Dick Prescotts Third Year at West Point | Page 5

her side.
"Mr. Prescott! Mr. Holmes!" called Susie. "Here is an old comrade
whom you both may be surprised to meet!"
Dick and Greg turned, and indeed, they were astonished. For the latest
arrival was Bert Dodge!
"Howdy, fellows!" called Dodge carelessly, though inwardly he was
quaking with alarm. How would these two decent cadets treat the
fellow who had been kicked out of West Point for dishonorable acts?
Prescott bowed, but did not speak. Greg's line of conduct was identical
with his chum's.
Bert turned white, at first, with mortification. Then a red flush set in at
his neck, extending to his face and temples. But Dodge possessed
"brass," if not honor, so he decided to face it out.
Turning to a young woman standing nearby, Bert spoke to her, and they
laughed and chatted. From her, Bert passed through the room nodding
here, chatting there.
Dick and Greg, after the first look of amazement, followed by their
cold bows, had turned to the old friends with whom they had been
chatting.
In the course of a few minutes Bert Dodge had got along close to the
two cadets.
"How are you, Prescott?" called Bert. "How is good old West Point?
And you, Holmes---how are you?"
Dodge held out his hand with all the effrontery of which he was
capable.
Turning, Dick gave the sneak only a cold, steady look.

CHAPTER II
BRASS MEETS GOLD
Neither Dick nor Greg took the trouble to answer the greeting. Dodge's
outstretched hand both cadets affected not to see.
As it happened, few of the others present noted this brief little scene.
A natural break in the crowd left Dick alone for the moment, with
Holmes standing not far away and looking coldly in the direction of the
ex-cadet, yet not appearing to see him at all.
"Well, what's the matter?" hissed Dodge in an undertone that the other
guests did not hear. "Are you going to make a fool of yourself,
Prescott?"
"You'd better execute a right-about face and make double-time away
from here," replied Dick in a freezing undertone. "Otherwise I don't
believe the guests will fail to observe how West Pointers regard a
convicted sneak."
"Are you going to open your mouth and do a lot of talking?" whispered
Dodge menacingly. "Or are you going to keep your tongue behind your
teeth?"
"I can't undertake to lower myself by making any promises to a sneak,"
retorted Dick, still in an undertone. "But I warn you that any further
conversation I have with you will be carried on in ordinary
conversational tones. And if you undertake to remain, we shall be
obliged to inform our hostess that we regret our inability to stay any
longer."
Conscious that others were probably looking their way, Bert Dodge
tried to make his face as expressionless as possible.
"See here, Prescott-----" the fellow began coaxingly.

But Dick turned and walked away. Greg, very stiff and straight, moved
at his friend's side.
Afraid of what others might notice, Dodge passed on. He presently
reached a door leading into the hallway. Here he remained briefly.
Then, when he believed himself to be unobserved, he slipped out, took
his hat and got away.
A few minutes later, as Dick and Greg passed the door of a little
reception room, Susie Sharp called them in quietly. They found her
there alone.
"Oh, Mr. Prescott! Mr. Holmes! Have I made any mistake, I thought it
would be a pleasant surprise to you both if I had Mr. Dodge here to
meet you, as you all three were classmates at West Point. But I should
have remembered that in the old High School days you two and Mr.
Dodge were not the best of friends."
There was an agitated catch in Susie's voice. Their young hostess was
worried by the thought that she had invited jarring elements to meet.
"Why, to be candid, I don't believe Dodge ever admired either Greg or
myself very much, replied Cadet Prescott evenly.
"But did I make a fearful mistake?" pleaded Susie.
"One cannot make a mistake who aims at the pleasure of others," Dick
answered smilingly.
Somewhat reassured, Susie asked her cadet guests to return with her to
the drawing rooms. There they joined a little group, and were chatting
when a girl's voice reached them from a few feet away. The girl who
was speaking did not realize that her tones carried as far as the ears of
Dick and Greg as she explained to two other young women:
"Mr. Dodge said he resigned from the Military Academy because he
could not stand the crowd there."

"I guess that's true," muttered Dick inwardly. "The crowd couldn't
stand Dodge, either."
But Sam Foss made the conversation general by calling:
"How about that, Dick! I always thought West