unusual thing—-there is no dress parade."

"No parade?" exclaimed Mrs. Bentley in a tone of disappointment.

"No; the officers are entertaining some distinguished outside visitors at Cullum Hall this afternoon, and the band is over at Cullum," Greg explained.

"I am so sorry," murmured Mrs. Bentley.

"But you will be here until the close of tomorrow afternoon?" asked Dick eagerly.

"We had planned to go away about eleven in the forenoon," replied
Mrs. Bentley.

"Then you girls would miss a stroll along Flirtation Walk," suggested Cadet Prescott. "It is a very strange thing for a young lady to go away from West Point and confess that she has not had cadet escort along Flirtation Walk."

"Then we must stay until to-morrow afternoon; may we not, mother?" pleaded Laura.

"Yes; for I wish you to see the most of West Point and its famous spots."

"Then to-morrow afternoon you will be able, also, to see dress parade," Dick suggested.

"Do you forget that tomorrow is Sunday? asked Mrs. Bentley.

"No; we have dress parade on Sunday."

Mrs. Bentley looked puzzled. To her it seemed almost sacrilegious to parade on Sunday!

"Wait until you have seen our dress parade," Greg begged. "Then you will understand. It is really as impressive as a religious ceremony; it is the last honors of each day to our country's flag."

"Oh," murmured Mrs. Bentley, looking relieved.

By this time the little party had moved out on to the veranda.

"As there is no dress parade this afternoon," urged Dick, "may we not take you over, and let you see our camp from the outside. Then, after supper, we may, if you wish, take you to the camp for a look before going to the hop."

"As to supper," went on Mrs. Bentley, "you two young gentlemen must come to the hotel a take the meal with us. Wait; I will send word to the office that we shall have guests."

"If you do, you will give the clerk cause for a jolly smile," explained Prescott, smiling. "No cadet can possibly eat at the hotel. There are many regulations that will surprise you, Mrs. Bentley. I will explain as many as occur to me."

Prescott walked between Mrs. Bentley and Laura, while Greg came along with Belle just behind them.

"Are you taking me to the hop tonight, Mr. Holmes?" asked Belle with her usual directness.

Poor Greg, seasoned cadet though he was, flushed uncomfortably.

"I should be," stammered Greg, "but it happens that I am already engaged to drag—-to escort a young lady to tonight's hop."

"I like that word 'drag' better than 'escort'," laughed Belle.

"But Mr. Anstey, our tentmate, is to escort you tonight," Greg made haste to explain.

"That is the first I have heard of it," replied Belle, with an odd smile. "Does Mr. Anstey know about it, either?"

"Don't make fun of me," begged Holmes quickly. "Miss Meade, there are many customs here that are strange to outsiders. But they are very old customs."

"Some of them, I suppose," laughed Belle, "so old that they should be forgotten."

"All cadets are regarded as gentlemen," hurried on Greg. "Therefore, any cadet may be a suitable escort for a young woman. If one cadet has two young lady friends coming to the hop, for instance, he asks one of his comrades to escort one of his friends. Why, a cadet who, for any reason, finds himself unable to attend a hop, after he has invited a young lady, may arrange with anyone of his comrades to call for the young lady in his place."

"What if she should decline the unknown substitute who reported to fill the task?" teased Belle.

"It would betray her unfamiliarity with West Point," replied Greg, with more spirit than Belle had expected from this once very quiet young man. "Miss Meade, we look upon a our comrades here as gentlemen. We regard the man whom we may send in our place as being more worthy than ourselves. Isn't it natural, therefore, that we should expect the young lady to feel honored by the substitution in the way of escort?

"Wholly so," Belle admitted. "If I have said anything that sounded inconsiderate, or too light, you will forgive me, won't you, Mr. Holmes?"

"You haven't offended, and you couldn't," Greg replied courteously; "for I never take offence where none is meant, and you would be incapable of intending any."

The young people ahead were talking very quietly. Laura, indeed, did not wish to talk much. She was taken up with her study of the changed—-and improved—-Dick Prescott.

"Do you know, Dick," she asked finally, "I am more pleased over your coming to West Point than over anything else that could have happened to you."

"Why?" Dick asked.

"Because the life here has made such a rapid and fine change in you."

"You are sure it has made such a change?" Dick inquired.

"Yes; you were a manly boy in Gridley, but you are an actual man, now, and I am certain that the change has been made more quickly here than would have happened in any other life."

"One thing I can understand," pursued Laura. "The life here is one that is full of purpose. It must be. It takes purpose and downright hard work to change two young men as you and Greg have been changed."

By this time the little party was close to the west, or road side of the encampment.

"Isn't that Bert Dodge over there?" asked Laura, after gazing rather intently at a somewhat distant cadet.

"That is Mr. Dodge, Laura."

"Do you care to call him over to speak with us?" asked Mrs. Bentley.

"If you wish it," Dick responded evenly.

Laura looked at him quickly.

"Are you and Mr. Dodge no better friends here than at Gridley?" she asked in a low tone.

"Mr. Dodge and I are classmates, but we are thrown together very little," Dick replied quietly.

"I do not think we care about speaking with Mr. Dodge, do we, mother?" inquired Laura.

"There is no need to," replied Mrs. Bentley.

At that moment Bert Dodge espied the little party. After a short, but curious stare, Bert turned and came toward them.

CHAPTER VIII CADET DODGE HEARS SOMETHING

It was an embarrassing position. So, at least, thought Laura
Bentley.

"Let us walk on," she suggested, turning as though she had not seen Dodge.

"Humph!" muttered Dodge, turning his own course. "The girls are showing their backs to me. Humph! Not that I care about them particularly, but folks back in Gridley will be asking them if they saw me, and they'll answer that they didn't speak with me. There's no use in running into a snub, out here in the open. But it's easy! I'll stag it at the hop tonight, and I can get within range before they can signal me to keep away."

Smiling grimly, Dodge went to his tent.

After a while it was necessary for Dick and Greg to take their friends back to the hotel, for the cadets must be on hand punctually for supper formation.

"Mr. Anstey and I will call for you at 7:30, if we may," said
Dick.

"We shall be ready," Laura promised. "And that we may not keep you waiting, we'll be down on the veranda."

And waiting they were. Dick and Anstey found Mrs. Bentley and the girls seated near the ladies' entrance.

Anstey, the personification of southern grace and courtesy, made his most impressive greetings to the ladies. His languid eyes took in Laura Bentley at a glance, almost, and he found her to be all that Prescott had described. Belle Meade won Anstey's quick approval, though nothing in his face betrayed the fact.

At first glance, it appeared that both girls were very simply attired in white, but they had spent days in planning the effects of their gowning. Everything about their gowning was most perfectly attuned. Above all, they looked what they were—-two sweet, wholesome, unaffected young women.

"We have time now for a short stroll to camp," proposed Prescott. "If you would like it, you can see how we live in summer. The camp is lighted, now."

So they strolled past the heads of the streets of the camp. At the guard tent, Dick and Anstey explained the routine of guard duty, in as far as it would be interesting to women. They touched, lightly, upon some of the pranks that are played against the cadet sentries.

Wherever Mrs. Bentley and the girls passed, cadet friends lifted their caps to the ladies