True Blue: Stirring Stories of Naval Academy Life — page 21: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

TRUE BLUE. Now he suddenly bethought himself, unrolled it, im- spected it anew, and breathed thoughttully : “I think [ understand!" Clif was in quarters tent because he was in command of the cadet camp. Lieutenant Disston had left late the evening previous, and Clif had found since then in assuming an honorable dignity he had also shouldered several difficult, large-sized responsibilities. His staunch and loyal adherents were proud as Lucifer of his promotion, yet a haitl-fellow-well-met kind ot a spirit was abroad. It took Clif an hour before breakfast to break in the unruly ones and the mischievous. It took him another hour to so apportion out the duties of the day that the main spirits of folly and disorder— Nanny, isolated on guard duty, and Pun'kin, set at copy- ing dull routine papers—began to grumble as at a grim joke, and threatened: to conspire in a second runpowder plot. Clif had incidentally been the rounds, and returning to the quarters had found the folded note on his table. “Faraday of the cadets,” it ran, “will find out something that can’t be told anywhere else, of vast importance to himself and his friends, if he will be at Giant Glen at tour sharp this afternoon.” Then followed the emphasized, italicized line: “Come alone.” “The ‘vast’ gives it away!” pronounced Clif, following the line of new suggestiveness. “Chawncey De Lawncey dictated that note.” “Vast.” “shawking,” “remarkable,” were favorite ad- jectives with Chawncey, and with no one else in the camp. “Tt is simple as A B C,” ruminated Clif. “The ‘smile on the other side of my mouth’ act is billed for Giant Glen, four p. m., to-day. Very well—I shall go.” As if in confirmation of Clif’s surmise, at that moment the sounds of familiar voices reached him—low, cautious, but distinct. Chawncey De Lawncey and McFatrick were in secret consultation just outside the door, never dreaming that what they said might penetrate to the ears of its inmate. It would not have done so, had not Clif’s senses been "pa * _- oe Aa d . 4 ~ oe } f gPioe ra a sw ~, comicbooks.com | | ne