"Now let's go out and hunt up some o' them old yearlin's."
And that was the beginning of Texas' reformation.
"An invitation! Why, surely, man, you must be mistaken. They never invite plebes to the hops."
The speaker was Mark. He was sitting with a book in his hand beneath the shade trees at one side of the summer encampment of the corps. At that moment he was looking up from the book at Chauncey, who had just approached him.
"An invitation!" he repeated. "I can hardly believe it possible."
"Perhaps if you see it you'll believe it more readily, ye know," remarked the dudish cadet.
"Seeing's believing, they say," laughed Mark, taking it and glancing at the address. "Mr. Chauncey Van Renssalaer Mount-Bonsall," he read. "Yes, I guess that's for you. I don't believe there are two persons on earth with that name, or with one so altogether aristocratic and impressive."
Mark was glancing at the other out of the corner of his eye with a roguish look as he said that. He saw a rather pleased expression sweep over his face and knew that he had touched his friend Chauncey in his weak spot. Mark had been removing the contents of the envelope as he spoke. He found a square card, handsomely engraved; and he read it with a look of amazement upon his face--amazement which the other noticed with evident pleasure.
The card had the words "Camp McPherson" over the top, and below in a monogram, "U. S. C. C."--United States Cadet Corps. At one side was a view of the camp, the Highlands of the Hudson in the distance. And in the center were the words that had caused all the surprise:
"The pleasure of your company is requested at the hops to be given by the Corp of Cadets every Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening during the encampment.
That was all, except for the list of "hop managers" below. But such as it was, it was enough to cause Mark no end of perplexity.
"A plebe invited to the hop," he muttered. "I can hardly believe it yet. There must be some mistake surely. Why, man, no plebe has ever danced at a hop in all West Point's history. They scarcely know there are such things. Just think of it once--we miserable beasts who hardly dare raise our heads, and who have to obey everyone on earth!"
"We've raised our heads pretty well, bah Jove," drawled the other. "And we've shown ourselves a deuced bit livelier than the yearlings, don't ye know."