Dick resolved that if he could bring it about his company would gain some honors.
"Your command will be part of the fighting force in the sham battle," went on the major, "and it will depend on yourself how they behave. The rules of the sham battle will be announced later, but I want you to get ready for your shoulder straps," and he smiled at our hero.
"Well," thought Dick, as he left the major a little later, "I got to a captain's stripes before I knew it—but it won't last very long," he added, somewhat regretfully.
Dick thought ruefully that, even with this temporary promotion, he was hardly fulfilling the conditions of his mother's will. He was certainly not popular with the great body of students, and he began worrying lest he be sent to his Uncle Ezra. As he walked back to his room, he recalled a letter he had received from his father that day, stating that Mr. Hamilton would remain abroad longer than he had originally planned.
"It doesn't look as if I was going to make good," thought Dick, gloomily, as he entered his apartment.
"What was it?" asked his chums eagerly, as he came back.
"A sham battle!" cried Paul. "That's the stuff! Hold me down, somebody, or I'll stand on my head, and if I do I'll split my new uniform. Hold me, somebody, do."
"I will," volunteered 'Gene Graham, and he obligingly tilted Paul up, so that he turned a neat summersault over his bed.
"I guess that'll hold you for a few moments," observed Stanley Booker. "Now tell us more about it, Dick."