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."