"Then we'll take our choice and do as we please," remarked young Terry. "Come along out." Hal got his hat, and the chums went forth, again in their tennis flannel undress. The news had not been slow in spreading. They had gone hardly a block when they were stopped by friends, and congratulated on having taught Bunny such an effective lesson. Others there were, however, who whispered behind the backs of the young officers. Hal and Noll were not slow to catch some of those whispers. "We're a whole lot more important than we were three years ago," grinned Noll. "Now, at last, we seem to have the town divided into two camps concerning us." "Three," corrected Hal. "How do you make that out?" "One crowd believes the charges against us, and another doesn't. The third crowd isn't sure, or doesn't care." "One fellow I'm after, anyway," muttered Noll grimly. "Who's that?" "Sayles." "Who's he?" "Don't you know?" "I'm afraid I can't recall a party named Sayles," Hal answered thoughtfully. "Why, he's the pen-hoister who gets out the _Sphere_!" "Oh, well, what are you going to do to him, Noll?" "I'm going to make him prove all he printed in his lying sheet." "He can--with the aid of the kind of witnesses that he has back of him," Hal reminded his chum. "Well, we shall have to see if the testimony of such witnesses will 'go' in court," Noll contended grimly. "Are you going to prosecute the fellow?" "I'm going to sue Sayles for libel," Noll retorted. "Is the fellow worth the trouble?" Hal inquired doubtfully. "No, but our reputations are," rejoined Noll bluntly. "Hal, we are commissioned officers in the United States Army. If that means anything, it means that the United States government certifies us to the world to be gentlemen as well as officers. You know the legal phrase, 'officer and gentleman.' If we lie down tamely, and submit to such libelous attacks as the _Sphere_ made on us this morning, then we do a wrong to the whole body of officers and gentlemen in the Army. The officers of our service have always had to stand a lot of abuse from a certain kind of so-called newspapers. It's time to stop it by hitting any nail that shows its head. We owe it to our brother officers." "Noll, I'm inclined to think you're right." "I know I am. Come along, down this street." "Where now?" "I'm headed for the office of Lawyer Kimball. He's the best man in town to handle our case." To the lawyer's office, therefore, the two Army boys went. Lawyer Kimball listened, nodded, accepted their case to do what he could with it, and offered them some advice. Late that evening each Army boy received a telegram from the War Department, to the effect that a complaint had been lodged against them. They were ordered to remain in town, close to their home addresses, for the receipt of further orders.