CHAPTER XXIV.
A LETTER.
"MY DEAR FISCHER: I promised to drop you a line just to let you know how I'm getting along, though it does take a tremendous pile of energy to write a letter on a hot afternoon like this. I'm sure I shall go to sleep in the middle of it, and naturally, too, for even writing to you is enough to bore anybody. I can almost imagine you leaning over to whack at me in return for that compliment.
"Well, I am home on furlough; and I don't know whether I wish I were back or not, for I fear that you will have cut me out on all the girls, especially since you are a high and mighty first captain this year. Speaking of girls, you just ought to be here. The girls at West Point are _blase_ on cadets, for they see so many; but here a West Point officer is cock of the walk, and I have to fight a jealous rival once a week."
Cadet Captain Fischer dropped the letter at this stage of it and layback and laughed.
"Wicks Merritt's evidently forgotten I was on furlough once myself," hesaid. "He's telling me all about how it goes."
"What's he got to say?" inquired Williams, the speaker's tentmate,looking up from the gun he was cleaning.
"Oh, nothing much; only a lot of nonsense--jollying as usual. Wicksalways is."
And then Fischer picked up the letter again, and went on.
The two were seated near the door of a tent in "Company A Street," atCamp McPherson. Fischer was lying in front of the tent "door," which wasopen to admit the morning breeze that swept across the parade ground.His friend sat over in an opposite corner and rubbed away.
There was silence of some minutes, broken only by the sound of thepolishing and the rustling of Fischer's paper. And then the latter spokeagain.
"Oh, say!" said he. "Here's something that'll interest you, Billy.Something about your friend Mallory."
"Fire away," said Williams.
"'By the way, when you answer this let me know something about my pet and _protege_, future football captain of the West Point eleven. The last time I heard from where you are, Mark Mallory was raising Cain. I heard that he was a B. J. plebe for fair; that he'd set to work to make war on the yearlings, and had put them to rout in style; also, incidentally, that he was scheduled to fight Billy Williams, the yearling's pet athlete. Tell Billy I hope the plebe does him; tell him I say that if Mallory once whacks him on the head with that right arm of his he'll see more stars from the lick than the Lick telescope can show----'"
"Billy" broke in just then with a dismal groan.
"I don't know whether that's because of the pun," laughed Fischer, "orbecause of your recollection of the blow. However, I'll proceed.
"'Now, I don't care how much you fellows haze my Mallory; he's tough and he can stand it. He'll probably give you tit for tat every time, anyhow. But I do want to say this--watch out that nobody tries any foul play on him, skins him on demerits or reports him unfairly. Do me a favor and keep your eye out for that. Watch particularly Bull Harris, who is, I think, the meanest sneak in the yearling class, and also his chum, Gus Murray.
"'I know it for a fact that Mallory caught Bull in a very dirty act about a month ago and knocked spots out of him for it. I can't tell you what the act was; but Bull has sworn vengeance and he'll probably try to get it, so watch for me. If you let Mallory get into trouble, mind what I say, I'll never forgive you as long as you live. I'll cut you out with Bessie Smith, who, they say, is your fair one at present. Mallory is a treasure, and when you know him as well as I you'll think so, too.'"
Cadet Captain Fischer dropped the letter, sat up, and stared atWilliams; and Williams stared back. There was disgust on the faces ofboth.
"By George!" cried the latter at last, striking his gunstock in theground. "By George! we've let 'em do it already!"
And after that there was a silence of several unpleasant minutes, duringwhich each was diligently thinking over the situation.
"He's a fine fellow, anyway," continued Williams. "And we were a pack offools to let that Bull Harris gang soak him as we did. They've gone towork and given him ninety-five demerits in a week on trumped-up charges.And it's perfectly outrageous, that's what it is! The plebe'sconfoundedly fresh, of course, but he's a gentleman for all that, and hedon't deserve one-quarter of the demerits he's gotten. The decentfellows in the class ought to be ashamed of themselves."
"That's what I say! He only has to get five demerits more and then he'sfired for good."
"Which means," put in the officer, "that's he's sure to be fired by nextweek."
"Exactly! And then what will Wicks say? I went over to barracks to seeMallory about it yesterday; he's nearly heart-broken, for he's workedlike a horse to get here, and now he's ruined--practically expelled.Yet, what can we do?"
"Can't he hand in explanations and get the demerits excused?" suggestedFischer.
"No, because most of the charges had just enough basis of truth in themto make them justifiable. I tell you I was mad when he told me about it;I vowed I'd do something to stop it. Yet what on earth can I do? I can'tthink of a thing except to lick that fellow Bull Harris and his crowd.But what possible good will that do Mallory?"
"Mallory will probably do that himself," remarked Fischer, smiling for amoment; his face became serious again as he continued. "I begin to agreewith you, Billy, about that thing. I've heard several tales about howMallory outwitted Bull in his hazing adventures, and the plebe'sprobably made him mad. It's a dirty revenge Bull has taken, and I thinkif it's only for Wicks' sake I'll put a stop to it."
"You!" echoed Williams. "Pray, how?"
