erect and
gazing coldly at the plebe.

"Mr. Butler demands a fight with you, mister, and as early as
possible."

There was no mention of possible apology. Evidently Mr. Butler
considered the affair one that could be remedied only by blows.

"Mr. Haldane, I don't wish to ask much delay. But the two friends
whom I shall want to represent me are on guard duty at present.
May I ask that you see Mr. Prescott?"

"Very good," acknowledged Mr. Haldane, and left the tent.

"Now, I'm in for it," muttered Greg ruefully. "And the queer part of
it is that I have to fight for a thing that I never did. But I'm not
going to make any denials now, unless Dick advises it."

It was evening, after the cadets had returned from supper, when
Mr. Haldane appeared and asked for Prescott. The two stepped
outside together, walking a little distance away to make the
necessary arrangements.

Dick was already in possession of the few facts that Greg had to
tell him. Dick had advised against denying the prank, for the
present, anyway.

"It would look like playing the baby act," Prescott had explained to
his chum, and in this view Anstey agreed.

Mr. Haldane and Dick came to a speedy understanding. The fight
was to take place the next morning, at the first peep of daylight.

Promptly, however, the affair became noised about through camp.

Butler was a considerably larger man than Greg, and looked in
every way more powerful. Cadet Corporal Atwater, who was
president of the yearling class, went to see Mr. Butler promptly.

"At least, Butler, if you insist that the fight must be fought, let the
scrap committee choose one of our class who is down nearer to the
plebe's size," urged Mr. Atwater.

"Under ordinary conditions, old fellow, I'd be tickled to do it,"
replied Mr. Butler. "But, in a trick of this kind, I couldn't get any
satisfaction out of anyone else hammering the b.j. beast who put
up such a tumble for me."

"I'm thinking the scrap committee may interfere with your plans,"
rejoined Atwater, shaking his head. "We don't want fighting to
degenerate into the appearance of bullying oppression of beasts."

"I'll have to abide by the decision of the scrap committee, of
course," admitted Butler. "But I hope the fellows won't interfere."

Cadet Corporal Atwater promptly called the scrap committee
together. Many newspaper writers, through ignorance, have
condemned the existence of a scrap committee at West Point,
claiming that it fome