MIDSHIPMAN PENNINGTON GOES TOO FAR
At eight o'clock the following morning the various sections were formed
and marched to the deck.
Dave reported:
"All present, sir."
The chief electrician was now summoned, and to him the section was
turned over. This young man, Whittam, by name, was an enlisted man, but
a bright young sample of what the Navy can do for the boy who enlists as
an apprentice.
"You will take your orders from Mr. Whittam as though he were an
officer," directed the officer, his words intended for all members of
the section, though he looked only at Darrin.
Dave saluted, then, as Chief Electrician Whittam turned to lead the way,
Dave called quietly:
"Section, left wheel--march!"
They followed Whittam down into the dynamo room, an interesting spot for
a machinist.
"It's fine," muttered Dan, as he stared about him at the bright metal
work, the switch-board and the revolving machines. "But I'm afraid I
couldn't learn the use and sense of all this in five years."
"Silence in the section," commanded Dave, turning around upon his chum.
Whittam now began a short, preliminary talk upon the subjects in which
the midshipmen would be required to qualify.
"One of the first and most important requests I have to make," said
Whittam presently, "is that none of you touch the switches, except by
direction. None of you can guess the harm that might follow the careless
and ignorant handling of a switch."
"It's pretty cheeky for an enlisted man to talk to midshipmen about
ignorance," whispered Pennington to Farley.
"Oh, I don't know--" Farley started to reply, but Darrin's quiet voice
broke in with authority:
"Cease talking in section."
Farley knew this to be a merited rebuke, and accepted it as such, but
Pennington's face went violently red.
"Confound that grease-spot-chaser," growled Pen. "He'll be bound to take
it out of me as long as the cruise lasts. But I'll get even with him. No
cheap greaser is going to ride over me!"
That morning none of the midshipmen were called upon to handle any of
the fascinating-looking machinery. Nearly the whole of this tour of
practical instruction was taken up by the remarks of the chief
electrician. As he spoke, Whittam moved over to one piece or another of
mechanism and explained its uses. Finally, he began to question the
attentive young men, to see how much of his instruction they had
absorbed.
"This is a shame, to set an enlisted man up over us as quiz-master, just
to see how little we know," growled Pennington; but this time he had the
good sense not to address his remark to anyone.
Pennington was not yet in good shape, after his harrowing experiences of
the day before.
Ere the tour of instruction was over, he began to shift somewhat
uneasily.
Then his attention began to wander.
A brilliantly shining brass rod near him caught his eye. Something about
the glossy metal fascinated him.
Once or twice Pen put out his hand to touch the rod, but as quickly
reconsidered and drew back his hand.
At last, however, the temptation proved too strong. He slid one hand
along the rail.
"Here, sir, don't 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 head,
he's going to wake up one of these days!"
Following the last midshipman came Lieutenant-Commander Forman.
"After me, gentlemen," directed the chief engineer. He turned down a
narrow passage, only a few feet long, and came out in the furnace room.
Here huge fires glowed through the furnace doors. Four of the Navy's
firemen stood resting on their shovels. Instantly, on perceiving the
chief engineer, however, the men stood at attention.
"Pass the word for the chief water tender," ordered the engineer,
turning to one of the firemen.
The messenger soon came back with a pleasant-faced, stalwart man of
forty.
"Heistand," ordered the chief engineer, "give these members of the first
section, third: class, steam instruction, a thorough drill in firing."
"Aye, aye, sir," replied the chief water tender, saluting.
"Heistand's orders are mine, Mr. Dalzell," continued the
lieutenant-commander, facing Dan. "Preserve order in your section."
"Aye, aye, sir," replied Dan, saluting. Acknowledging this courtesy in
kind, the chief engineer turned and left the furnace room.
Heistand was presumably of German parentage, though he had no accent. He
struck the midshipmen as being a pleasant, wholesome fellow, though the
water tenders and firemen of the "Massachusetts" knew that he could be
extremely strict and grim at need.
"You will now, young gentlemen," began Heistand, "proceed to learn all
about priming a furnace, lighting, building, cleaning and generally
taking care of a fire. Two furnaces have been left idle for this
instruction."
But two of the regular firemen now remained in the room. These were
ordered to hustle out coal before boilers B and D. Then Heistand taught
the members of the section how to swing a shovel to the best advantage
so as to get in a maximum of coal with the least effort. He also
illustrated two or three incorrect ways of shoveling coal.
"The idea of making coal heavers out of us!" growled a much-disgusted
voice.
Dan did not see who the speaker was, but his eyes flashed as he turned
and rasped out:
"Silence in the section! Speak only to ask for information, and then at
the proper time."
"Another young autocrat!" muttered a voice.
"Wait one moment, please, Heistand," begged Dan. Then, wheeling squarely
about, and facing all the members of the section, he declared with
emphasis:
"If there's any more unauthorized talking I shall feel obliged to pass
the word above that discipline is in a bad way in this section."
