m a single district. He appoints at large from the whole state.
Senator Frayne announced, a while ago, two appointments-at-large, one
for West Point, the other for Annapolis."

"And we went up to the state capital yesterday," rattled on Greg.
"We went through the examinations. The winners weren't named
until this morning. You'll find it in the evening papers, later
to-day. I go to West Point, and Dan goes to Annapolis."

"What?" yelled Dick, leaping as high as he could jump.

"Tell it to us again!" begged Darrin huskily.

"Oh, it's all a fact, straight and right enough," Greg assured
them happily.

Then and there the four chums executed a war dance. It seemed
too wonderful to believe.

"But isn't Gridley the whole show?" demanded Dave presently.
"Four cadetships in the same year to one little city!"

"Well, we had to win 'em from other comers," retorted Greg. "And
none of us are out of the woods yet. We've got to pass at West
Point and at Annapolis.

"This is great!" quivered young Prescott. "But wouldn't it be
grand if only Tom Reade and Harry Hazelton had gotten in line,
too, and gone along into the service with us? Then all of the
old Dick & Co. would have been enrolled under the battle flag."

"But you know what Tom told us," put in Darrin. "He said he wouldn't
live at West Point, and he wouldn't be caught dead at Annapolis.
Tom is all for becoming a great civil engineer---a builder of
railroads and all that sort of thing."

"Well, Harry Hazelton is just as bad," said Greg. "He's all for
doing engineer stunts in the wilderness, too."

"Here they come now," announced Dan Dalzell.

Tom and Harry were heartily glad, of course, to hear of the luck
that had befallen Greg and Dan.

"We were just wishing that you two had fallen into the same kind
of luck, and that you were going into uniform with us," declared
Dick.

Reade glared at Prescott.

"Humph!" muttered Tom. "I thought you were a friend of mine!"

"I judge it's a mighty good thing we don't all hunger for the
same careers," laughed Harry. "For instance, all young fellows
can't go into the United Service. There aren't jobs enough to
go around. The United States Army is just about big enough to
find with a good magnifying glass. As for the Navy-----"

"Be careful," warned Darrin touchily.

"As for the Navy," continued Hazelton, "Congress has a lot of
officers trained and then seems to think that one new battleship
every other y