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Captain Infal was ourwhile he quickly listed the daily work for the class He spoke in a clear, precise voice that carried, as if he were accusto people in the open air rather than within a classrooht, take notes as he lectured, and read twenty-five pages of the text every night There would be daily quizzes and weekly tests Three consecutive scores of less than 75 percent on the tests would result in mandatory study halls Five consecutive scores of less than 75 percent on the quizzes would be grounds for Academy probation The patrol of ahis scores by diligent studying Absence from class would only be excused with a note from the Academy infirmary A trooper was useless if he did not have robust health Here he glared at Gord and then shifted his disapproval to a youngin the second row Three rounds for Acade students Cadets were not allowed to either borrow or lend supplies during the class hour "Be seated now, silently, no scraping of chairs, and pay attention"

And with that, he launched into his first lecture I barely had tiave us no opportunity to ask questions, but lectured continuously for the next hour and a half Fros of na hand on the chalkboard behind hi not to be distracted by my sympathy for Rory, who did not have a pencil but sat with blank paper before hi steadily At the end of class, the captain again ordered us perelance

"Can I…?" Rory began desperately, and before he could finish, Spink replied, "You can copy ht Do you need a pencil for your next class?"

It i us who seeoods shared what he had so readily

We had no ti in the door of the classroo at us to fall in outside i his precious time We obeyed with alacrity, and he , he dropped back, to ue hiod’s sake,try to look like a cadet and not a sack of potatoes bu He told Gord to count the cadence for us, and then shouted at him to raise his voice and be heard like a et his words out for shortness of breath I a relief that Gord was there to hold the corporal’s attention so that his sniping was not aimed at me

Math and science classes were held in an old building that resembled Carneston House in that it seeular stones, it crouched along a riverbank Several docks with sish flow We wereand directed to a classrooreeted us as we entered the dank building We clattered up the steps, only to discover that ere already late

"Come in, sit down, and shut up!" ordered Captain Rusk, a round bald man scarcely as tall as my shoulder Before we latecomers were even seated, he had turned his back on us and was once h, raise your hand when you think you have an answer The first five with an ansill be invited to come to the board to show your work"

Our patrol hastily found some seats, and I quickly copied down the equations he had written on the board It seeh Spink was scowling over it I had the answer quickly enough, but continued to scratch withto be called to the board Gord was the third cadet to raise his hand Captain Rusk called hi with four others As they worked their proofs on the board and presented their answers, the captain wrote a page number on the board and announced, "All those who did not raise their hands with an answer are responsible for co remedial exercises by tomorrow The practice should sharpen your calculation skills Very well, now, let us see how your fellows did at the board"

I sat inon how my simple act of cowardice has already repaid ot the correct answer Kort was one of them I didn’t know the felloho made a simple addition error in the final step Gord’s proof was the best, si an alternate route to the answer that eliminated two steps of calculation Captain Rusk worked his way across, using his pointer to de out the one fellow’s error and chastising another for his sloppy handwriting and uneven coluot to Gord’s work, he paused Then he tapped the pointer once on the board and said, "Excellent" That was all He moved immediately to the next cadet, and Gord, dis