That was the discipline of the tan-bark.  If a cadet falls from a horse and has no bones broken, or no other desperate injury, he must wait until his horse comes around, catch it and mount again.  If the horse be excited and fractious, all the more reason why the cadet should capture the beast and mount instantly.  A horse must always be taught that a cavalryman is his master.

The riderless brute had fallen in at the tail of the line now, behind Cadet Corporal Haslins, and was going along peaceably enough—–­until Bert Dodge made a lunge for the bridle.  Then the beast shied, and got past.

“Run after your horse, Mr. Dodge; catch him and mount him,” called Captain Hall, fuming that this episode should steal away drill time from the other more capable young horsemen.

“Mr. Dodge,” rapped out the cavalry instructor sharply, after Bert had made two more efforts to get hold of the bridle, “are you waiting for a groom to bring your horse to you?”

At this some of the pent-up merriment broke loose.  Half a dozen yearlings chuckled aloud.

“Silence in ranks!” ordered the instructor sharply.  Then, patiently, though with more that a tinge of rebuke in his tone, the captain added: 

“Mr. Dodge, you’ve taken all the time we can spare you, sir.  Catch that horse instantly and mount!”

By sheer good luck Bert managed to obey.  But his nerve was gone for the afternoon.  He made a sad bungle of all the work, though he was not again unhorsed.

There was bareback riding, and riding by pairs, in which latter feat one man of each pair passed his bridle to the comrade beside him, then rode with folded arms.  Then came riding by threes, with the center man holding the bridles from either side, while each of the outer men rode with folded arms.  Then, cautiously, the men were taught to stand on the bare backs of their horses and to move at a walk.  By and by they would be required to ride, standing, at a gallop.

All through this drill, Dick Prescott rode with precision, power, and even grace.

Yet never had his mind been further from the present work than it was this afternoon.

Had Bert Dodge known more of what Prescott had seen as the former lay for that instant on the tan-bark, Dick’s enemy would have fallen from his horse in a delirium of fear.

For, as Bert fell in the center of the tan-bark the left sleeve of his coat had been pushed back, exposing the white linen cuff.

From the inner hem of that cuff, up to the middle, Dick Prescott had gazed, for an instant only, on row after row of small, evenly lettered words or rows of numerals.  Prescott had not had time to bend close enough to see which.

Yet no sooner had Dick vaulted back into saddle again than the remembrance of that cuff flashed upon him.

“Dodge has been excelling in daily recitations, yet can’t do as well at general review!” flashed hotly through Prescott’s mind.  “And Dodge, the high-souled one who loathes cribs!  If that writing on his cuff isn’t a crib of today’s math., then I’m a plebe!”