the rest of that day passed without incident. mark managed after a good deal of trouble to postpone texas' hunting trip; and the two struggled on through the day's drills disconsolately, waiting to see what would happen next.
evening came, and the plebes being lined up in barracks area the roll was called, the "orders" read, and then the reports of the day. the cadet who did the reading rattled down the list in his usual hurried, breathless style. but when he came to m he paused suddenly; he gazed at the list incredulously, then cleared his throat, took a long foreboding breath and began:
"mallory—late at roll call.
"same—laughing loud in ranks.
"same—bedding improperly arranged at a. m. inspection.
"same—broom out of place at a. m. inspection.
[pg 186]"same—remonstrating with superior officer at a. m. inspection."
and so the cadet officer went on, the whole plebe class listening with open-eyed amazement while one charge after another was rattled off, and gazing out of the corners of their eyes at the object of the attack, who stood and listened with a look of calm indifference upon his face.
the list was finished at last, when the listeners had about concluded that it was eternal; the rest of the reports were quickly disposed of, and then: "break ranks, march!" and the line melted into groups of excited and eagerly talking cadets, discussing but one subject—the ruin of mallory.
of course it was known to every one that this was simply one more effort of the yearlings to subdue him; and loud were the threats and expressions of disapproval. mark's bravery in making a fight for his honor had won him the admiration of his class, and the class felt that with his downfall came a return of the old state of affairs and the complete subjection of the "beasts" once more.
there were jealous ones who rejoiced secretly, and there were timid ones who declared that they had always[pg 187] said that mallory was too b. j. to last. but in the main there was nothing but genuine anger at the upper classmen's "rank injustice," and wild talk of appealing to the superintendent to bring it to a stop.
the utter consternation of the seven allies is left to the reader's imagination. after the first shock of horror had passed the crowd had sat down and made a calculation; they found fifty-five demerits due that day, which, together with ten previously given, left thirty-five to go, and then—why it made them sick to think of what would happen!
having striven to realize this for half an hour, they got together and swore a solemn oath, first, that if mark were dismissed, a joint statement of the reasons thereof, incidentally mentioning each and every act of hazing done by the yearlings, naming principals, witnesses, time and place, should be forwarded to the superintendent, signed by the six; and second, that every yearling who gave a demerit should be "licked until he couldn't stand up."
texas also swore incidentally that he'd resign if mark were "fired," and take him down to texas to make a cowboy of him. and after that there was nothing to do but wait and pray—and clean up for next day's in[pg 188]spection, a task at which the whole seven labored up to the very last minute before tattoo.
it was the afternoon of the following day; the rays of a scorching july sun beat down upon the post, and west point seemed asleep. up by camp mcpherson the cadets were lounging about in idleness, and it was only down at barracks that there was anything moving at all. inside the area the hot and shimmering pavement echoed to the tread of the plebe company at drill; outside the street was deserted except for one solitary figure with whom our story has to do. the figure was a cadet officer in uniform, captain fischer, of the first class, resplendent in his chevrons and sash.
he was marching down the street with the firm, quick step that is second nature to a west pointer; he passed the barracks without looking in and went on down to the hospital building; and there he turned and started to enter. the door opened just as he reached it, however, and another cadet came out. the officer sprang forward instantly and grasped him by the hand.
[pg 189]"williams!" he cried. "just the fellow i was coming to see. and what a beautiful object you are!"
williams smiled a melancholy smile; he was beautiful and he knew it. his face was covered in spots with greek crosses of court-plaster, and elsewhere by startling red lumps. and he walked with a shy, retiring gait that told of sundry other damages. such were the remains of handsome "billy," all-round athlete and favorite of his class, defeated hero.
williams had waited scarcely long enough for this thought to flash over the young officer before he spoke again, this time with some anxiety.
"tell me! tell me about mallory! i hear they're skinning him on demerits."
"yes, they are," returned fischer, "and they've soaked him twenty more this morning!"
"twenty more! then how many has he?"
"eighty-five."
"what!" cried williams. "you don't mean it! why, he'll be out in a week. say, fischer, that's outrageous!"
"perfectly outrageous!" vowed the officer.
[pg 190]and williams brought his hand down on his knee with a bang.
"by george!" he cried, "i'm going around to see him about it!"
with which words he sprang down the stairs and, leaving the cadet officer to gaze at him in surprise, hurried up the street to barracks.
squad drill was just that moment over; without wasting any time about it, williams hurried into the building and made his way to mallory's room. he found the plebe, and got right to work to say what he had to say.
"mr. mallory," he began, "i've come up in the first place to shake hands with you, and to say there's no hard feeling."
"thank you," said mark, and his heart went with the grip of his hand.
"you made a good fight, splendid!" continued the yearling. "and some day i'll be proud to be your friend."
"i'm afraid," returned mark, with a sad smile, "that i'll not be here that long."
"that's the second thing i've come to see you about," vowed williams. "mr. mallory, i want you to under[pg 191]stand that the decent men of this class don't approve of the work that mur—er, i suppose you know who's back of it. and i tell you right now that i'm going to stop it if it's the last act i ever do on this earth!"
"i'm afraid it won't do much good," responded the other, shaking his head. "i could never pass six months without getting fifteen demerits."
"it's a shame!" cried the other. "and you have worked for your appointment, too."
"i have worked," exclaimed mark, something choking his voice that sounded suspiciously near a sob, "worked for it as i have never worked for anything in my life. it has been the darling ambition of my heart to come here. and i came—and now—and now——"
he stopped, for he could think of no more to say. williams stood and regarded him in silence for some moments, and then he took him by the hand again.
"mr. mallory," said he, "just as sure as i'm alive this thing shall stop! keep up heart now, and we'll make a fight for it! while there's life there's hope, they say—and, by heaven, you shan't be expelled!"
[pg 192]the following evening, when the reports were read, mark's list of demerits had reached a total of ninety-five.
the excitement among plebes and cadets alike was intense, and it was known far and wide that mark mallory, the "b. j." plebe, stood at last "in the shadow of dismissal."
