"BAGGED," AND NO MISTAKE
"Plebes Flint and Austin are having a good many callers," remarked Dave
Darrin, halting by the door of quarters before he and Dan entered.
"Sure! Aren't you wise?" inquired Dan, with a wink.
"I think so," murmured Dave. "The callers all seem to be third classmen."
"Of course; they're putting the rookies through their paces."
"Surest thing!" murmured Dalzell without excitement.
"But this is March. Isn't it a rather late time in the year to be still
hounding the poor new men?"
"I don't know," mused Dalzell. "It may be that Mr. Flint and Mr. Austin
are unusually touge."
"Touge" is Annapolis slang for "fresh." It corresponds closely to the "b
j" of West Point.
A sound as of protest came from behind a closed door at the further end
of the deck.
"I hope our youngsters aren't going too far," Dave remarked, "youngster"
being the accepted term for the third classmen, and the same as
"yearling" at West Point.
"Well, it's none of our business," replied Dan, with a shrug of his
shoulders. "Study call will be along in fifteen minutes. Going to get an
early start with the books to-night?"
"I guess that will be wise," Darrin nodded.
"It surely will."
The rest of the winter had gone along rather uneventfully, save for the
inevitable, overpowering amount of grind through which a midshipman must
pass. It was now spring, and midshipmen thoughts were divided between two
topics--annual exams, and summer cruise.
Dan had started into the room, and Dave was about to follow, when he
heard an unusually loud thud at the further end of the deck.
"Danny boy, the plebes must be getting it hard to-night."
"I'd like to see the fun," muttered Dalzell, his eyes snapping with
mischief. "But it doesn't seem to be any of our business. Hazing work is
left in charge of the youngster crowd."
"Yes; a second classman shouldn't interfere," assented Dave. "Well, study
for ours."
"I'm afraid I'm not as studious as I was a minute ago," contended Dan,
with a grin.
Dave looked almost startled as he seized his chum by the arm.
"Inside with you, Danny boy!"
"Not under compulsion," laughed Midshipman Dalzell.
"I'll condescend to coaxing, then. But don't anger the youngsters by
butting in."
"And why not? An upper classman has a right to step in, if he wishes."
"It is, at least, against the rules of good taste to interfere,"
argued Darrin.
"Well, hang you, I don't want to interfere. All I want to do is to look
on. Can't an upper classman do that?"
"I won't," returned Dave.
Yet almost immediately he changed his mind, for two hard bumps and a gust
of laughter swept up the deck.
"They're making so much racket," murmured Dave, lingering by his own
door, "that, the first thing we know, a duty officer will swoop down and
rag the bunch."
"Let's go in, then, as grave and dignified second classmen, and warn the
youngsters like daddies," proposed Dan, but his eyes were twinkling with
the spirit of mischief.
A good deal against his own inclination Darrin allowed himself to be
coaxed into the thing.
Nine youngsters were found in Midshipmen Flint and Austin's room when
Dave and Dan entered after rapping.
"We're not intruding, I hope?" inquired Dalzell, with his most
inviting grin.
"Not at all, gentlemen," responded Midshipman Eaton, of the third class.
"These fourth classmen seemed unwontedly popular to-night,"
insinuated Dan.
"They've been most uncommonly touge all through the year, sir," replied
Eaton, tacking on the "sir" in order to impress Midshipmen Flint and
Austin with the tremendous dignity or all upper classmen.
"What form does their tougeness take?" Dan wanted to know.
"They have not yet learned the respect that is due to upper
classmen, sir."
"And especially to third classmen?" inquired Dan, now without the flicker
of a smile.
"They are especially touge, sir, with third classmen."
"And you are showing them the error of their ways?"
"We are trying to do so, sir."
"I thought so, from the noise we heard," pursued Dalzell.
"If you have any better ways, Mr. Dalzell, we shall be glad to profit
from your riper experience, sir," suggested Midshipman Eaton.
"No; I've forgotten almost everything that I ever knew in that line,"
remarked Dan.
"Mr. Darrin, sir?" suggested Eaton, turning to the other second
classman present.
"I have nothing to suggest," replied Dave slowly, "unless--" Then
he paused.
"Unless--sir?" followed up Midshipman Eaton.
"No; I won't say it. It might give offense," Darrin responded.
"Have no fear of that, Mr. Darrin," urged Eaton.
"All I was going to suggest, Eaton, was that this is the month of March."
"Yes, sir?" inquired Eaton wonderingly.
"When Dalzell and I were fourth classmen we weren't troubled at all by
the youngsters after Christmas. Last year, Eaton, our class didn't bother
yours at any later date, either."
Some of the youngsters present began to look embarrassed, though Dave's
tone had been quiet and free from rebuke.
"But, sir, don't imagine that we're doing anything to the plebes for our
own amusement," protested Eaton. "This is the only pair of the fourth
class left that need any attention from our class. These two young
misters are the tougest lot we've had to deal with. In fact, sir,
they're ratey!"
"Still," rejoined Dan Dalzell, "I think you are keeping it up pretty
late in the year, even if they are ratey."
A midshipman who is "ratey," as has been explained in an earlier volume,
is a much greater offender than a midshipman who is merely touge. For a
ratey fourth classman makes the foolish blunder of considering himself as
good as an upper classman.
