Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net [Illustration: "ALLOW ME TO PRESENT MY FRIEND, DICK HAMILTON." _Page_ 175. _Dick Hamilton's Cadet Days._] DICK HAMILTON'S CADET DAYS OR THE HANDICAP OF A MILLIONAIRE'S SON BY HOWARD R. GARIS AUTHOR OF "DICK HAMILTON'S FORTUNE," "FROM OFFICE BOY TO REPORTER," "LARRY DEXTER, REPORTER," "LARRY DEXTER'S GREAT SEARCH," ETC. _ILLUSTRATED_ THE WORLD SYNDICATE PUBLISHING CO. CLEVELAND, O. NEW YORK, N. Y. Copyright, 1910, by GROSSET & DUNLAP _Printed in the United States of America_ by THE COMMERCIAL BOOKBINDING CO. CLEVELAND, O. PREFACE. MY DEAR BOYS: When I had finished the first volume of this series, telling of the doings of Dick Hamilton, the young millionaire, I was in some doubt as to just how you would like it. I hoped that you would be pleased with it, and interested in Dick and his chums, and what they did, but I could not be sure of it. That you did care for it, I am now assured, and I am glad to be able to give you the second volume, relating some of Dick's experiences while at a leading military school. You will recall that, after he had come into possession of his great fortune, by fulfilling certain conditions of his mother's will, there were still other things for him to do; matters that his mother had planned before her death. One of these was to make sure that her son would get a good military training. Dick went to Kentfield Academy, but, to his surprise, he met with a very cold reception from the other cadets. Ray Dutton, not understanding that, in spite of our hero's wealth, he was a fine chap, influenced the other students against Dick, and, for a time, the young millionaire was very lonely in the big school. But he resolved to fight his own battles, and become popular in spite of his wealth. Uncle Ezra brought him bad news, but it was the means of great good luck for Dick, though Grit, the bulldog, seemed to regard the crabbed old man as his master's enemy, and chased him from the school. All this you will find set down in the present volume, and also an account of how Dick was instrumental in locating a long missing soldier, and how, when the society house of the Sacred Pig burned down, without any insurance being in force, Dick, with his wealth, came to the aid of the surprised cadets. Yours sincerely, HOWARD R. GARIS. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. DICK GETS A TELEGRAM 1 II. A CHANGE IN PLANS 14 III. GRIT ROUTS UNCLE EZRA 25 IV. IN WHICH DICK STARTS OFF 35 V. AN ODD CHARACTER 42 VI. THE HAZING 51