In spite of his encounter with Bixton, Ignace was still seized with spells of reciting his rules aloud. It did not take his companions of the barracks long to discover the nature of his frequent fits of mumbling. When it gradually became noised about in the squad-room that Bob Dalton had composed them for his bunkie's benefit, he was besieged for copies of them. Though he refused to supply them, he good-naturedly recited such as he could recall to several of the men. Very soon hardly a day passed when he was not asked to give one or more of them. As a result it was not long before they achieved the popularity of a topical song and at least half the occupants of the squad-room could recite one or more of them. In time they became circulated throughout the camp and long after Bob had left Camp Sterling behind for "Over There," his "Military Maneuvers in Rhyme" were passed on to newcomers and gleefully quoted. October saw the four Khaki Boys long since emerge from the School of the Soldier into the School of the Squad. They had now mastered the basic principles of military training and were beginning to feel a little more like Regulars. They now knew the Manual of Arms and had been fully instructed in the use, nomenclature and care of their rifles. They were no longer just "rookies." Their periods of drill had been gradually lengthened until they were now putting in the same amount of time as the seasoned men. From half-past seven in the morning until dismissal by a sergeant at half-past eleven, they were kept at work learning soldiering. One o'clock Assembly marked the beginning of the afternoon drill period, which lasted until half-past four with thirty minutes' intermission before Retreat. Thus far none of the quartette had troubled themselves much concerning "passes," those magic bits of scribbled paper that meant permission to quit camp limits for a few brief hours of civil life. Once or twice they had obtained leave to spend an evening in Glenwood, a village about three miles from Camp Sterling. "What we ought to do is to all get a pass, go to Tremont and take in a good show," was Bob's opinion one evening as the four boys sat talking together in barracks. "We could get off at noon some Saturday and be back by midnight. That would give us the afternoon to see the town, a bang-up supper at a first-class restaurant and a show afterward. Oh, boy! Oh, joy! I can just see us doing it." "That sounds good to me," glowed Jimmy. "I've been going slow on the pass business 'cause I want to ask for one from Saturday until Monday morning, so that I can go home. Every letter I get from Mother lately she asks me when I'm coming home. But I guess if I'm good maybe I can get off with you fellows and get the pass home, too." "Let me see. This is Thursday. Why not make it for day after to-morrow?" proposed Bob. "With pay-day only yesterday we've all got money to spend. Why let it burn in our pockets? Use up and earn more's my motto."