“Are you engaged, old fellow?” asked Greg of Dan Dalzell.

“Kind of half way,” grinned Dan.  “That is, I’m willing, but the girl can’t seem to make up her mind.  And you?”

“I’ve been engaged nine times in all,” sighed Greg.  Yet each and every one of the girls soon felt impelled to ask me to call it off.”

“Any show just at present?” persisted Dalzell.

“Why, strange to say,” laughed Greg, “I’m fancy free at the present moment.”

“How did the old affair ever come out between Dick and Laura Bentley?” asked Dan curiously.

“Why, the strange part of it is, I don’t believe there ever has been any formal affair between Dick and Laura,” Greg went on.  “That is, no real understanding between them.  And now-----”

“Yes?” urged Dan.

“A merchant over in Gridley, a rather decent chap, too, has been making up to Laura pretty briskly, I hear by way of home news,” Greg continued.

“Does the yardstick general win out?” demanded Dan.

“From all the news, I’m half afraid he does.”

“How does Dick take that?” Dan was eager to know.

“I can’t tell you,” Greg responded solemnly, “for I have never ventured on that topic with old ramrod.  But if he loses out with Laura, I feel it in my bones that he’ll take it mighty hard.”

“Poor old Dick!” sighed Dan, loyal to the old days.  “Somehow, I can’t quite get it through my head that it’s at all right for anyone to withhold from Dick Prescott anything he really wants.”

Greg sighed too.

“Any idea what arm of the service you’re going to choose?” asked Dan presently.

“I believe I’ll do better to wait and see what my class standing is at graduation,” laughed Greg.  “That is the thing that settles how much choice I’m to have in the matter of arm of the service.”

“Any liking for heavy artillery?” asked Dan.

“Not a whit.  Cavalry or infantry for mine.”

“Not the engineers?”

“Only the honor men of the class can get into the engineers,” grunted Greg.  “Neither Dick nor I stand any show to be honor men.  We feel lucky enough to get through the course and graduate at all.”

Dick and Dave, too, were talking earnestly about the future, though now and then a word was dropped about the good old past, as described in the High School Boys’ Series.

Ten minutes before the train time two chums in Army gray and two in Navy blue reached the platform of the railway station.  The other middies were there ahead of them.  In the time that was left Dick and Greg were hastily introduced to the other middies.  A few jolly words there were, but the other members of the Army nine and still other cadets were on hand, and so the talk was general.

Amid noisy, heartfelt cheering the middy delegation climbed aboard the incoming train.  Amid more cheers their train bore them away and then some sixty West Point cadets climbed the long, steep road, next hastening on to be in time for supper formation.