Cadets are famous as "ladies' men," and during the gay holiday season, which was now on, West Point was crowded with girls, so that every cadet had his opportunities for gallantry, excepting, of course, the plebes, who do not go into "society."
As the hour approached, the big gymnasium hall took on a lively aspect. It ceased to be a gymnasium for a while; rings and trapezes were hung up, and rows of seats occupied the floor, instead of parallel bars. The big West Point Band was seated in front, and the rest of the room was devoted7 to pretty girls and their cadet escorts. The Fourth of July celebration was a cadet affair;[Pg 37] the "president" occupied the small platform in solitary8 grandeur9; the commandant and his staff were present, but they sat among the audience.
The plebes were there, too, on sufferance. The gallery was given up to their use, and they filled it entirely10, and gazed on the scene below. The room with its decorations of flags and bunting, making them feel very patriotic11 indeed.
The plebes we are interested in were there with the rest. They sat off in one corner where they could whisper and keep their secret all to themselves. If any one had overheard them, which they took good care should not happen, he would have learned, to his amazement12, that the night's plot was all perfected. He might have learned that "George" had done his duty with fully13 as much delight as any of the Seven.
He might have learned that having been taken into the secret "George" had not only gotten the powder, but had volunteered to do the work himself, to save the seven "young gintlemen" all danger of discovery. He might have learned that down in a secluded14 woody hollow just east of camp lay three big siege guns in "Battery Knox," loaded and stuffed to the muzzle15 with powder and paper and rags.
There was lots more he might have learned. He might have learned that at the present moment the jolly, red-[Pg 38]faced butler was lurking16 about the neighborhood of the Battery, anxiously surveying his watch at intervals17 of every minute or so, waiting for half-past nine, the precise minute when he was to touch off the fuse and run. Also that Grace was down with her father, in the audience, occasionally stealing a sly glance at Mark; also that Mark was bearing a good deal of merry banter18 upon his conquest; also that the Seven, having spent two hours or so with Grace, were vowing19 her the most original, daring and altogether charming girl that ever was anywhere, a most undoubtable and valuable ally of Mark and his anti-hazing society.
The seven were about as nervous and anxious as seven plebes could possibly be. What if "George" should be found out? What if the guns should not go off? It was such a colossal20 and magnificent plot that the mere21 thought of its failure was enough to make one's hair turn gray. What if the thing should begin too late, the guns go off before Bull started? Or on the other hand, suppose his speech was short and he shouldn't be interrupted!
Mark had calculated the time carefully. He had allowed five minutes for the "prelude22." But suppose it should be longer, or shorter, or should begin after eight-thirty? As the hour drew near Mark and his friends sat[Pg 39] and wriggled23 in their seats and glanced at their watches and——
"It's half past now," growled24 Texas. "Durnation, it's a minute after that! Ain't they ever—ah!"
The bandmaster arose from his seat, and raised his baton25 in the air. It was the "Star Spangled Banner," and the sound shook the flags that graced the walls and shook the hearts of the audience, too, and made them rise as one man.
"'Tis the Star Spangled Banner
And long may it wave.
O'er the land of the free
And the home of the brave!"
The notes died out and the Seven remembered that for a moment they had forgotten to be nervous.
The grave young chaplain arose, and raised his hands. His prayer was earnest, and his voice trembled as he spoke26 of the flag and its country. But alas27! our friends had no eye or ear for beauty. It was time—time! Would he take more than the calculated five minutes? It was time for him to stop! Plague take it—six!—six and a half!—ah! There he had said "Finally," no, he was going off on another tack28! Gee29 whiz—eight—thank heavens!
The sigh of relief that came at last from the Seven almost shook the roof.
[Pg 40]Then came "music;" that had been problematical. Music might mean anything from two minutes to twenty. But there is no need of torturing the reader, even if the seven were tortured correspondingly. The piece took some ten minutes of agony, and then Cadet Captain Fischer stepped forward on the platform.
Fischer was an immensely popular man with his class, and they applauded him to the echo. He looked handsome, too, in his chevrons30 and sash. He read "The Declaration of Independence," and he read it in the voice that had made him first captain, a voice that was clear and deep and ringing, a voice that sounded in the open above the thunder and rattle31 of artillery32 drill, and that sounded still better in the hall, as it spoke the words that had made a continent tremble.
There was nothing in that to worry the Seven—they had gotten a copy of the "Declaration" and practiced it by the watch. Fischer finished on schedule time; but then came the tussle33. And some poor plebes up in the gallery nearly had apoplexy from waiting.
There were fifteen minutes left. That allowed say ten minutes for the music, and five for Bull to get warmed up to his work.
The bandmaster arose; he played "Hail Columbia." The audience, wild with fervor34, stormed and shouted; he played it again. The minutes fled by. The Seven gasped35![Pg 41] The audience kept up their applause, and the music struck up "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," while the time fled yet faster still.
Great heavens! and still the fools—the fools!—in that crowd clapped and waved handkerchiefs—would they never stop, would they never let Bull step forward? He was dying to. The Seven could see him in his seat, half-risen, waiting doubtless as impatiently as they. And still the people wouldn't behave themselves.
Bull rose up. Ah, at last. There was a cessation in the infernal racket! The amount of torture the plebes suffered during those brief moments cannot be told. The gun might go off at any moment now! It might go off before Bull started, might ruin the whole thing. Plague take him, what made him walk so slowly? Would he never get up on that platform? And the foolish audience, why didn't they stop and let him start? What did they want to be applauding that ugly old yearling for? And why didn't he stop that fool bowing and scraping? Some people are such chumps!
