Pilgrimage (The New World) Read Online Free PDF Page B

flag safe for as long as Ross needed, and he knew she would protect them. Because of Grandpa Hank’s death just two days after giving Ross the fishing pole, it had never been used. The red ribbon was still attached, and Ross had secretly vowed to keep it that way for as long as he lived.
    The final goodbye was the most difficult of all, and everyone else knew enough to back away and give the two young lovers some private space. Patty was doing her best to hold back the tears, but she was losing the battle. They held each other in a long embrace while sharing a passionate kiss, and then she presented Ross with a letter that he could open after the bus pulled away.
    When the driver informed Ross that it was now or never, he gave Patty one final kiss goodbye and stepped onto the eastbound bus. He found a window seat near the back, and slid the panel open to wave as the bus began to move away. With luck he would see all of these people when he returned for Christmas break, but that was several difficult months into the future. His final glimpse of Patty and Jessica provided Ross with some comfort before the bus turned the corner, as the two of them stood together in a sisterly embrace.

 

     
     
    INDOCTRINATION DAY AT the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland was intense to say the least. The first of what would become perhaps several thousand lessons over the next four years was that Ross Martin was now a small fish in a very large ocean. Everyone associated with the academy, be it administration, faculty, or midshipmen, were incredibly bright, and he was at the bottom end of the food chain. Ross now understood part of why his father had said he was proud of how mentally tough he had become, because he would need to keep his wits about him if he hoped to pursue his dreams.
    When room assignments were handed out to the incoming class of midshipmen, Ross found himself placed with three other plebes, or freshmen, that had come from various backgrounds. He was the last to arrive at his typical four person living quarters, so his choice of bunk was pre-determined. As Ross said hello to introduce himself, one of his roommates stepped forward with outstretched hand. James Franklin seemed like a friendly guy from Seattle, Washington who was a couple of inches shorter than Ross, but probably outweighed him by twenty pounds. He was a soft spoken black man who had grown up in an area of the country that had far less racial tension between blacks and whites than the other two of his new roommates.
    Next to approach was Shaun Jamison who was from a tough Irish neighborhood on the south side of Boston, Massachusetts. The street smart kid was small and thin in stature, but Ross instinctively knew he could probably hold his own in a fight. He also figured that Shaun’s focus on succeeding would be intense, because the academy may have been his best chance to escape from the negative aspects of his home town. At least in that regard, they already had something in common.
    The last of his new roommates to step forward was Davis Lee Wakefield III from near Charleston, South Carolina. He came from a wealthy family, and was the only one of the group that surpassed Ross’ six foot-two inch frame, but his introduction made Ross well aware that he had more growing up to do. Davis Lee, as he insisted on being called, said he was glad to have another “southern man” in the room, and claimed that he and Ross had to stick together because the other two roommates were “Yankees!” His next statement made even less sense, as he informed Shaun that he needed to switch bunks because the two men from the south should be on the same side of the room.
    That sentiment did not sit well with the young man from Boston, who had been the first of the four to arrive and had already squared away most of his gear. Ross immediately quieted the situation by saying, “We are all going to be living together for the next four years, and this is not the