IN THE VIEW OF THE NAVY DEPARTMENT
Dave Darrin did not let the news of the charges disturb his outward
serenity, though he was inwardly aware that perjured evidence might work
great harm to his future career.
Until he was advised by the Navy Department that charges had been made
against him, he really could do nothing in the matter.
But that letter from the Secretary was not long in coming. The letter
informed Midshipman Darrin that he has been accused of severely
assaulting a citizen without just provocation, and contained, also, some
of the circumstances alleged by Caspar Ardmore. Dave was commanded to
forward his defense promptly.
This Darrin did, in a courteous answer, as briefly as he could properly
make it. He admitted knocking Ardmore down, but stated that he did it in
resenting an insult offered by Ardmore to a young lady under his
(Darrin's) escort at the time.
This letter he showed Belle.
"It is the first step, on my side in the matter," he explained
with a smile.
"I should think the Secretary of the Navy ought to be satisfied with
your answer and drop it at once," replied Belle.
"He may."
"But you think he won't?"
"It is likely, Belle, that there will be a court of inquiry at least."
"Oh, dear!" cried Belle, a few tears gleaming in her eyes now. "Why
should so much fuss be made over the matter?"
"Because I am being trained to be an officer in the Navy. An officer must
be a gentleman as well. Any charge affecting a Naval officer's honor or
courtesy must be investigated, in order that the government may know
whether the accused is fit to hold an officer's commission. The
government wouldn't be dealing justly with the people if such standards
were not observed."
"And I am the cause of all this trouble for you?" cried Belle.
"No, Belle, you are not. You have nothing to do with the matter, except
indirectly. Ardmore is the one responsible for the trouble. If he had not
insulted you he wouldn't have gotten into any difficulty."
"It seems too bad, just the same."
"It's annoying; that's all," Dave assured her. "If I had to do the same
thing over again, for the same reason, I'd do it cheerfully."
Mrs. Meade heard of it all, from her daughter. Without saying a word as
to her intentions the mother herself wrote a letter to the Secretary of
the Navy. Mrs. Meade set forth the persistent fashion in which Ardmore
had sought to force his attentions upon Belle, to the latter's great
annoyance. Mrs. Meade's letter declared that Darrin had taken the only
possible means of saving Belle from future annoyance. The mother's letter
to the Secretary concluded by offering to procure statements from other
people on the subject if the Secretary wished.
Mrs. Meade received a prompt reply from Washington. The Secretary thanked
her for her statements and expressed entire belief in them.
By the same mail Caspar Ardmore, just returned to Gridley, received
this letter:
"Referring to your letter and complaint bearing date of September 6, the
Department has to advise you that other statements have also been
received bearing upon your accusations of an assault alleged to have been
committed upon your person by Midshipman David Darrin.
"It is claimed by the signers of other statements, including that of
Midshipman Darrin, that you grossly insulted a young woman under his
escort and completed the insult by accusing her of falsehood. If these
statements be true, and there be no other important circumstances,
except the assault, the Department begs to advise you that, had not
Midshipman Darrin resented the gross insult tendered the woman under
his protection, he would thereby, by such inaction, have rendered
himself liable to dismissal from the Navy. It is always the first duty
of a gentleman to afford ample protection to any woman under his
escort and care.
"Should you deny the statements quoted above in favor of Midshipman
Darrin, and should you further desire to have the matter brought to issue
before a duly appointed court of inquiry, before which you would be
required to appear as a material witness, this Department will be glad so
to be advised. If you do not make formal application for the appointment
of such court of inquiry within the next few days, no further action will
be taken in the matter. Very respectfully,
"Your obedient servant,
"(Signed) LEOK B. CHAMBERS,
"_Secretary of the Navy_."
As he read, and realized how flat his charge had fallen, Ardmore's face
passed through several shades of red.
"Of all the government red tape!" he muttered wrathfully. "I didn't think
the fool Secretary would do anything like this. I thought he'd just call
Darrin down hard and plenty, and perhaps bounce him out of the Naval
Academy. Humph! I guess all these Navy folks stand together. There
doesn't seem to be much justice about it."
Ardmore thereupon took another vacation away from Gridley. A few days
after he went Midshipman Darrin received a brief communication from the
Secretary of the Navy, stating that no further action had been taken by
the accuser, and that the Department was satisfied that the midshipman's
conduct had been fully justified. Therefore the matter would not be
called to the attention of the Naval Academy authorities for action.
"So you see," smiled Dave, as he called at Belle's home and handed her
the letter, "there is never any need to be worried until trouble breaks
in earnest."
"Oh, I'm so glad!" cried Belle, her eyes shining with delight, "I hope
you won't meet that Ardmore fellow again while you're home."
"If I do," promised Dave, "I shall merely look over his head when we
meet, unless he repeats the offense that brought him that thrashing."
Ardmore, however, did not appear in Gridley again during Dave's leave
of absence.
Dave and Dan tasted, to the full, the delights of life in the old home
town until the day when it was necessary for them to take train and
return to Annapolis.
"Mother, Laura and I will go down to Annapolis whenever we hear from
you as to the best time for coming," Miss Meade promised at the
railway station.
Then she found chance to murmur, in a voice too low for any of the others
present to hear:
"And I'll try hard not to be such a goose as I was last winter!"
She referred to the trouble that had been made by another girl at
Annapolis, the circumstances of which are wholly familiar to the readers
of the earlier volumes of this series.
"I don't blame you for the way you felt last winter," Dave assured her
heartily, "Next time, however, I hope you'll come to me first for an
explanation."
"There isn't going to be any next time, Dave."
Three minutes later two midshipmen were being whirled through the city
limits of Gridley.