Cadets in the middle of the bell curve got along without many worries. “Those who were at the head of the class were worrying about missing attendance,” recalled Wagner, “and those at the tail of the class were worrying about getting flunked out.”32 Harley worried enough about his low plebe grades to raise his class standing from 82d to 63d as a “yearling”; his class size dropped to 119 during his second year. This effort earned him his highest marks in any subj ect while at the academy. It also gave him the margin of safety from academic disqualification that he needed to pursue his main interests, horsemanship and mischief.