“But you are no longer a cadet,” he replied. “You have been dismissed. You told me so yourself. Were you dismissed honorably, or dishonorably?”
“Dishonorably,” I answered. I saw that this was not the answer he had expected. He looked both mortified and puzzled, and glanced at Heinze and Aiken as though he wished that they were out of hearing.
“What was it for—what was the cause of your dismissal?” he asked. He now spoke in a much lower tone. “Of course, you need not tell me,” he added.
“I was dismissed for being outside the limits of the Academy without a permit,” I answered. “I went to a dance at a hotel in uniform.”
“Was that all?” he demanded, smiling.
“That was the crime for which I was dismissed,” I said, sulkily. The General looked at me for some moments, evidently in much doubt. I believe he suspected that I had led him on to asking me the reason for my dismissal, in order that I could make so satisfactory an answer. As he sat regarding me, Heinze bent over him and said something to him in a low tone, to which he replied: “But that would prove nothing. He might have a most accurate knowledge of military affairs, and still be an agent of the Government.”
“That is so, General,” Heinze answered, aloud. “But it would prove whether he is telling the truth about his having been at West Point. If his story is false in part, it is probably entirely false, as I believe it to be.”
“Captain Heinze suggests that I allow him to test you with some questions,” the General said, doubtfully; “questions on military matters. Would you answer them?”
I did not want them to see how eager I was to be put to such a test, so I tried to look as though I were frightened, and said, cautiously, “I will try, sir.” I saw that the proposition to put me through an examination had filled Aiken with the greatest concern. To reassure him, I winked covertly.
Captain Heinze glanced about him as though looking for a text.