I forgot that the little
house was fragrant with the odor of spice and fruit, and that there
was a man about who was ever on the lookout for good things to eat. It
is a shame that those cadets at West Point are so starved. They seem
to be simply famished for months after they graduate.
It so happened that there was choir practice that very evening, and
that I was at the chapel an hour or so. When I returned, I found the
three bachelors sitting around the open fire, smoking, and looking
very comfortable indeed. Before I was quite in the room they all stood
up and began to praise the cake. I think Faye was the first to mention
it, saying it was a "great success"; then the others said "perfectly
delicious," and so on, but at the same time assuring me that a large
piece had been left for me.
For one minute I stood still, not in the least grasping their meaning;
but finally I suspected mischief, they all looked so serenely
contented. So I passed on to the dining room, and there, on the table,
was one of the precious cakes - -at least what was left of it, the very
small piece that had been so generously saved for me. And there were
plates with crumbs, and napkins, that told the rest of the sad
tale - and there was wine and empty glasses, also. Oh, yes! Their early
Christmas had been a fine one. There was nothing for me to say or
do - at least not just then - so I went back to the little living-room
and forced myself to be halfway pleasant to the four men who were
there, each one looking precisely like the cat after it had eaten the
canary! The cake was scarcely cold, and must have been horribly
sticky - and I remember wondering, as I sat there, which one would need
the doctor first, and what the doctor would do if they were all seized
with cramps at the same time. But they were not ill - not in the
least - which proved that the cake was well baked. If they had
discovered the other one, however, there is no telling what might have
happened.
At half after ten yesterday the chaplain held service, and the little
chapel was crowded - so many of the enlisted men were present. We sang
our Christmas music, and received many compliments. Our little choir
is really very good. Both General Phillips and Major Pierce have fine
voices. One of the infantry sergeants plays the organ now, for it was
quite too hard for me to sing and work those old pedals. Once I forgot
them entirely, and everybody smiled - even the chaplain!
From the chapel we - that is, the company officers and their
wives - went to the company barracks to see the men's dinner tables.
When we entered the dining hall we found the entire company standing
in two lines, one down each side, every man in his best inspection
uniform, and every button shining.
