CONCLUSION
Christmas came and went, and soon after this the semi-annual
examinations were on in earnest. Some of the midshipmen failed and sadly
turned their faces homeward to make a place for themselves in some other
lane of life. Dan Dalzell, however, made good his promise, and by a
better margin than he had dared hope. Dave came through the examination
somewhat better than his chum. Both felt assured now that they would
round out the year with fair credit to themselves.
Marian Stevens came to Annapolis several times during the latter half of
the year, and as it is expected that the future officer shall have
social as well as Naval training, Dave Darrin met her often.
Exasperation that she could draw the young midshipman on only so far
soon changed in Miss Stevens to anger and chagrin. Still Dave, giving
prolonged thought to no girl except Belle Meade, saw in her only a
lively companion. Sometimes he was her dinner partner. Always at a dance
he danced with her more than once.
It was at one such dance that she looked up as they circled the room to
say:
"I wonder if you know, Mr. Darrin, how much I enjoy dancing with you."
"Not as much as I enjoy dancing with you," he replied smilingly. Just
then the music stopped suddenly and an officer called in a voice that
carried over the great floor of the gymnasium and over all the chatter:
"Ladies and gentlemen, one moment's attention, please!"
In an instant all was still.
"Ladies and gentlemen," continued the officer, "official permission has
been granted for taking a flashlight photograph of the scene to-night.
Will everybody please remain where he is until after the exposure has
been made?"
Dave and Marian had paused directly in front of the lens of the camera.
Maid Marian looked up and made a light, jesting remark, gazing straight
into the midshipman's eyes. Dave, smiling, bent forward to hear what she
said.
Just then came the flash, and the photographer, his work finished for
the time, gathered his paraphernalia together and left. The music
recommenced and the dancing proceeded.
Three weeks later that photograph was reproduced as a double-page
illustration in one of the prominent pictorial weeklies.
The day the magazine was on the newsstands Dan Dalzell bought a copy.
Entering their quarters with it in his hand he opened it at the
illustration and handed it to Dave.
"You and Miss Stevens show up better than any one else, Dave," remarked
Dan.
"The photograph is a good piece of work," was Dave's only comment. He
did not wish to express the annoyance he felt when he noted the
appearance of intimacy between him and Marian, whose beauty showed, even
in this reproduction. "I'd a bit rather Belle shouldn't see this paper,"
he admitted to himself.
"David, old boy, this picture would make a good exhibit in a
breach-of-promise suit."
"That's an unkind remark to make about a fine girl like Miss Stevens,"
said Dave coldly.
Dan stared, then went off, pondering.
Belle Meade, in her Gridley home, received one day a large, square, thin
package. She saw the mark of the Annapolis express office, and hastily
snatched up scissors to cut the string. Out came a huge photograph.
"A picture of an Annapolis dance! How thoughtful of Dave to send it to
me!" Then her eyes fell on two figures around which a ring had been
drawn in ink. They were Dave Darrin and a pretty girl. On the margin of
the card had been scrawled in bold letters:
"Your affair of the heart will bear close watching if you still
cherish!"
This was signed, contemptibly and untruthfully, "A Friend."
"Uh!" murmured Belle in hurt pride and loyalty. Then she said resolutely
to herself: "I will pay no attention to this. An anonymous communication
is always meant to hurt and to give a false impression."
But there was the picture before her eyes of Dave and the pretty girl in
seemingly great intimacy. So though she continued to write to the
midshipman and tried hard to make her letters sound as usual, in spite
of herself a coldness crept into them that Dave felt.
"She must have seen that pictorial weekly," thought the boy miserably.
But as Belle said nothing of this, he could not write of it.
The season was well along. Dave and Dan sent Belle Meade and Laura
Bentley invitations to one of the later spring dances.
"I wonder if she'll come or if she's tiring of me," thought Dave Darrin
bitterly.
But Belle answered, accepting the invitation for Laura and herself.
When Saturday afternoon came both midshipmen hurried to the hotel in the
town and sent up their cards. Mrs. Meade soon appeared, saying the girls
would be down shortly.
"Are they both well?" asked Dave. His tone was as one giving a
meaningless greeting, but in his heart he waited anxiously to hear what
her mother should say of Belle.
"Well, yes. But Belle has been moping around the house a great deal,
Dave, rather unlike her usual self," replied Mrs. Meade slowly.
If Mrs. Meade deplored this, Dave Darrin did not. It showed him at least
that the girl's apparent coldness was not caused by her interest in some
other young man.
