"Laura, Mrs. Bentley and Belle Meade are in New York, and will
reach here this afternoon. Laura says they have learned that
there is a hop on to-night, and they are bringing their prettiest
frocks."

"Whew! That is a facer!" breathed Greg in perplexity.

"Of course I can't take Laura to the hop."

"You can, if you have the nerve," insisted Greg.

"And I have the nerve!" retorted Dick defiantly. "But how about
Laura? She would discover, within a few minutes, that I am on
strained terms with the other fellows. That would do worse than
spoil her evening."

"Well," demanded Greg thoughtfully, "why do you need to take her
to the hop?"

"Because she says that's what the girls have come for."

"Bother! Do you suppose it's you, or the hop, that Laura comes for?"

But Dick, instead of being cheered by this view, turned very white.

"I've got to tell her," he muttered hoarsely, "that I'm in eclipse.
That the fellows have voted that I am not a fit associate for
gentlemen."

"And I'll tell her a heap more," retorted Cadet Holmes. "Dick,