"Why are you prisoners guilty of insulting and abusive language toward a member of the guard?" "He's too well satisfied with himself," sneered Bill Hooper. "Ditto," scowled Dowley. "What have you to say, Minturn?" demanded Corporal Sykes. "The kid just sat down there to make us mad," replied Minturn in a growling voice. "The sight of that boot-lick makes me sick all over." "That's all I want to know," replied Corporal Sykes calmly. "You've all admitted the abusive language, so I'll enter it on report, which will be brought up at court-martial. If there's any further report about you men I'll mention the matter to the officer of the day. Where are you going with that book, Overton?" "Since the sight of myself disturbs the prisoners," Hal replied, "I am going to take my book outside." "I'd rather you wouldn't," replied Corporal Sykes crisply. "Members of the guard have a right in here, and prisoners who don't like a member of the guard had no business to become prisoners." CHAPTER XX PROMOTION FLIES IN THE AIR A few days later the court-martial was convened at Fort Clowdry. In the cases of the three "solitaries" the evidence was speedily in. With the evidence furnished by Hal, Noll, Hyman and others, the accused delinquents were found guilty. At the trial there had come another surprise. Evidence had just been forwarded from the recruiting office where Dowley had enlisted. This evidence showed that Frank Dowley was a highly respected man in his own part of the country, but he had left home and gone hundreds of miles away for new employment. The prisoner who stood before the court as Dowley was Frederick Cramp in his own proper name, and had served a term in jail for robbery. Cramp had a generally bad reputation. Finding himself closely pursued by the sheriff's officers for a newly committed crime, Cramp had seized upon the inspiration to enter the Army under the assumed name of Dowley. In the ranks he believed that none of the pursuing officers would think of looking for him. The references of the supposed Dowley had come back from the home town with such splendid endorsement that the enlisting officer had imagined that he had found a most satisfactory recruit in Frederick Cramp. It is likely that the deceit would never have been discovered, had not Frank Dowley--the real one--lately returned to his home town. He had been astounded when his friends had questioned him about Army life, and, on hearing the news, had hastened to the nearest recruiting office, from which this strange story had come to be laid before the court-martial just in time to punish the culprit. "Dowley" was sentenced to be dishonorably dismissed from the service, with forfeiture of pay and allowances, to serve one year at a military prison and then to be turned over to the civil authorities for such further punishment as might develop. Corporal Minturn, too, was sentenced to be dismissed from the service, and to serve one year at a military prison.