"What am I a first captain for?" laughed Fischer. "Just you watch me andsee what I do! I can't take off the ninety-five, but I can see that hedon't get the other five, by Jingo! And I will do it for you, too!"
And with that, the cadet arose and strode out of the tent, leaving hisfriend to labor at the gun in glum and disconsolate silence.
At the same time that Williams and Fischer were discussing the case ofthis particularly refractory plebe, there were other cadets doinglikewise, but with far different sentiments and views. The cadets wereBull Harris and his cronies.
They were sitting--half a dozen of them--beneath the shade trees ofTrophy Point at the northern end of the parade ground; they were waitingfor dinner, and the afternoon, which, being Saturday, was a holiday andfor which they had planned some particular delicious hazing adventure.
Foremost among them was Bull Harris himself, seated upon one of thecannon. Beside him was Baby Edwards. Gus Murray sat on Bull's other sideand made up a precious trio.
Murray was laughing heartily at something just then, and the rest of thecrowd seemed to appreciate the joke immensely.
"Ho! ho!" said he. "Just think of it! After I had soaked the confoundedplebe for fifty and more, ho! ho! they got suspicious up at headquartersand transferred me, and ho! ho! put M-m-merry Vance on instead, and he,ho! ho! soaked him all the harder!"
And Gus Murray slapped his knee and roared at this truly humorous stateof affairs.
"Yes," chimed in Merry Vance. "Yes, I thought when Gus told me he'd beentransferred again that we'd lost our chance to skin Mallory for fair.And the very next night up gets the adjutant and reads off the ordersputting me on duty over the plebes. Oh, gee! Did you ever hear thelike?"
"Never," commented Bull, grinning appreciatively.
"Never," chimed in Baby's little voice. "Positively never!"
"Tell us about it," suggested another. "What did you do?"
"Oh, nothing much," replied Vance. "I went up there at the A. M.inspection, and I just made up my mind to give him twenty demerits, andI did it, that's all. They had spruced up out of sight; but it didn'ttake me very long to find something wrong, I tell you."
"I guess not!" agreed Baby.
"I gave him the
twenty, as you saw; and say, you ought to have seen howsick he looked! Ho! ho!"
And then the crowd indulged in another fit of violent hilarity.
"I guess," said Bull, when this had finally passed, "that we can aboutcount Mallory as out for good. He's only got five more demerits to runbefore dismissal, and he'll be sure to get those in time, even if wedon't give 'em to him--which, by the way, I mean to do anyhow. But we'lljust parcel 'em one at a time just enough to keep him worried, hey?"
"That's it exactly!" commented the Baby.
"He deserves it every bit!" growled Bull. "He's the B. J.est 'beast'that ever struck West Point. Why, we could never have a moment's peacewith that fellow around. We couldn't haze anybody. He stopped us half adozen times."
The sentiment was the sentiment of the whole gang; and they felt thatthey had cause to be happy indeed. Their worst enemy had been disposedof and a man might breathe freely once more. The crowd could think ofnothing to talk about that whole morning but that B. J. "beast" and hisruin.
They found something, however, before many more minutes passed. Bullchanced to glance over his shoulder in the direction of the camp.
"Hello!" he said. "Here comes Fischer."
"Good-afternoon, Mr. Fischer," said Bull.
"Good-afternoon," responded the officer, with obvious stiffness; andthen there was an awkward silence, during which he surveyed them insilence.
"Mr. Harris," he said, at last, "I'd like to speak to you for a moment;and Mr. Murray, and you, too, Mr. Vance."
The three stepped out of the group with alacrity, and followed Fischerover to a seat nearby, while the rest of the gang stood and stared insurprise, speculating as to what this could possibly mean.
The three with the officer were finding out in a hurry.
"I am told," began the latter, gazing at them, with majestic sternness,"that you three are engaged in skinning a certain plebe----"
"Why, Mr. Fischer!" cried the three, in obvious surprise.
"Don't interrupt me!" thundered the captain in a voice that made themquake, and that reached the others and made them quake, too.
"Don't interrupt me! I know what I am talking about. I was a yearlingonce myself, and I'm a cadet still, and there's not the least use tryingto pull the wool over my eyes. I know there never yet was a plebe whogot fifty demerits in one day and deserved them."
The captain did not fail to notice here that the trio flushed and lookeduncomfortable.
"You all know, I believe," he continued, "just exactly what I think ofyou. I've never hesitated to say it. Now, I want you to understand inthe first place that I know of this contemptible trick, and that also Iknow the plebe, who's worth more than a dozen of you; and that if hegets a demerit from any one of you again I'll make you pay for it assure as I'm alive. Just remember it, that's all!"
And with this, the indignant captain turned upon his heel, and strodeoff, leaving the yearlings as if a bombshell had landed in their midst.
"Fischer's a confounded fool!" Bull Harris broke out at last.
"Just what he is!" cried the Baby. "I'd like to knock him over."
And after that there was silence again, broken only by the roll of adrum that meant dinner.
"Well," was Bull's final word, as the crowd set out for camp, "it'sunfortunate, I must say. But it won't make the least bit of difference.Mallory'll get his demerits sure as he's alive, and Fischer'sinterference won't matter in the least."
"That's what!" cried the rest of them.