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The plebes at West Point are not ostracized by the upper class men. These new men are merely "kept in their places" with great severity, and without any encouragement whatever. If the plebe can't stand it, then he is plainly not of the stuff to make a soldier.
The grinning yearlings lost no time in slipping quietly away from that locality, and taking positions at a distance, where they could watch what followed. All alone in the street in front of his tent stood the blindfolded plebe, bellowing the words at the full capacity of his voice, and repeating them over and over.
"Don't you know how to wipe a grin off your face?" "I'm not sure, sir," Dan admitted. "Mister, you are wholly touge! I'm not sure but that you're a ratey plebe as well." Thereupon Youngster Quimby plunged into a scathing lecture on the subject of a plebe being either touge or ratey. At first Dan listened with a becoming air of respect.
His old antagonist demanded satisfaction in the name of the aggrieved ones, and that fight was the talk of the corps for six months. Loring named the old battle-ground at Fort Clinton as the place, and in ten minutes utterly reversed the issue of his plebe effort, and the first classman was the worst whipped victim seen in years, for he fought until fairly knocked senseless.
"Now, let us see how good a soldier you are, mister," commanded Yearling Pratt, turning around upon Plebe Anstey. Anstey's cheeks were just a bit pale, from suppressed anger, but he speedily mastered this novel way of standing at attention, and did it to the satisfaction of the hazers. Then Dick and Greg did it, and rather better than either of their predecessors.
"I had no intention of bringing him over for a soiree this evening, unless the plebe does something else raw in the meantime." A "soiree" is an institution of the summer encampment. The plebe who is in for a soiree may be either a man who has committed some direct offence against the upper classmen, or a plebe who has been observed to be simply too b.j. in general. Mr.
"In the first place, mister," went on the cadet lieutenant, sitting, now, with one leg thrown over the corner of Greg's desk, "the homesickness that has hit you touches every other man who comes here. It's a mighty hard-working life here, and I'll admit, mister, that it's very cheerless during the plebe year. "You think you are looked down upon, and regarded as being beneath contempt, mister.
"This plebe, Briggs, was caught in a very rank piece of b.j.-ety. We couldn't let his offence go by. We hazed him for a straight cause, not merely for being a plebe. What I object to is annoying plebes simply because they are green men." "But what about that soiree you mentioned to the plebe?" demanded Griffin eagerly. "I told him only to be ready if called," Prescott made reply.
This privilege, while pleasant to possess, amounted to little, for Dave and Dan had been too busy over their studies to have any opportunity to attract social notice. As to dancing, fourth class men do not, by tradition, attend any of the midshipmen's hops, which are reserved for upper class men. Neither is a plebe midshipman expected to be seen escorting young ladies.
"Some of the time, desperately so." "Yet you believe it is right to ignore a plebe, and to make him so wretched?" "The upper classmen don't make the plebe wretched. The plebe is just on probation while he's in the fourth class -that's all. The plebe is required to prove that he's a man before he's accepted as one." "It all seems dreadfully hard," contended Laura.
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