I will have silence!" cried Asa Lemm, pounding on his
desk with a paper weight.

"I'll have one grand smash-up with that man some day," was Andy's
comment in speaking of the affair after the school session had closed.
"I can't stand his arbitrary ways."

"Oh, he's a lemon--and worse," returned his brother.

During that week there was an election of officers for the school
battalion, composed of Company A and Company B. The Rover boys, being
freshmen, could not compete for any position, even had they so desired;
but there was a good deal of electioneering among the cadets, and the
lads got quite a lot of fun out of it. The announcement of who was
elected was followed by a parade around the grounds and an unusually
good supper in the mess hall. Then the boys were allowed to gather at
one end of the parade ground near the river, where they soon had
several large bonfires burning, around which they danced, sang, and cut
up to their hearts' content.

The election had been a bitter disappointment to Slugger Brown and
Nappy Martell. Each had wanted to be an officer of the battalion, and
each had failed to get the required number of votes.

"It's that Gif Garrison-Spouter Powell crowd that did it," muttered
Slugger Brown. "I saw 'em working like troopers to defeat us."

"Yes. And those Rover boys worked against both of you, too," piped in
Codfish, who was present. "I watched 'em do it. They went all around
among the fellows they know electioneering for the others who were
running."

"It would be just like them to do it," muttered Nappy Martell,
gloomily.

"I thought you were going to fight that Jack Rover to a finish some
day?" questioned the sneak of the school.

"So I am--when I get the chance," returned Martell.

As soon as the election of officers was settled, the minds of a certain
number of cadets turned to football. Gif Garrison was busy arranging
his teams and placing the names of the players up on a big board in the
gymnasium.

"Hurrah!" shouted Fred, bursting in on Jack one afternoon while the
latter was busy in his room studying the next day's lessons. "Our names
are up on the board, Jack! Gif has put us up for a try-out on the scrub
eleven!"

"Is that so!" exclaimed his cousin, his face showing his satisfaction.
"Are you sure?"

"I am. I just came from the gymnasium. We are to report for practice
to-morrow afternoon at four o'clock."

"Is Andy or Randy up?"

"No. You remember they told Gif they