Lieutenant Wilson walked in front of the ranks, scanning each midshipman narrowly. Pausing in front of Creelton he said: “Clothes not properly brushed. Report him.” In front of Ralph he said: “Hair not properly cut. Shoes not polished. Report him.” Their names were taken and were read out the next morning before the battalion on the “Delinquency Conduct Report.”
Ralph was given three demerits for “shoes not polished.” Creelton received three for his offense. “Thunder,” grumbled Ralph. “If I receive demerits like this I’ll never get a Saturday liberty. Fourth classmen are only allowed twenty-one demerits a month.”
“Oh, we’ll be more careful,” returned Creelton lightly.
It must be admitted that in the first days Ralph did miserably in his recitations. His mark in algebra was barely satisfactory, and in rhetoric he was most unfortunately sent to the blackboard to write on a subject in the last part of the prescribed lesson, something he had not even read over. In French all of the midshipmen of his section except himself had previously had some instruction, as it happened, and poor Ralph by comparison was at a great disadvantage. The French instructor had him repeat after him some simple French words and sounds and was indignant at his inability to do so.
“Ah, Meestair Osborng, eet ees so eazie. Ven feerst I learn ze Eenglis, vairy feerst day, I haf eegsatlie ze vairy zame prononciacion zat I haf now. I feair zat you do not haf ze eentelejence; I nevair haf no trouble in prononcing ze Eenglis, not from ze feerst. Vat you must do, Meestair Osborng, ees to remember how eazie eet vas for me to pronounce ze Eenglis; you hear how correct I am? Vell, you must try to do ze zaime vis ze Français.”
Poor Ralph stood mute. There was nothing he could say under the circumstances.
There were three instruction periods a day; each was of two hours’ duration, one of which was spent in the section room reciting; the other the midshipman spent as a study hour in his own room.
Ralph was much impressed by the number of inspections that were made. Each hour in the day an inspecting officer, one of the midshipmen on special duty, entered his room to see that he was there; or if not there, to inquire into the cause of his absence. Ralph felt, as never before, he was under the iron hand of discipline, where he was under constant surveillance and had to account for himself and his actions for every moment of the day. Studies finished at four o’clock and then drill commenced and lasted until half-past five and sometimes later. At the end of the drill Ralph was always tired, but a rest, a bath, and supper proved very refreshing, and during the evenings he always studied with great determination.
The days rapidly passed and were full of interest to Ralph, but he was in a much distressed state of mind about his studies. He continued to do poorly in rhetoric, and for his French his instructor exhibited impatient contempt. In mathematics Ralph was satisfactory, but not much more so. He felt he could not spare much time to prepare his lessons in this subject because he was so low in the other two. He felt very grateful to his roommate for the earnest efforts the latter took to help him in French. Creelton gave up much of his leisure time for this purpose, and but for him Ralph would have been badly unsatisfactory the first month in that subject. As it was, his first month’s mark in French was but 2.53, only three-hundredths above satisfactory. In rhetoric Ralph had 2.68, and in algebra 2.73, for the first month’s average.
When these marks were published Ralph was a very crestfallen young man. In his secret thoughts he had hoped to stand number one in his class; he always had done so in Toledo, but his rank for the first month was far down. It was Ralph’s nature to be thorough in what he did, and as a result he never was able to get completely over the lesson before starting for recitation; and he was remarkably unfortunate in frequently being called upon to recite on a part of the lesson he had not studied.