"No; heaven bless her!"
"Now, see here, Dick. If the girls are up here this evening, we won't take 'em to the hop. Instead, we'll sit out on the north porch at the hotel, with Mrs. Bentley near by. We'll have such a good old talk with the girls as we never could have at a hop."
"Everything in life would be easy, Greg, if you could explain it away," laughed Dick Prescott, but his tone was bitter.
"Well, as you can't take the girls to the hop, with any regard for their comfort, my plan is best of all, isn't it?"
"I—-I suppose so."
"So make the best of it, old ramrod. There's nothing so bad that it couldn't be a lot worse."
There was a long tour of work with the field battery guns that afternoon. For once Prescott found his mind entirely off his work. Nor could he rally his senses to his work. He got a low marking, indeed, in the instructor's record for that afternoon's work.
Then, hot, dusty and tired, this detachment of cadets came in from work.
In the visitors' seats, near headquarters, Dick and Greg espied
Mrs. Bentley and the girls. How lovely the two latter looked!
The instant that ranks were broken Laura. and Belle were on their feet, glancing eagerly in the direction of their cadets. Dick and Greg had to go over, doff their campaign hats and shake hands with Mrs. Bentley and the girls.