"Has one of you fellows a pin to lend me ?" A pin being passed, Brayton sat down on a convenient step and tried to adjust the pin between the sole and the upper of the toe of his boot.
"I can force it in a little way," admitted Brayton, "but see how the pin wobbles.

It would fall out if I moved my foot hard.
Some of the rest of you try it." Other cadets repeated the experiment.
"I'll tell you, fellows," said Spurlock at last; "a fellow couldn't accidentally get a pin in that position, and hold it firm there.
But I know that, after repeated trying, and working to fit the pin, I could finally get matters so that I could quickly fit a pin that would hold in place and be effective." "Of course," nodded Lewis.

"It can be done, but only by design." "And that was the very way that Prescott's horse was enraged, so that old ramrod got his awful tumble!" exclaimed Greg bitterly.
"You believe, now, that the whole thing was a dirty, deliberate trick, don't you ?" asked Spurlock of Prescott.
"I am pretty sure it must have been," nodded Dick.
"Then," declared Brayton, "the whole thing is something for you second classmen to settle among yourselves.

In the first place, it is your own class affair.

In the next place, we men of the first class are practically out of the Military Academy already.
It will do the first class no good to take any action, because we shall not be here to carry out any decree." "You can advise us, though," suggested Holmes.
"And we'll do so gladly," nodded Brayton.