CHAPTER IV.
THE EXPLANATION.
Mark had barely reached the head of the stairs before the morning gunsounded, and five minutes later he was in line at roll call with therest of his class. It is needless to say that Texas was absent.
Texas woke up a while later, and staggered to his feet, feelingcarefully of his ribs to make sure they were not really broken. And thenhe went out and interviewed a sentry in the hall.
"Look a yere, mister," said he. "Where's this yere place they call thehospital?"
The sentry directed him to await the proper hour, and Texas spentthe rest of that day, reported by the surgeon as "absent fromduty--sick--contusions." And the whole class wondered why.
Mark noticed that the cadets were looking at him at breakfast; and henoticed that the members of his own class were rather distant, but hegritted his teeth and made up his mind to face it out.
"If even Texas called me a coward," he mused, "I can't expect the restof 'em to do otherwise."
And so it seemed, for that same morning just after breakfast CorporalJasper and Cadet Spencer paid a visit to Mark.
"The class would like, if you please, Mr. Mallory," said the former, "anexplanation of your conduct this morning."
"And I am sorry to say," responded Mark, just as politely, "that I amunable to give it. All I can say is that my conduct, though it may seemstrange and mysterious, was unavoidable. If you will allow me, I shallbe pleased to meet Mr. Williams to-morrow."
"We cannot allow it," said Jasper, emphatically, "unless you consent toexplain your action and can succeed in doing it satisfactorily, whichyou will pardon me for saying I doubt very much, you stand before theacademy branded as a coward."
"Very well," said Mark, "let it be so."
And he turned away, and all through that long, weary morning and theafternoon, too. Cadet Mallory was in Coventry, and not a soul spoke aword to him, except Cadet Spencer, at drill. And he was frigid.
Cadet Powers was released from the hospital "cured" that evening aftersupper, and he limped upstairs to his room, and sat down to think abouthimself, and to philosophize upon the vanities of life and the folliesof ambition. Mark did not come up until "tattoo" sounded, and so Texashad plenty of time. He felt very meek just then; he wasn't angry anymore, and he'd had plenty of time also to think over what a fool he hadbeen in not listening to Mark's explanation of his absence. For Texashad been suddenly convinced that Mark was no coward after all.
While he sat there, a piece of paper sticking out from under the bureaucaught his eye. Texas was getting very neat recently under West Pointdiscipline; he picked that paper up, and read as follows:
"I'll be back in time to fight. Explain later. Trust me.
"MARK."
"Oh!" cried Texas, springing up from his chair and wrenching adilapidated shoulder. "He told me he did that--and I called him a liar!"
Texas walked up and down, and mused some more. Then it occurred to himthere might be more paper under that bureau to explain things. He gotdown, painfully, and fished out another crumpled note. And he read that,too:
"DEAR MR. MALLORY: I am in deep trouble, and I need your aid at once. You can tell how serious the trouble is by the fact that I ask you to come to me immediately. If you care to do a generous and helpful act pray do not refuse. Sincerely yours,
"MARY ADAMS."
Mary Adams was a girl well known to many of the cadets.
The letter was roughly scrawled on a pad, and when Texas finishedreading it he flung it on the floor and went and glared at himself inthe mirror.
"You idiot!" he muttered, shaking his fist at himself. "Here them olecadets went an' fooled Mark Mallory again, an' you--bah!"
Texas was repentant through and through by that time; he grabbed up hiscap savagely and made for the door, with a reckless disregard for sorejoints. He hobbled downstairs and out of barracks, and caught Mark bythe arm just as Mark was coming in.
"Well, Texas?" inquired Mark, smiling.
"Fust place," said Texas, briefly, "want to thank you fo' lickin' me."
"Welcome," said Mark.
"Second place, do it ag'in if I ever lose my temper."
"Welcome," said Mark.
"Third place, I want to 'pologize."
"What's up? What's happened to convince you?"
"Nothin' much," said Texas, "only I been a' findin' out what a fool Iam. Hones' now, Mark," and as Mark looked into the other's pleading grayeyes he saw that Texas meant it. "Hones' now, this yere's fust time Iever 'pologized in my life. I'm sorry."
And Mark took him by the hand. They were friends again from that moment.
"I jist saw that second note from Mary Adams upstairs," explained Texas,"an' then I knowed them ole cadets had fooled you that way ag'in. Say,Mark, you're mos' as big a fool as me--mos'."
"That note was genuine," answered Mark. And then as he saw Texas'amazement, he led him aside and explained. "I'll tell you about it,"said he, "for I can trust you not to tell. But I can't explain to therest of the class, and I won't, either, though they may call me acoward if they choose.
"A drummer boy came up here last night--or, rather, this morning. Hewoke me up and gave me that note, swore it was genuine, too, and Ibelieved him in the end. As you see, Mary Adams wanted to see me, andshe was in a desperate hurry about it. Well, I debated over it for along time; at first I thought I wouldn't, for I was afraid ofcourt-martial; but then as I thought of her in distress I made up mymind to risk it, and I went. As it turned out, old man, you'd have beenashamed of me if I hadn't. There are worse things than being called acoward, and one of em's being a coward.
"I found her in great trouble, as she said. She has a brother, a fellowof about twenty-two, I guess. She lives with her widowed mother, and hetakes care of them. I think they are poor. Anyway, this brother hadgotten two or three hundred dollars from his employer to take a trip outWest. He had fallen in with a rather tough crowd down in the village,and they were busy making him spend it as fast as he could. That was thesituation."
"It was tough," commented Texas.
"The problem was to get him away. The girl hadn't a friend on earth tocall on, and she happened to think of me. She begged me to try to gethim away. And I'll tell you one thing, too, Texas. The cadets say she'sa flirt and all that. She may be. I haven't had a chance to find out,and I don't propose to; but a girl that thinks as much of her brother asshe does, and does as much for him, is not beyond respect by a goodsight. I was really quite taken with her last night."
"Beware the serpent," put in Texas, laughing. "She's pretty, I'm told.Go on."
"Well, I found him, after a couple of hours' search, in a tough dive,with a crowd of loafers hanging on to him. I got him out, but I had toknock down----"
"Hey!" cried Texas, springing up in excitement. "Had a fight, did ye?Why didn't you take me 'long?"
"I didn't know I was going to fight," said Mark, laughing.
"And did you lick 'em?"
"I only had to lick two, and then the rest ran."
Texas sighed resignedly, and Mark went on:
"I took him home, as I said, and left him with her. I got home just intime for reveille."
"Time to have me call you names and to lick me blue, for the same whichI have jest thanked yo," added Texas, his eyes suspiciously moist. "An'look a yere, ole man"--Texas slung his hand around to his hip pocket and"pulled" a beautiful silver-mounted revolver, loaded "to thebrim"--"look a yere, Mark. This yere gun, I ain't ever gone out 'thoutit fo' ten year. She's a----"
"You don't mean to say you've had it on up here!"
"Sho'," said Texas, "an' I come near usin' it on you, too. Mark, youdunno how a Texas man is with a gun. Mos' of 'em 'ud ruther sell theirwives. An' I'm a goin' to give you this to show that--er--that ther'ain't no hard feelin's, you know."
"And I'll take it," said Mark, getting hold of Texas' other hand at thesame time--"take it, if it's only to keep you from carrying it.
Andthere aren't any hard feelings."