“I didn’t see anything!” snapped Vench, stepping away from him. “You let me go, Mercer. I—I want to get away from this place. You keep your mouth closed about it, too.”
He strode away, and Don was strongly tempted to recall him and make him tell or suffer the consequences. But he was undecided as to what course to follow and he watched the cadet disappear in the direction of Locke Hall. Once more Don looked at the hall so near at hand. There was no sound and he wondered if he should go in or not.
But he did not feel like going in. Vench had seen something in there that had made him turn white. And for another thing, his patrol time was up, a thing for which he was not altogether sorry. So with this new angle to puzzle over Don went back to report his patrol over with and sought his bed, to wonder and speculate until he fell asleep.
7. Jim Makes an Enemy
“The thing to do,” said Rhodes, “is to make Vench talk.”
It was a few days later, and the cadets were talking things over back of the boathouse. Rhodes, Jim, Terry and Don were sitting on an overturned boat discussing the thing in detail. Don had told them of the events which he had seen, and they were all agreed that Vench had seen something of importance in Clanhammer Hall.
But Vench would not talk. He blustered and he sneered, but he would not open his mouth. He began by saying that he had seen nothing, and ended by saying that he would not tell what he had seen. With that they had to be content, but they were far from being satisfied.
The period of preliminary training was now over and the boys in the fourth class were definitely assigned to divisions. Jim was the luckiest of all, for he was made lieutenant of the cavalry. Don remained in the infantry and Terry went with the artillery unit. Jim was elated with his good fortune and declared that he was going to work hard for a captaincy.
To Jim first fell the office of Officer of the Day. At some time in the year each cadet served in that capacity. His duties were not complicated but consisted of the job of making the rounds of the dormitories just before the lights were put out to see if everything was in order. Immediately after they were out he had to walk down all halls and see to it that no cadet was still up. Then he was to turn in his report and return to his own room.
It was at a quarter after nine when Jim reported to Major Tireson in the office and received his instructions and his report book. He found that he had been assigned to Clinton Hall and after receiving his instructions he went there. It was the practice at the school to put the Officer of the Day in another hall, so that no excuse would be made for personal friends if any infraction of the rules occurred. At the same time that Jim was inspecting Clinton Hall another cadet was inspecting Locke and another Inslee, in each case the Officer of the Day being from another hall.