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because the gentleman who called this morning came solely to see you. If I had known whether you were well acquainted, I might have asked him to wait and stay to luncheon. But I thought perhaps you only knew him slightly, and I had best not invite him to stop."

"Who was it, pray? Was he from town, or some one I have met since I came here?" Bonny queried, indifferently toying with her salad.

"Oh, it was a stranger. There is his card, on top of my workbasket, by my spectacles. Jane, get it, and hand it, with the spectacles, to me. Now let me see." Very deliberately she adjusted her glasses to exactly the proper angle over the prominent bridge of her nose, and slowly read out the name of "Lieutenant John Sidney, U. S. Army."

Bonny half rose from her seat, and caught the bit of pasteboard her aunt was about to lay beside her plate, eagerly, as though it were some precious possession she could bear no hand save her own to touch. She did not even notice Miss Mehitabel's surprise. "He was here!" she exclaimed," here, in this house, and you let him go away without seeing me? Oh, you ought to have looked-you ought to have looked everywhere for me. I never can forgive you, I'm afraid, Aunt Hitty!"

"Hoity toity!" ejaculated the ancient maiden, dropping her fork, and staring over her gold-rimmed spectacles. "What was I to do, I should like to know? Wasn't I as anxious to find you, and a good deal more, I should think, than you were to be found? Who would have thought, in my day, of seeking for a young lady in the barn, among the horses and chickens? Was I to invite a strange man to stop and eat his luncheon with us lone women,-a young, good-looking man, too? But there, I am exciting you, dear child. You are turning quite pale, and look ready to drop this minute. Never mind; sit down again, and you shall have a nice plum tart in a minute, made especially for you. Don't think anything more about the young man. Some one else may come to call on you to-morrow, for all we know; or, if they don't, we'll think of something to do to make it lively, see if we don't," all in the soothing tone one might use to a fractious but delicate child.

ALICE KING HAMILTON.

(To be continued.)

JACK HAULTAUT, MIDSHIPMAN UNITED STATES NAVY; OR, LIFE AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY.

(Continued from page 240.)

CHAPTER XV.

A SYMPOSIUM.

JACK came up in the boat from New York in company with several of his classmates; arriving early in the morning, they betook themselves to the Aquidneck House, where they obtained rooms and went to bed for the second time that night, first renewing the compact made on separation to have a lunch at Blivens's establishment before reporting their return.

The morning boat from Providence brought the remainder of the class, and by eleven o'clock the guests began to assemble. Blivens was in his element, and with many a courteous word to the greetings of the youngsters as they came in, he passed them along to the snug little room in the rear of his establishment, where the reunion was to take place. Many were the questions and replies concerning the pleasures of the past vacation, and hearty were the greetings, as singly and in groups the members of the class entered their chosen retreat. Many, too, were the conjectures upon whom would fall the first honors of the coming year in the shape of the adjutantcy and the first captaincies. One of the fellows who had been in Newport for a day or two had heard something of what was going on within the Academy, and he recalled to the minds of the company the fact that the two portions of the original class were now entirely separate that which had been the advanced part was now to be called the First Class, the others retaining the regular title of Second Class. As there had been some little feeling manifested at this prospect during the cruise just passed, it was resolved that the class should stand upon its dignity and be the first in reality as well as in name. Breakfast over, then followed-alas! be it confessed —tobacco and beer for the majority, who were determined to take their

enjoyment up to the last moment of their freedom from the restraint of the regulations.

"I say, fellows!" said Smithson, "would not Jolly like to catch us here? He'd be sure to report us, and then how jolly 'twould be to get ahead of him by telling him we hadn't reported for duty yet, and that the pledge wasn't binding while on leave."

"I wonder," said Ben, "if Jolly recollects the yarn I heard about him a while ago. You know he was on the excused list one day for a game foot,-dropped the butt of his musket on his toe, I believe,and as it was hard work for him to walk, he thought the doctor ought to have put him on the sick-list. Anyhow, he hobbled back to his room, and when the call sounded for recitation he didn't go; naturally he was reported absent, and not finding his name on the sick-list the officer in charge had him hunted up; and when Jolly gave as his excuse that he could not walk, the only reply was, 'I'll send a wheelbarrow for you next time.' By afternoon his toe was so bad that he really could not go; this time he was reported for his absence, and next morning sent in his excuse:

"SIR,-Lieutenant

and it did not come.""

said he would send a wheelbarrow for me,

Shouts of laughter greeted the speaker, which subsided as Sparks spoke up,

"I wonder if any of us who were in the secret will ever forget the night we stuffed a pea-coat and pair of trousers with some straw we got from the colonel, and then putting as respectable a head as we could on the dummy, with a great clatter tumbled it down the stairs by the officer in charge's office just as old Denver was making his report to Pat, who shouted, as he rushed to pick up the inanimate form, 'Poor fellow! he must be badly hurt. Go for Buttons at once, Denver.""

"No," said Baldwin; "I am sure I'll not forget for many a long day the look of dismay that came over Pat's speaking countenance as he discovered the deception; nor the feeling of horror that came over me as I reflected that in the pocket of the pea-coat (which, with the trousers, we had surreptitiously borrowed from Pete) was a letter addressed to me, and that Pat, as he looked at the name in the sleeve, would be smart enough to know that d'Orleans never had anything to do with it, but would search further until my tell-tale document would turn up, as it did. And I am mighty sure that I'll never forget the ten demerits I got, with a week aboard that confounded old prisonship, the 'Constitution,' where I had to serve in a crew under a fourthclassman. 'Twas no fun, I assure you."

