Robert groaned in extreme disgust. The matter was unutterably distasteful to him, but he felt helpless. He wished that the examination had been stolen and he had known nothing about it. But there was no help for him; he knew he had to go, so with an impatient angry exclamation he quickly went to the hat room on his right, and a moment later joined Grice. Without further talk the two then ran across the grounds and soon were in the Academic building. Here all was dark, but Grice had keys with him and led the way.
"They'll be heah soon, suh," whispered Grice; "now ef you go behind that table, an' kneel down, you'll be near the zamnation papers; I'll go over heah, an' after they get to the desk I'll turn on the 'lectric light."
Robert took the old man's suggestion and crouched down by a long table. The moonlight streaming through the window threw weird, ghostlike shadows over the floor and gave Robert a creepy sensation. He felt intensely annoyed and irritated to be there, but realized it was a duty he could not avoid. At the other end of the room was old Grice; outside was heard the rumble of carriages coming from the Armory; the bell in the yard struck six, and was followed like an echo by the bells from the ships and tugs at anchor in the harbor. A marine sentinel not far away called out in tones long drawn out the words, "Post number three—and all's well."
And then came a slight noise. Some one was surely fumbling at the door. In the stillness Robert could hear his heart beat. It seemed as though seconds were prolonged into hours. Soon Robert was conscious that the door leading out into the hall was being slowly opened and softly closed. And then in the dim moonlight, he saw two dark figures like phantoms, making no sound, approach the desk where he knew the examination questions of the coming week were kept. With painful intensity of mind, and with a suffocating feeling, he saw them pause before the desk and heard a faint jingle, as of keys on a ring.
Then the room was suddenly flooded with light.
Robert never afterward liked to think, far less to speak, of the feelings he experienced in the next few seconds. They brought him more agony, more desolate grief, than he had ever felt before, or, it is hoped, will ever come again to him.
HE SAW TWO DARK FIGURES
With startled, frightened glances the two jumped up. One was in civilian garb, a brown slouch hat was down over his forehead, a heavy dark moustache and beard covered his face; he wore a tightly buttoned up coat. The other was in midshipman uniform, and five golden stripes adorned each sleeve.
"Oh!" gasped Robert, in anguish; "oh, Stonewell." Robert himself, unseen under the table, was almost overcome with grief and dismay. The bearded man jumped as if he had been shot, and then his companion exclaimed in a low voice: "Run, Harry, we're caught."