Los Angeles herald., 1907-09-01
CHAPTER 1.
LOFTY" RANKIN AND HIS GRlEV-
ANCE.


snubbed, insulted, and don't propose 10
stand i'll" 49,
Cornelius LOTUS Rankin-known TO tne
faculty and officers of the Westbrook Acaoe-
by as Cadet Rankin, and to his lntImates DIS
LOFTY Rankin-was angry. lie was SO an
crv that he couldn't sit still. and just now
he was pacing back and torth Win snvi M =
turns ON the green sward In the rear ol sle L;e
academy grounds, beating the ar y.aatha Wism n.S
clenched fists, and making hlmsen yorne
as picturesque and uneomfortapie as a.Ios. youns
gentleman ordinarily of pompous' demeahor
He had for his only auditor and beholdeF e
a stockv vouth with a freckled face and duli
blue eyes, who sat on rustic pencn near 4;lt: :d
propped up on one e6ow " Tasn eas s sprawIed out
in fashion that suggested the ,mmineh' uan
ger Of his falling asleep where ne psrso, sae; of
Thaddens Mcpherson McPherson, OF
Company B-had been listening 70 ene pun nv
less rawlings of the victim OF WSI.osob wa az he was
youth easily wearied he had grown Va, va
tired of them indeed He now sat up, anu
pushing back his cap, raised one hheei anu
spoke impressively. ,, ,,.,,.. yer
LOFTY, don't be an idiot, pecaatse et 5osn,t
didn't get a berth on the sehoolboat; don
90 and lose your berth in the, barr1cks ana
get one in the guard-house. I've peen as nere
p tb;e State prison they call the Westprooh
Military NJ and Naval Academy longer than you you
have. and. I've learned to be wise. ND
learned that it's no use 70 . 1a4s IKE discipline
Of thesschool If you've got 1t IN your ntS. tIs
n do ANYTHING to square yourself Win cne
profs don't swell around so mucn, ! lnn Inpiots
YOU as a friend. You've learned snSs
doesn't do any good to buster, nd 'nat oniv ret
\ taste of extra duty and public reprinanas "s
when you try it. If you've got any any notion oi
doing ANYTHING. repeat, be foxy!
Lofty Rankin stopped abruptly, and stood
gazing at the speaker with an eAptio1,o" Jat;on
first Of surprise and then No q Se That's the
fret hit Of wisdom that ever fell from your
i;ns in INV presence believe, II the truth
were really known, that you are wiser eian
you look" ...a of th;s
Mcpherson mumbled a recognition q 4s .nls
doubtful compliment, and then reiapseu inso
his first attitude of drowsy Incidence:
His companion came over and sat down
beside him Lofty was not an. llliookIng
youth. and just now, his face being husneo
little, and his eyes frightened by tne s;a%t emo
tions that had lately mastered him, ne mign'
have been called eood-looking -,
He was as Thads remark had implied. com
naratively new recruit in the ranks OF tne
cadets Of Westbrook. This was ms nrst
year in the school-a year which mao now
nearly near th been eT Sss is fGg beginning and with
e''xxT -
the last Of June the school year at Westbrook
would come to an end.
with the end OF the school year. moreover,
certain important event was, to be Inaugu-
rated, the announcement OF wnlSn nao pS'tr nftp
Rankin in the situation in which we now see
him nroper understanding OF which state
ment can only be conveyed by telling, in as
few words as possible, just what tne west
brook Military and Naval Academy was.
IL H. Woctbro0E Military and
Naval Academy was an institution modelled
in a general way, though on much less pre-
tentious scale naturally. upon those OF tne
West Point and Annapolis schools the west,
brook institution embodying All the essential
scholastic principles of both. 1t was private
institution. owned by stock company: and
governed by board of directors. It had first
been established as military academy, pure
and simple but owing to its location, and to
the sort of patronage it drew, it IN course OF
time became naval scnooi as wen.
The school was located on the shore OF
Little Traverse Bay, an indentation in the
Western coast of the lower peninsula OF
Michigan. This body of water, which is
about eight miles long and four miles wide,
e 4 favorite summer resort and the whole
coast line thereabouts is dotted with towns
which derive their being in the main from
tbe periodical sojourns Of summer visitors.
az these towns. Petoskey and Spring Har-
bor are the most pretentious, Petoskey on
the southern shore and Spring Harbor on
Vt The ,' Westbrook Academy occupied four
acres Of cleared territory in the midst of a
pine forest at the head a. Of the bay From the the
cadets called their neat. two-storied dormi-
tory at the top of the slope back from the
,vaier's edge, a view was to be had of the
length and breath of the bay, and the broad
sxpanse of Lake Michigan beyond. To the
The the town of Spring .Harbor. On the left,