Jove, what a born trooper everyone of these young fellows seems to be!" At last the drill was finished.

In detachments, the young cadet troopers returned to the road between the administration building and the academic building.
Here each detachment dismounted, surrendered its horses to a waiting detail of enlisted cavalrymen, and then marched in to barracks.
As soon as the young men had removed their riding leggings, and the dust from their uniforms, most of them descended into the quadrangle.
Haynes reached his room just an instant behind Pierson.
"See here, Pierson, you cad, what did you-----" "Oh, shut up!" replied Pierson, with a weary sigh.
"Don't you speak to me like that, sir!" cried Haynes warningly, as he stepped over to where his roommate was busy with a clothes brush.
"I don't want to talk with you at all," retorted Pierson.
"You'll talk to me a lot, or you'll answer with your fists!" "Fight with you?
Bah!" growled the other man in disgust.
"You cad, you deliberately li-----" But Pierson, having put his brush away, turned on his heel and left the room.
Haynes paused for an instant, his face white with a new dread.
A cadet stands low, indeed, when another cadet will not resent being called a liar by him.
"This has kicked up an awful row against me, I guess," muttered the turnback, as he hastily cleaned himself.

"I must get down into the quadrangle, mix with the fellows and set myself straight." Full of this purpose, for he was not lacking in a certain quality of nerve and courage, Haynes went down to the quadrangle.
"I am afraid a good deal of feeling was aroused this afternoon, Furlong," began the turnback.
Then he gulped, clenched his fists and lost color, for Cadet Furlong, without a word, had turned on his heel and walked away.
"Griffin, what does Fur-----" Cadet Griffin, too, turned on his heel, passing on.
"Dobbs-----" It was Dobbs's turn to show his back and stroll away.
"What the deuce has got into them all ?" wondered Haynes, though his heart sank, for, much as he wanted to ignore the meaning, it was becoming plain to him.
Another cadet was passing along the walk.

To him Haynes turned with an appealing face.
"Lewis," began the turnback, "I am afraid I shall have to ask you-----" Whatever it was, Lewis did not wait to hear.

He looked at Haynes as though he saw nothing there, and joined a little group of cadets beyond.
"Confound these puppies!" growled Haynes to himself.