"Whisper, Dave! I am," Dick admitted.
"Well, there is nothing like having some one that you can confess everything to, is there?" muttered Darrin.
"I guess it has done us both good to own up," laughed Dick. "But see here!"
"Well?"
"I simply won't allow myself to be scared."
"Then you're as keen for West Point as I am for Annapolis," retorted
Darrin suspiciously.
"Dave, old fellow, you know what the Gridley spirit demands? You know how we and the rest of the fellows managed to win eternally in athletics? Just because we made up our minds that defeat was impossible."
"That's fine," laughed Dave. "But we'll probably have to buck up against more fellows than we do on an athletic field. And probably dozens of them go in with the same determination."
"I don't care," declared Prescott. "I want that West Point cadetship. I've wanted it for years, and now the chance has come. I'm going to have it!"
Dave Darrin gradually succeeded in working himself into the same frame of mind. Yet there were many moments when he was tortured by doubts as to whether the "Gridley spirit" would serve in bucking a long line of young fellows all equally anxious to get to Annapolis.