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That brought us clustering around him For the next hour or so we sat at the study tables in our common room and Rory held the floor with tales of strict instructors, cadets working off de froe up for us He was a born storyteller, swaggering as he spoke of young officers and cowering as he mimed us junior cadets He held us spellbound when he theatrically warned us of "cullings" "Commander declares one anertiraphy test Every cadet who falls lower’n a certain score, whist!, he’s gone Culled like a spindly lamb They send you home with just a note that says ‘failed to’im’ And you knohat coood-bye officers’a soldier son can do if he fails here is go for the coive no warning a’tall It’s one way t’keep us on our toes with our noses in our books"

He spoke with a Kenty twang that I secretly found a At the tiht my "Plains drawl" just as humorous More cadets drifted in from the other rooms on our floor to join us as we listened to Rory’s tales, until there were eleven of us there, almost our full patrol We were a mixed lot, but all sons of new nobility, as Rory had predicted In a short time it seemed as if we had all known one another for years instead of hours Oron had red hair, large teeth, and a pleasant, contagious laugh Caleb joined our group with fourPenny Adventure folios under his arm, which he immediately offered to share with us I had never seen one before, and the lurid covers on the cheap booklets were a bit shocking Caleb assured me they were mild compared to others that he owned Jared had only one older brother and six younger sisters, and claiot so little opportunity at hoe relief to have only ht youth with an anxious air He had arrived with three trunks full of clothing and household goods and see He be and closet space allotted to hi, a twelfth cadet arrived to round out our dozen His naly felloho seemed a bit dim He didn’t have much to say beyond his name Gord helped him find the last empty bunk in their rooood fellow to me and I felt a sudden elation that ood start But I a anxiously for the dinner bell Soed-for bell finally clanged, I felt crary as hounds, we rushed down the stairs together, only to be thwarted in our headlong race by a flood of other boys pouring out from the lower floors onto the sa hourly while we conversed upstairs, and ere forced to descend sedately, a single riser at a time

"I hear the food’s bad here Sa loudly through his nose, as if even going down the stairs was an exertion

I could think of no reply, but Rory said, "If it sits still on the plate, likely I’ll eat it Bet you will, too You don’t look like you’ve been too picky in the past!"

Several of the others laughed aloud and I grinned Even Gord smiled sheepishly I took another step down and resisted the urge to push past the cadets in front of round floor, we could not race off to the mess hall On the ay in front of our dormitory we found older cadets, red sashes and striped sleeves proclai their authority, who sternly reminded us to keep to the paths and not jostle one another, and oal as befitted roups were Academy students one year ahead of us, Rory infor in ranks They formed us up by floors, which suited us well, and our shepherd, Corporal Dent, marched us off in our new patrol Dent put Gord next toas he strove to stretch his stride to match our pace

Thus it was that ere not at the very end of the line as we filed into the er all the more We could smell the food, and I heard Gord’s stomach rumble loudly Within the hall Dent herded us to our laden table, and directed us to stand behind our chairs until each table was granted leave to sit down and begin eating There were covered tureens of soup, platters of slicedbowls of boiled beans on each table, luring us with their appetizing smells Even when all the occupants of our table had arrived, Dent kept us standing a tier as he lectured us perfunctorily that every officer sees to the wellbeing of hisuntil our felloere ready to dine alongside us was our first reminder that the cavalla flourished only when the needs of every rider were given equal consideration Dent’s eyes seeer on Gord as he spoke