"Don't spring such
strange oaths on us, fellow. Let him."
"Now, Jordan, start moving, and keep it up!" Then the trio, after
watching the rascal out of sight, went inside, and Douglass, at
the first opportunity, warned Dick of what had happened outside in
the summer darkness.
CHAPTER XXIV
CONCLUSION
The graduating exercises at West Point had finished. The Secretary
of War, in the presence of the superintendent, the commandant
and the members of the faculty of the United States Military Academy,
flanked by the Board of Visitors, had handed his diploma to the
last man, the cadet at the foot of the graduating class, Mr. Atterbury.
Dick had graduated as number thirty-four; Greg as thirty-seven.
Either might have chosen the cavalry, or possibly the artillery
arm of the service, but both had already expressed a preference
for the infantry arm.
"The 'doughboys' (infantry) are always the fellows who see the
hardest of the fighting in war time," was the way Dick put it.
Now the superintendent made a few closing remarks. These finished,
the band blared out with a triumphal march, to the first notes
of which the first class rose and marched out, amid cheers and
hand-clapping, to be followed by the other classes.
Five minutes later the young graduates were laying aside the gray
uniform for good and all. Cit. clothes now went on, and each
grad.
Pages:
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193