tition the washstand was placed, with the bucket
of water, dipper, and washbowl, which must always be kept in a certain
order, with the washbowl inverted, and the soapdish on top of it.

Rifles were kept in the rack, barrels to the front, with dress hats on
the shelf, and a mirror in the middle of the mantelshelf.
Accoutrements and forage saps were hung on certain hooks, and clothing
and other things allowable and necessary were always to be kept in an
unvarying order on a set of open-faced shelves.

The broom and slop-bucket were to be deposited behind the door, the
chairs against the table, when not in use, and the table against the
wall opposite the fireplace.

At the foot of each bed the shoes were placed in a line, neatly dusted,
with toes to the front.

It was required that the room should be constantly kept in perfect
order, and Merriwell and Hodge were called on to take turns, week and
week about, at being orderly, and the name of the one responsible for
the appearance of the room was placed on the orderly board, hung to the
front of the alcove partition.

Back of the door was another board, on which each was required to post
his hours of recitation, and to account for his absence from the room
at any inspection.

In fact, a rigid effort was made at Fardale to imitate in every
possible way the regulations and requirements enforced at West Point,
and it was the boast that the school was, in almost every particular,
identical with our great Military Academy.

Of course, it was impossible to enforce the rules as rigidly as they
are at the Point, for the cadets at Fardale were, as a class, far
younger, and the disgrace of expulsion or failure in any way was not to
be compared with that attending unfortunates at the school where youths
are graduated into actual service as officers of the United States army.

Many of the cadets at Fardale had been sent there by parents who could
not handle them at home, and who had hoped the discipline they would
receive at a military school would serve to tone down their wildness.
Thus it will be seen that many harum-scarum fellows got into the
school, and that they could not readily be compelled to conform to the
rules and requirements.

For all that Frank Merriwell was a jolly, fun-loving fellow, he was
naturally orderly and neat, so that it seemed very little effort for
him to do his part in keeping the room in order.

On the other hand, Bartley Hodge was naturally car