The applause stopped at last. An expectant hush36 fell upon the crowd. Bull Harris stood pompous37 and self-conscious, gazing upon the scene for a moment, and then began. The Seven gasped: "We've got him."
"Ladies and Gentlemen: We have assembled upon this memorable38 occasion to celebrate (Now let that gun go,[Pg 42] b'gee!) one of the most glorious achievements (You bet we have!) that ever was attained39 by man. We have assembled (What on earth's the matter with "George?") to applaud with the voices of the present, words that echo from memories of the past, (Can his watch have stopped?) words that will ring through the halls of time (Plague take the luck!) as long as time shall be counted in the heart throbs40 of living men. The deeds of our ancestors live in the——"
At last!
With a boom and a rattle and a crash gun No. 1 of Battery Knox thundered out upon the still night air. Bull stopped in amazement; the audience sprang up in alarm; the seven shrieked—silently—for joy. And then——
Boom!
It was No. 2. The room rang with shouts of confusion; cadets stared and ran hastily about; women cried out in alarm.
Boom!
It was No. 3, and at the same instant from a hundred throats came the dreaded41 cry of "Fire!"
Three guns is West Point's fire alarm. Quick as a flash, before the audience had time to think of flight, of panic, the commandant of cadets sprang to the platform.
[Pg 43]"Company fire battalion form on the street outside, immediately!"
At the same moment, in response to a command from outside, a drum orderly sounded the "long roll." The band struck up a quick march, and tramp, tramp, tramp, the grave cadets marched out of the hall, forgetting friends and entertainment, forgetting everything in the one important thought—discipline—obedience to orders.
And in half a minute more the gymnasium was empty; the street was crowded with the anxious audience, and the battalion was tramping steadily42 across the parade ground in a vain search for an imaginary fire.
In that battalion were seven wildly delighted plebes. They hugged themselves for joy; they gasped, choked with repressed laughter. They punched each other in the ribs43 and whispered:
"Didn't we do it? Oh, didn't we do it? Three cheers for the Banded Seven—B. B. J.!"
The fire, of course was not found. Near camp the corps44 halted, to wait for the person who fired the alarm guns to come out and lead the way. He didn't do it, and gradually it began to dawn upon the commandant and the assembled "tacs" that the whole thing was a hoax45. "And then indeed the Philistines46 were wroth."
Captain Quincey, the commandant, stepped to the head of the line, determined47 to investigate the matter on the[Pg 44] spot. Roll call disclosed the fact that no one was absent; that made him think the guns were fired with a time fuse, and so he tried another way to find out the culprits.
It is not good form in West Point to lie; cadets who do soon find themselves cut by the class. So Captain Quincey, knowing that, gave this order:
"Parties who fired those guns will remain standing48. Those who are innocent will advance one step. March!"
Now that any plebe had dared to do such a bold trick had never occurred to the cadets. They were convinced that some of their number were guilty, and they protected them in the usual way. Not a man moved. They refused to obey the order.
The commandant was furious, of course. He tried it the other way, ordered the guilty ones to advance. Whereupon the whole corps stepped forward to share the blame. To punish them he tried the dodge49 of keeping them standing at attention for half an hour or so, but several dropped from well-feigned exhaustion50, which stopped that scheme.
He ordered one of the "tacs" to march them around the parade ground. The cadets, who were out for fun by this time and angry besides, guyed the unpopular "tac" with a vengeance51. It was too dark for him to distinguish any one, and so every one obeyed orders wrong, pro[Pg 45]ducing chaos52 and finally compelling him to summon the commandant to preserve order.
With the commandant watching, those weary cadets marched for an hour more. Then he asked some questions and again got no answers. And finally in disgust he sent them off to their tents, most of them still puzzled as to who did it, some of them wild with joy.
These last were the Banded Seven—"B. B. J."
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1
splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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2
battalion
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| n.营；部队；大队(的人) | |
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3
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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4
sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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5
mischievous
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| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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6
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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7
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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8
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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9
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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10
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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11
patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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12
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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13
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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14
secluded
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| adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词) | |
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15
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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16
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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17
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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18
banter
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| n.嘲弄，戏谑；v.取笑，逗弄，开玩笑 | |
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19
vowing
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式） | |
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20
colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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21
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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22
prelude
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| n.序言，前兆，序曲 | |
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23
wriggled
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等） | |
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24
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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25
baton
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| n.乐队用指挥杖 | |
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26
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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27
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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28
tack
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| n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝 | |
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29
gee
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| n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转 | |
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30
chevrons
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| n.（警察或士兵所佩带以示衔级的）∧形或∨形标志( chevron的名词复数 ) | |
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31
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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32
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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33
tussle
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| n.&v.扭打，搏斗，争辩 | |
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34
fervor
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| n.热诚；热心；炽热 | |
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35
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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36
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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37
pompous
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的 | |
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38
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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39
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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40
throbs
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| 体内的跳动( throb的名词复数 ) | |
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41
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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42
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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43
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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44
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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45
hoax
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| v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧 | |
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46
philistines
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| n.市侩，庸人( philistine的名词复数 )；庸夫俗子 | |
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47
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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48
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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49
dodge
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| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 | |
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50
exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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51
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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52
chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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