lves on record. Dick thereupon understood that they had
acted upon their best information and convictions, and he honored
them for being able to put friendship aside in the interests of
tradition and corps honor.

The silence had lasted five days when, one evening, a class meeting
was called. Though Cadet Prescott was class president, he did
not attend, for he knew very well that he was not wanted.

Greg's sense of delicacy told the latter that it was not for him
to attend the meeting, either.

The vice president of the class was called to the chair. Then
Durville and others made heated addresses in which they declared
that Prescott could no longer consistently retain the class presidency.

A motion was made that Prescott be called upon to resign. It was
seconded by several first classmen.

Then Anstey, the Virginian, claimed the floor in behalf of the
humiliated class president. The blood of Virginian orators flowed
in Anstey's veins, nor did he discredit his ancestry.

In an impassioned yet deliberate and logical speech Anstey declared
that great injustice had been done Cadet Richard Prescott, and by
the members of his own class.

"Every man within reach of my voice knows Mr. Prescott's record,"
declared the Virginian warmly. "When we were plebes, who stood
up most staunchly as our class champion? Why, suh, why did we
choose Mr. Prescott as our class president? Was it not because
we believed, with all our hearts, that in Richard Prescott lay
all the best elements of noble, upright and manly cadethood?
Do you remember, suh, and fellow classmen, the wild enthusiasm
that prevailed when we, by our suffrages, had declared Mr. Prescott
to be our ideal of the man to lead the class in all the paths
of honor?"

Anstey paused for an instant. Then, lowering his voice somewhat,
he continued, with scathing irony:

"_And now you give this best man of our class the silence, and
seek to remove him from the presidency of the class_!"

"It's a shame!" roared another cadet.

There were cheers.

"It is a shame," cried Anstey in a ringing voice. "And now you
seek to deepen the shame by further degrading Prescott, who has
always been the champion of our class. Mr. President, I move
that we lay the motion on the table indefinitely. As soon as
that has been done I shall make another motion, that we remove
the silence from the grand, good fellow who has had it put upon
him."

There were others, however, with nea