Then he wheeled about once more, facing the chief water tender.
"Now, young gentlemen," resumed the chief water tender, "take your
shovels and fill in lively under boilers B and D."
Three or four times Heistand checked one or another of the midshipmen,
to show him a more correct way of handling the shovel. Yet, in good
time, both furnaces were primed.
"Now, Mr. Dalzell, please detail four members of the section to follow
me with their shovels and bring red coals from under another boiler."
Dan appointed himself, Darrin, Farley and Pennington.
Burning coals were brought and thrown into each furnace, and in a little
while roaring fires were going. These, though not needed for the
handling of the battleship, were permitted to burn for a while, Heistand
explaining to the section practically the uses of the water gauges and
the test cocks. By this time the midshipmen's white working clothes were
liberally sprinkled with coal dust and somewhat smeared with oils.
"And now, young gentlemen, as we have no further use for these fires,
you will next learn how to haul them," announced Heistand.
This was interesting work, but hot and fast. The implements with which
the middies worked soon became red-hot at the end. Yet, as all entered
into this novel work with zest, the fires had soon been hauled out on to
the floor plates.
Just as the last of this work was being done Pennington, as an apparent
accident due to excess of zeal, dropped the red-hot end of his implement
across the toe of Darrin's left shoe.
In an instant the leather began to blaze. With swift presence of mind
Dave stepped his right foot on the flame, smothering it at once.
But he was "mad clean through."
"See here, Pen," he muttered, in a low voice, his eyes blazing fiercely
into the other midshipman's, "that is the last piece of impudence that
will be tolerated from you."
Midshipman Pennington's lip curled disdainfully.
Dan had not seen the "accident," but he was near enough to hear the
talking, and he caught Dave at it. So Dan ordered, impartially:
"Mr. Darrin, you will place yourself on report for unauthorized talking
in section!"
Dave flushed still more hotly, but said nothing.
Midshipman Dalzell now marched the section from the furnace room, and
dismissed it. It was near noon, and would soon be time for the middies
to eat.
Dave hurried away, washed, changed his uniform, and then stepped away
swiftly to place himself on the report.
"I was sorry to do that, old chum," murmured Dan, as he met Dave
returning. "But of course I couldn't play favorites. What made you so
far forget yourself?"
"A something that would have had the same effect on you," retorted Dave
grimly. Thereupon he described Pennington's two underhanded assaults
that morning.
"Humph!" muttered Dalzell. "That fellow Pen is bound to go the whole
limit with you."
"He won't go much further," declared Dave, his eyes flashing.
"And the chump ought to know it, too," mused Dan. "The class history of
the last year should have taught him that. But see here, Dave, I don't
believe Pen will do anything openly. He will construct a series of
plausible accidents."
"There will be one thing about him that will be open, if he goes any
further," retorted Dave, "and that will be his face when he collides
with my fist."
"I hope I see that when it happens," grinned Dalzell. "It's bound to be
entertaining!"
"Wait a second, then. Here comes Pennington now," murmured Dave Darrin
in an undertone.
Pennington, in his immaculate blue uniform, like the chums, came
strolling along the passageway between decks.
He affected not to see the chums, and would have passed by. But Dave,
eyeing him closely, waited until Pen was barely three feet away. Then
Darrin said tersely:
"Mr. Pennington, I wish an understanding with you."
"I don't want any with you," replied Pennington insolently, as he stared
at Dave from under much-raised eyebrows. He would have gone by, but Dave
sprang squarely in front of him.
"Just wait a moment!" warned Dave rather imperiously, for he was aglow
with justifiable indignation.
"Well?" demanded Pennington halting. "Out with it, whatever you may
think you have to say."
"I have two things to speak about," replied Dave, trying to control his
voice. "In the first place, while going down the ladders to the furnaces
this morning, you stepped on my shoulder."
"Well!" insisted Pennington coldly.
"The second thing you did was, when hauling the fires, to drop red-hot
metal across one of my shoes, setting it on fire."
"Well?" insisted Pennington more coldly.
"If you mean to contend that either one was an accident," resumed Dave,
"then--"
But he found himself obliged to pause for a moment in order to steady
his voice.
"Well?" asked Pennington with more insolence than ever.
"If you make such pretense in either case," tittered Dave Darrin, "then
you're a liar!"
"Fellow!" sputtered Pennington, turning white with anger.
"I mean what I say, and I can back it up," muttered Darrin.
"Then I'll make you eat your words!" roared Pennington.
Clenching his fists and with the boxer's attitude, Pen aimed two swift
blows at Darrin.
Neither blow reached, however, for Dave dodged out of the way. Then
Darrin struck back, a straight, true, forceful blow that landed on the
other midshipman's nose, knocking him down.
Pennington staggered somewhat when he rose, but he was quickly up, none
the less, and ready for anything that might happen.
All of a sudden Dan Dalzell felt his own heart going down into his
shoes. One of the ship's officers had just entered the passageway, in
time to see what was going on.