handle that!" rasped in the voice of Whittam.
Pennington drew back his hand, a flush mounting to his face.
"The fellow has no right to talk to a midshipman in that fashion!"
quivered Pennington to himself. "But it was the fault of that
low-minded greaser Darrin, anyway. Darrin saw me, and he glanced
swiftly at the chief electrician to draw attention to me."
It is only just to Pennington to state that he actually believed he had
seen Dave do this. Darrin, however, was not guilty of the act. He had in
no way sought to direct attention at Pennington.
Towards the close of the tour the officer in whose department this
instruction fell passed through the dynamo room.
"Are there any breaches of conduct to be reported, Whittam?" inquired
the officer, halting.
"Nothing worth mentioning, sir," replied the chief electrician.
"I asked you, Whittam, whether there had been any breaches of
conduct," retorted the officer with some asperity.
"One midshipman, sir, after having been instructed to touch nothing,
rested his hand on one of the brass rods."
"His name?"
"I don't know the names of many of the young gentlemen yet, sir, so I
don't know the particular midshipman's name, sir."
"Then point him out to me," insisted the officer.
There was hardly any need to do so. Pennington's face, flushed with
mortification, was sufficient identification. But the chief electrician
stepped over, halting in front of the hapless one, and said:
"This is the young gentleman, sir."
"Your name, sir?" demanded the officer.
"Pennington, sir."
"Mr. Pennington, you will place yourself on the report, sir, for
disobedience of orders," commanded the officer. "Is this the only case,
Whittam?"
"The only case, sir."
The officer passed out of the dynamo room, leaving the unlucky one
more than ever angry with Darrin, whom he incorrectly charged with
his present trouble.
The recall sounding, Dave turned to Whittam, saying crisply but
pleasantly:
"Thank you for our instruction."
"He's thanking the fellow for my new scrape," growled Pennington
inwardly.
Dave marched his section back to deck and dismissed it. Dan Dalzell,
as section leader in steam instruction, immediately re-formed it.
"You will report in the engine-room, Mr. Dalzell, to
Lieutenant-Commander Forman, who is chief engineer of this ship. He
will assign you to an instructor."
"Aye, aye, sir," Dan replied, saluting. "Section, right wheel--march!"
Dan already knew where, down in the bowels of the great battleship, to
find the engine room.
Reaching that department, Dan halted his section.
"Section all present, sir," reported Dan, saluting a strange officer, who,
however, wore the insignia of a lieutenant-commander.
"Your name, sir?" inquired the officer.
"Dalzell, sir."
"Let your section break ranks. Then you may all follow me, and keep
your eyes open, for you will go through one or two dark places."
"Aye, aye, sir. Section break ranks."
Lieutenant-Commander Forman led the way, with all the members of
the section wondering what was to be the nature of their first day's
work in the engineer department.
Descending lower into the ship, the chief engineer led the young
middies over a grating, and paused at the head of an iron ladder.
"Pass down in orderly fashion, single file," directed the chief engineer,
halting. "When at the foot of this ladder, cross a grating to port side,
and then descend a second ladder, which you will find."
All the midshipmen went down the first ladder in silence. Dan, who
had preceded the others, crossed the grating and found the second
ladder.
Once more these youngsters descended. Pennington, as though by mere
accident, succeeded in following Dave Darrin down the ladder.
Just as they were near the bottom Dave felt a foot descend upon his
shoulder, almost with a kick, and then rest there with a crushing
pressure.
It hurt keenly until Darrin was able to dodge out from under and
hurriedly reach the bottom.
"Pardon, whoever you are," came a gruff voice.
Dave, with his shoulder crippled a good deal, and paining keenly,
halted as soon as his foot had touched bottom. It was dark down there,
though some reflected light came from an incandescent light at a
distance.
Dave waited, to peer into the face of the man who had stepped on his
shoulder.
It was Pennington, of course!
"I'll take pains not to go down ahead of you again, or to follow you up a
ladder," grunted Darrin suspiciously.
"Oh, are you the man on whose shoulder my foot rested?" asked
Pennington, with apparent curiosity.
"Didn't you know it!" questioned Darrin, looking straight into the
other's eyes.
Instead of answering intelligibly, Pennington turned and walked away a
few feet.
"Perhaps that fellow thinks he's going to vent his spite on me in a lot of
petty ways," murmured Dave. "If that is the idea he has in his
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