So Dave and Dan were dressed in a trice, it seemed, though with
the care that a cadet or midshipman must always display in the
set of his immaculate uniform.
Dick seized Dave by the elbow, marching him forth, while Greg
piloted Dan.
"Great game for you-----" began Dan, as soon as the quartette
of old chums were outside.
"Send all that kind of talk by the baggage train," ordered Cadet
Holmes. "What we want to talk about are the dear old personal
affairs."
"You youngsters are through here, after not so many more days,
aren't you?" began Darrin.
"Yes; and so are you, down at Annapolis," replied Prescott.
"Not quite," rejoined Dave gravely. "There's this difference.
In a few days you'll be through here, and will proceed to your
homes. Then, within the next few days, you'll both receive your
commissions as second lieutenants in the Army, and will be ordered
to your regiments. You're officers for all time to come! We
of the first class at Annapolis will receive our diplomas, surely.
But what beyond that? While you become officers at once, we
have to start on the two years' cruise, and we're still midshipmen.
After two years at sea, we have to come back and take another
exam. If we pass that one, then we'll be ensigns---officers at
last. But if we fail in the exam, two years hence then we're
dropped from the service. After we've gone through our whole
course at Annapolis we still have to guess, for two years, whether
we're going to be reckoned smart enough to be entitled to serve
the United States as officers.
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