In the second half of the year he must force his way understandingly through advanced algebra and plane and spherical trigonometry! This is his mathematics work merely for the first year, yet it is more and more thoroughly covered than the high school boy's entire course.
During their first three months of plebedom, and with their course behind them in the really fine high school at Gridley, Dick and Greg had not found their math.

much of a torment.

But now, after coming back from encampment, these young men began to wake up to the fact that West Point mathematics is a giant contrasted with the pigmy of public school mathematics.

The two chums began to put in every minute they could spare over the long, bewildering array of problems assigned for each recitation.
"What a curious delusion we had, back at Gridley!" laughed Greg, in their room, one night.
"Which particular delusion was that!" Dick demanded, without looking up from his geometry.
"Why, we thought our easy old Gridley work in math.

was going to fit us to race easily through the first two years here!" "That isn't the only pipe that has burned out in our pockets since we became plebes!" grunted Dick.
"Are you going to max it (get a high marking) in math., to-morrow, old fellow ?" "I'm going to 'fess out (fail) more likely," sighed Dick.