As soon as the companies were formed they were marched around the Hall and to the messroom.  Here they were kept standing in a long fine while George Strong came to the front with half a dozen new pupils.

“Young gentlemen, I will introduce to you several who will join your ranks for this season,” said the head assistant.  Then he began to name the half dozen.  Among others they included a round-faced German youth named Hans Mueller, and a tall, lank, red-haired boy, of Irish descent who rejoiced in the name of Jim Caven.

“I’ll wager the Dutch boy is full of fun,” whispered Sam to Tom.  “You can see it in his eyes.”

“I don’t like the looks of that Jim Caven,” returned Tom.  “He looks like a worse sneak than Mumps ever was.”

“I agree there.  Perhaps we had better keep, our eyes open for him.”

Despite this talk, however, the newcomers were welcomed cordially, and to the credit of the students be it said that each old cadet did all in his power to make the new boys feel perfectly at home.

“Mine fadder vos von soldier py der Cherman army,” said Hans Mueller.  “Dot’s vy he sent me py a military academy ven we come py dis country.”

“Glad to know you intend to help us fight the Indians,” answered Tom innocently.

“Me fight der Indians?  Vot you means py dot?” demanded Hans, his light-blue eyes wide open with interest.

“Why, don’t you know that we are here to learn how to fight Indians?” went on Tom, with a side wink at those around him.

“No; I dink me dis vos von school only.”

“So it is —­ a school to learn how to shoot and scalp.”

“Schalp!  Vot’s dot?”

“Cut an Indian’s top-knot off with a knife, this way,” and Tom made an imaginary slash at Hans’ golden locks.

“Ton’t do dot!” stammered the German boy, falling back.  “No, I ton’t vant to learn to schalp, noputty.”

“But you are willing to fight the Indians, are you not?” put in Sam.  “We are all going to do that, you know.”

“I ton’t like dem Indians,” sighed Hans.  “I see me some of dem vonde by a show in Chermany, und I vos afraid.”

At this a laugh went up.  How much further the joke would have been carried it is impossible to say, but just then a bell rang and the boys had to go into the classroom.  But Tom remembered about the Indians, as the others found out about a week later.

As the majority of the scholars had been to the Hall before, it did not take long for matters to become settled, and in a few days all of the boys felt thoroughly at home, that is, all but Jim Caven, who went around with that same sneaking look on his face that Tom had first noticed.  He made but few friends, and those only among the smaller boys who had plenty of pocket money to spend.  Caven rarely showed any money of his own.