"Yes," said Ben, "Pat got ahead of you that time; but there was a time Jack and I got ahead of him. You fellows, of course, haven't forgotten the pretty Miss who stayed at the governor's last winter. Half of you were spoons on her, or would have been if she'd have let

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you. I was pretty far gone, as you know; and when one evening as I was telling her how we made caramels and had an occasional omelet, and she said she'd like to have some of those caramels to take home, it would be such fun to tell the other girls about it, I vowed she should have them before she packed her trunk. She was going on the next Tuesday; so Monday evening, just after Pat had made his inspection at the beginning of study hours, we put a blanket up at the window so that the watchman could not see what we were at, and began our work. Everything worked to a charm; the gas-stove was in good order, and I flattered myself that no better caramels had ever been turned out by Just as we had finished, had put the gas-stove away, and were about to take down the blanket preparatory to putting the two dishes of caramels, then on the table, outside to cool, we heard a knock, and, to our horror, in walked Pat! We had been so much engaged that we had not heard the well-known squeak of his boots as he approached the room, and now 'the fat was in the fire' sure enough. Sniffing the fragrance of the vanilla and chocolate, and taking one of the dishes in his hands, Pat ejaculated, 'Just in time. I declare! one doesn't often get them so fresh. Much obliged, young gentlemen; you can take these to the office, Mr. Haultaut; and mind you don't slip down and let them fall by the way, sir!' Of course, Jack was reported, he being the superintendent of the room, and he got the demerits that time instead of me. But the best of the affair was that as Pat went to say good-by to Miss the next afternoon (he was a little sweet on her himself), he took along the caramels as a present, and I was much astonished later in the evening to receive a note thanking me for the sweetmeats and bidding me good-by. So she got them after all."

"Yes," said Jack, "and afterward, when the governor's daughter, who was in the secret and told him the story, asked him for the confiscated gas-stove, 'as a sort of trophy, you know, Mr. P.,' he let her have it, and the very next Saturday we had some oysters stewed over that very same stove, as we hope to have this next term also, if we have good luck."

"I'll tell you what it is, fellows," said Fox, as he removed his cigar and blew two or three rings toward the ceiling, "I'll bet Jolly won't get any of my Christmas-box this year, as he did last. I didn't particularly mind the report, but I did not like the way it was done. You see, my box was small, so I couldn't invite all hands, but Brown and Bush were asked to come after taps and join Billings and myself at the spread. We waited until eleven o'clock, when we were sure that Jolly had turned in, and then putting up the blankets, opened the box and had a royal good time. There was a small turkey and a piece of ham, with some crackers and sweets, and we had just put the remnants away and got the blankets down, when in walked Jolly with his darklantern. He saw the marks of the feast in the shape of crumbs, etc.,

scattered about, and in his dulcet tones said, 'Nice Christmas-box, Mr. Fox? Got anything left?' I said I had, and then he asked me to turn out and set the table just as it had been half an hour ago, as nearly as I could. So out of bed I got, and after putting on my trousers, picked up a piece of paper and asked Jolly for a light. He didn't give me one, but simply telling me to use one of my own matches, waited until I had struck one and lit the gas. Then he sat down, and as I brought out the remnants and put them before him he tasted them, remarking, 'Nice bird, that turkey; sorry I came so late,' and, picking up a piece of candy, left, saying, 'Good-night, Mr. Fox. I'm glad to see there is nothing contraband in your box.' What was my disgust the next evening to hear read out at parade,

"Fox: entertainment in room after taps.

"Same: matches in possession.'

Of course I had no excuse, and thought I got off very cheaply with twelve demerits; but it was just enough to quarantine me for the month you other fellows had such a good time with Our Lady of Caramels that Backstay was just telling of."

"You fellows seem to have had bad luck in your encounters with our natural enemies, the officers in charge; but I was rather more fortunate," said Bush. "Last April I was on the quarantine list, much to my disgust, for just at that particular juncture I was having an especially good time with Miss P, who was staying on Beach Street with Miss C. I hadn't kept correct count of my demerits, and when I found my name on the quarantine I was much surprised and considerably disgusted, for I had accepted an invitation to a party at the gov ernor's, and was to escort Miss P. However, I made up my mind to run the risk and French it; so after evening parade, when the fellows who had leave got excused from going into the mess-hall, I walked up as bold as a sheep with the rest and was excused also; of course King, who happened to be on duty, never noticed me, as in all probability Jolly would have done, and Fox and I marched out of the grounds and up Beach Street to keep our appointment. I didn't tell Miss Panything about it, and she was entirely in the dark. I don't believe, from what she said afterwards, that she would have let me come for her if she had known it. We sat in the parlor chatting for half an hour or so, and then the young ladies left to put on their outer garments; just as they came down-stairs, and we were all standing in the hall, Fox with his hand on the door, holding it partly open as Miss C's mother was giving her last instructions, who should come up the steps but the commandant and his wife. As soon as he saw them, Fox spoke to Mrs. C and told her they were coming; I whispered to the ladies, 'I mustn't let him see me, for I am on French,' and crowded up into the corner, taking hold of the knob as Fox swung the door open, and there I remained in fear and trembling while the chatter

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