But when the girls came in and Belle greeted him cordially, to be sure,
but with something of restraint, his heart sank again.
"What's the matter, Belle? Has something gone wrong?" asked Dave when
Dan was engaging the attention of Mrs. Meade and Laura.
"Nothing. Is all right with you?"
"Surely!"
"Dave, when we're alone I have something to show you. I fear you have an
enemy here."
"An enemy! Oh, no. But I shall be glad to see what you have to show me."
It was not long before, at a word from Dave, Dan took Mrs. Meade and
Laura out for a walk. It was then that Belle got the large photograph
with the two figures ringed in ink and showed it to Dave.
"Why, what does this mean? Some one must have taken a good deal of
trouble to secure this photograph. The picture was taken for a pictorial
weekly. One can get a photograph from which the cut is made, but it is
troublesome and possibly expensive!"
"You have an enemy, then; some one bent on hurting you?"
"I don't know who it could be. My, how angry Miss Stevens would be if
she knew of this!"
"Miss Stevens? Is that the girl?"
"Yes. She's visited here often this year. She knows a number of the
officers' wives. She's vivacious and always has a good time, but she's
nothing to me, Belle. You know that, don't you?"
"I have never doubted you, Dave. Let us tear this up. I thought at first
I'd not show it to you; then decided it was best not to begin concealing
things from you. But let us not think of the thing again."
"Belle, you're a thoroughbred!" and here the matter dropped as far as it
was between Dave Darrin and Belle Meade.
Miss Stevens was at the dance that evening. Though she tried hard to
make that impossible, Dave did not dance with her, nor did he introduce
her to Belle, though there again Marian tried to force this.
It would have been well for Marian if Dan Dalzell had been equally
circumspect.
This time it was Belle who contrived and got the introduction to the
other girl, but Marian was by no means reluctant, so it was that they
managed to get a few moments alone together when they had sent their
dance partners to get something for them.
"You are a friend of Dave's, aren't you?" asked Marian.
"Of Mr. Darrin's? Oh, yes, we've always known each other."
"Then you've been here to many of these dances?"
"Only two."
"Too bad you could not have been here oftener. This has been an
unusually brilliant season. Really, many of the young people have lost
their heads--or their hearts. I often wonder if these midshipmen have
sweethearts at home." This daring--and impertinent--remark was made
musingly but smilingly.
"These Annapolis affairs are never very serious, I imagine," Belle
observed calmly.
"On the contrary, most of the Navy marriages date back to an Annapolis
first meeting."
"Then you think it well to come often?"
"Unless one has other ways of keeping in touch," was the brazen reply.
"I have," said Belle sweetly. "I receive a good many souvenirs in the
course of a year. One last winter was a photograph." With the words
Belle gazed intently into Miss Stevens' eyes. Then she went on: "There
was an anonymous message written on it. It was a lying message, of
course, as anonymous messages always are, written in a coarse hand. Did
you ever study handwriting, Miss Stevens?"
Marian gasped, realizing she was out-maneuvered.
"This writing had all the characteristics of a woman whose instincts are
coarse, that of a treacherous though not dangerous person--"
"Here's Mr. Sanderson back. Will you excuse me, Miss Meade?" and Marian
fairly fled.
Belle told Dave she had found out who had sent the photograph, but
added:
"I wish you wouldn't ask me who it was, Dave. I can assure you that the
person who did it will never trouble us again," and as Dave did not like
to think evil of any one, he consented, and continued to think of Marian
Stevens, when he thought of her at all, as a jolly girl.
The annual examinations were approaching. Dan Dalzell was buried deep in
gloom. Dave Darrin kept cheerful outwardly, but doubts crept into his
heart.
The examinations over, Dave felt reasonably safe. But Dan's gloom
deepened, for he was sure he had failed in "skinny," as the boys termed
chemistry and physics. So it was that when the grades were posted Dave
scanned the D's in the list of third classmen who had passed. Dan, on
the other hand, turned instantly to what he termed the "bust list."
"Why, why, I'm not there!" he muttered.
"Look at the passing list, Danny," laughed Dave.
Unbelieving, Dan turned his eyes on the list and to his utter
astonishment found his name posted. True, in "skinny" he had a bare
passing mark. But in other subjects he was somewhat above the minimum.
"So you see, old man, we'll both be here next year as second classmen,"
said Dave jubilantly.
This was as Dave Darrin said, and what happened during this time may be
learned in a volume entitled, "DAVE DARRIN'S THIRD YEAR AT ANNAPOLIS;
or, Leaders of the Second Class Midshipmen."
THE END