king.

At first the young cadet did not dare to tell the truth, but finally he
blurted out that he had taken a glass of liquor against his will and it
had turned his stomach in a most painful manner.

"Where did you get the liquor?" demanded Captain Putnam sternly.

"I--I--oh, must I tell you, sir?"

"Yes, Harry."

"I--that is, Lew Flapp--Oh, sir, I don't want to be a tattle-tale."

"Did Lew Flapp give you the liquor? Answer me at once."

"Yes, sir, he and another cadet named Pender. But, sir, I don't want to
hurt them. I--I--" and here Harry burst into tears.

"Where was this?"

"Down in Cedarville, sir. But, I--I--I shan't say any more, Captain
Putnam," and after that Harry remained silent. As it was plain to see
that he was suffering, Captain Putnam did not push the matter. But he
called Lew Flapp and Pender into his private office and interviewed the
unworthy pair for fully half an hour.

"To do such a thing is outrageous," said the captain. "If I hear of it
again I shall dismiss you from the Hall at once."

On the following morning one of the assistant teachers made a brief
announcement that filled the entire school with curiosity.

"On next Monday you are to have an election of officers for the term,"
said he. "As you know, twenty cadets were selected as worthy of being
elected. The list has since been cut down to eighteen. Lew Flapp and
Augustus Pender will not run."

At this announcement Dick and Powell looked at each other
significantly. All of the other cadets looked around to find Flapp and
Pender, but the pair were absent, nor did they put in an appearance at
all until the next school session.

"The captain found it out in some way," said Dick to Powell.

"Shouldn't wonder if Harry Moss let the cat out of the bag," was the
answer.

"It's queer about Flapp and Pender," declared Tom to his older brother.
"Do you know why they were dropped?"

"Yes, Tom, but I don't want you to say anything about it."

"There's a report around that they were found cutting loose in the
village," put in Sam.

"Well, as I said before, I don't want to speak about it," went on Dick.

A few of the boys dared to question Flapp and Pender, but got no
satisfaction.

"If I want to drop out I reckon I can do it," growled Flapp, and that
was as much as either he or his crony would say.

With Flapp out of the race there was considerable curiosity to know
who would be elected for the term. Each set of cadets had th