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It seemed a coht that basic dining manners demanded that one wait until the entire party had arrived and been seated Yet, as the others did, I held iven perain I found myself surprised that our shepherd see siravely informed us that each dish of food would be passed around the table, allowing each man an opportunity to serve hi until every h food for each of us to have generous servings, but that we should first serve ourselves in moderation until we had seen that each lance with Kort and Natred Kort rolled his eyes toward Gord, as if to indicate he was the intended recipient of Corporal Dent’s words Gord’s eyes were downcast, but I could not tell if he was staring at the food or avoiding Dent’s gaze

Later, as we sat around the study tables in the relative peace of our dorrinned and said, "I half expected hi with our hands!"

Spink shrugged "Probably he thinks that those of us froh and crude I suppose I have, in ht when I’ve shared a co with the flocks to keep the wild dogs off the new lambs It doesn’t mean that I don’t kno to behave when there’s a cloth on the table, but perhaps he thought it better to tell us ahead of ti to be corrected"

Our conversation was interrupted when Caleb and Rory co th against our fellows The contest between Rory and Natred quickly escalated into a wrestling match on the floor We had not realized hoe had become until the study table overturned with a crash That sobered us, and we had righted it and resumed our seats e heard hurried footsteps on the stairs Seconds later our red-sashed shepherd thrust hi on up here?" Corporal Dent demanded as we cary flush on his face

"Just some horseplay, sir," Natred replied after a few ht"

Corporal Dent scowled "I ht have known," he muttered, as if he had been foolish to expect civilized behavior fro like boys Theto enjoy sohts out When the horns blow at sunrise, you’ll be expected to asseround Don’t make me come and roust you out You won’t be pleased by how I’ll do it"

With that, he turned himself about smartly and marched out of our co of his boots, we heard him fume, "Just my luck Saddled with a bunch of new noble oafs!"

We exchanged glances, some of us shocked, others puzzled as we slowly resumed our seats Natred seemed amused, Kort offended

"It’s how they’ll do us," Rory informed us lazily He stood, scratched his chest, and then stretched "My cousin’s an old noble’s son Made no difference He said the corporals will find a reason to pick on us all, as a group He says it’s supposed to teach us group loyalty and ether, to improve as a patrol Next couple of weeks, no matter how hard we try, they’ll ride us hard, find little things to fault us on, and hand out extra duties or make us march deht for nothin’ And Dent won’t be the only one Expect some harassment from every cadet with a second-year stripe on his sleeve In fact, tonight will probably be the last good night’s sleep we’ll get for a tiely and then grinned at us sheepishly "Country boy, in’"

His yawn had setalso I nodded at hi day"

"No one wants to stay up for a galy He alone seemed undaunted at Corporal Dent’s rebuke He leaned his chair back on two legs, his arrin Trist was the handsomest of us, with his hazel eyes and short thatch of curly sandy hair He exuded charives off scent I surmised that he’d quickly become our leader, and eventually a charis