"It certainly was our day, Fred," said Jack, as he and his cousin shook hands.
"Right you are, Major Rover," and Fred saluted in the most precise military fashion.
"Bonfires to-night, boys!" sang out Andy. "And we'll have some big doings, believe me!"
It was the custom at Colby Hall for the officers of the battalion to take dinner with Colonel Colby on the day of an election. This was quite a formal affair and the cadets to participate made it a point to look their best.
"Say, Jack, you're going to make a stunning looking major," remarked Fred, as he watched his cousin dressing.
"How about yourself as captain?" was the reply.
"Just wait till Ruth Stevenson sees Jack in his new uniform!" cried Randy.
"Say, Jack, why not have a life-sized photo taken and give it to her to hang over her dressing table?" put in Andy, with a grin.
"You beware, Andy," admonished his cousin, waving a finger severely at him. "Remember, as the commandant of the battalion, I can throw you into a dungeon cell if I feel so inclined," and Jack strutted around grandly in the privacy of the Rovers' sitting room.
"I'll be good, oh, Most Noble One," answered the fun-loving Rover, bowing down until his head almost touched his feet.
Jack and Fred had already sent word to Martha and Mary, and they, of course, had told Ruth and the others. It is needless to say that the Rover girls and their chums were almost as much pleased over the results of the election as the boys had been.
"I'm just dying to see them on parade with Jack at the head," confided Martha to the others.
"Yes, and Fred in command of Company C," added Mary. "Just to think of it! And he so much younger than the others!"
"I hope I'm on hand to see their first parade," said Ruth, her eyes beaming with pleasure.
"I thought you were going to write Jack a letter about that party," said Martha in a low tone.
"I am. To-night. And I'll let him know that I've wanted to do it ever since the party was talked of," went on Ruth.
The officers' dinner was a great success. Every one present made a little speech and Colonel Colby and Captain Dale made addresses to which the cadets listened with keen attention.
"It is my desire to make this military academy one of the best in the country," declared the colonel earnestly. "And I cannot do that without the sincere coöperation of every cadet attending the institution. As many of you know"--and here he glanced at Jack and Fred--"when I was about your age I attended Putnam Hall Military Academy. I am sure the training I received there did me much good, and I am also sure that I made many friends who will stand by me as long as I live.