It was the end of November by this time, and Dick, on Thursday of this successful week, received a letter to the effect that Laura and Belle would arrive at West Point on Saturday afternoon at one o’clock.

The news nearly broke up Prescott’s three hours of study that Thursday evening.  However, he fought off the feeling of excitement and hampering delight.

When Dick marched with his section into mathematics Friday morning he felt a calm confidence that he would keep up the average of his fine performance for the week.

“Mr. Furlong, Mr. Dunstan, Mr. Prescott and Mr. Gray, go to the blackboards,” ordered Captain Abbott.  “The other gentlemen will recite from their seats.”

Stepping nimbly over to the blackboard, in one corner of which his name had been written, Dick picked up the chalk, setting down the preliminaries of the problem assigned to him.  Then his chalk ran nimbly along over the first lines of his demonstration.

At last he stopped.  Captain Abbott, who was generally accredited with possessing several pairs of eyes, noted that Mr. Prescott had halted.

For some moments the young man went anxiously over what he had already written.  At last he turned around, facing the instructor, and saluted.

“Permission to erase, sir?” requested Prescott.,

Captain Abbott nodded his assent.

Picking up the eraser, Dick carefully erased the last two lines that he had set down.

Then, as though working under a new inspiration, he went ahead setting down line after line of the demonstration of this difficult problem.  Only once did he halt, and then for not more than thirty seconds.

Dunstan went through a halting explanation of his problem.  Then Captain Abbott called: 

“Mr. Prescott!”

Taking up the short pointer, Dick rattled off the statement of the problem.  Then he plunged into his demonstration, becoming more and more confident as he progressed.

When he had finished Captain Abbott asked three or four questions.  Dick answered these without hesitation.

“Excellent,” nodded the gratified instructor.  “That is all, Mr. Prescott.”

As Dick turned to step to his seat he pulled his handkerchief from the breast of his blouse and wiped the chalk from his hands.  All unseen by himself a narrow slip of white paper fluttered from underneath his handkerchief to the floor.

“Mr. Prescott,” called Captain Abbott, “will you bring me that piece of paper from the floor?”

Dick obeyed without curiosity, then turned again and gained his seat.  The instructor, in the meantime, had called upon Mr. Pike.  While Pike was reciting, haltingly, Captain Abbott turned over the slip of paper on his desk, glancing at it with “one of his pairs of eyes.”

Anyone who had been looking at the instructor at that moment would have noted a slight start and a brief change of color in the captain’s face.  But he said nothing until all of the cadets had recited and had been marked.