"Of course," suggested Dan, making haste to smooth over any astonishment
that his own and his chum's remarks might have caused, "we don't propose
to instruct the members of the third class in the way they shall perform
their duties toward the members of the fourth. Don't let us interfere
with you, Mr. Eaton."
"By no means," murmured Dave Darrin, smiling. "We don't wish to intrude."
"But wait just one moment gentlemen," begged Eaton. "We want you to see
for yourselves how effectively we are smoothing the touge creases out of
these baby midshipmen."
During the discussion Flint and Austin had been standing at one side of
the room, looking decidedly sheepish. Both had their blouses off, though
neither had been required to take off his collar. The trousers of the two
fourth classmen were rather liberally overlaid with dust, showing that
they must have been performing some rough stunts on the floor.
"Step over to that, basin, mister," ordered Youngster Eaton, eyeing
Flint, who promptly obeyed.
"Now, mister, stand on your head in that bowl," commanded
Midshipman Eaton.
Looking doubly red and uncomfortable, with these two grave-looking second
classmen present, Flint bent down, attempting to stand on his head in the
bowl of water, while he tried, at the same time to push his feet up the
wall, thus standing on his head. Twice Flint essayed the feat and failed,
splashing a good deal of water over the floor. Then, for the third time,
Flint tried the performance. This time he succeeded, but his two previous
failures had provoked such a storm of laughter that no man present heard
a cautious rap on the door. The next instant that door was flung open and
Lieutenant Preston stepped into the room.
With the entrance of that discipline officer half of the midshipmen
present wheeled about, then, startled as they were, did not forget to
come to attention.
"Hm!" said Lieutenant Preston, at which the other half heard and
came to attention. Flint, whether too scared, or perhaps enjoying
the discomfiture of his tormentors, made no effort to return to
normal position.
"What's your name, sir?" thundered the discipline officer, glaring
fiercely at Midshipman Flint.
"Flint, sir," replied the fourth classman in a gasp.
"Bring your feet down and come to attention, sir!"
Flint obeyed.
During this time Lieutenant Preston had stood so that no midshipman in
the room could slip by him into the corridor.
"I will now take the names of the gentlemen present," went on the
discipline officer, drawing a notebook and pencil from an inner pocket
and commencing to write.
"All except the fourth classmen present will at once fall in by twos
outside," commanded Lieutenant Preston, closing the notebook and slipping
it away. "Midshipmen Flint and Austin will mend their appearances as
speedily as possible and then form the last file outside."
"Wow!" whispered Dan in his chum's ear outside. "Talk about the
fifty-seven varieties! We're in all the pickles!"
"Yes," murmured Dave.
"What are you going to do about it, Davy?"
"Take my medicine," Dave replied.
"But we weren't really in the thing."
"Danny boy, never get out of a thing, or try to, by playing cry baby!"
"No danger," retorted Dalzell. "David, little giant, we'll just console
ourselves with the realization that we're in the worst scrape we ever
struck yet."
"Yes," nodded Dave.
Fourth classmen Flint and Austin were not long in making themselves
presentable. Then they fell in at the rear of the line.
"Squad, forward march!" commanded the discipline officer dryly.
Through the corridor and off that deck the little squad of thirteen
midshipmen marched. Never had thirteen been more unlucky, for the present
superintendent was known to be a man determined to stamp out hazing.
Nor did the affair remain a secret for more than a moment Midshipmen
returning to their own decks stepped to the wall to let the squad pass.
Nor was more than a look at the two rear fourth classmen needed to enable
any wondering midshipmen to guess the nature of the offense with which
the remaining eleven upper classmen were to be charged.
"Our Darry in that!" gasped Farley, as the squad went by. "Did you see
him?"
"Yes," Page mournfully admitted.
"Then my eyes didn't play me any trick, as I had hoped. Darry and
Dalzell! What evil spirit tempted them to be in that scrape?"
In the meantime Lieutenant Preston was arraigning the captured
delinquents before the officer in charge, and the commandant of
midshipmen had already been telephoned for and was on the way.
Study call cut short a good deal of excited discussion on the different
decks. The commandant of midshipmen arrived, heard the evidence of the
discipline officer, looked over the offenders, entered their names on his
own record, and then spoke briefly, but in the voice of fate itself:
"The accused midshipmen will go to their rooms. They will, until further
orders, remain in their quarters, except for recitations and meal
formation. They will forego all privileges until the superintendent or
higher authority has acted finally in this matter. That is all, young
gentlemen. Go to your rooms, except Midshipmen Flint and Austin, who
will remain."
As soon as the upper classmen had departed, the commandant took Flint and
Austin in hand, questioning them keenly and making notes of the more
important answers.
Back in their own rooms, Midshipman Dan Dalzell was at first overwhelmed
with horror.
"We're dished, Davy! We walk the plank! The super won't forgive a single
man who is caught at the royal pastime of hazing! I'm going to write,
now, for the money to get home with. You know, in the last two affairs,
the hazers have been dismissed from the Naval Academy."
"Yes," Dave nodded. "It looks black for us. But keep a stiff tipper lip,
Danny boy."
"It's all my own miserable fault!" uttered Dalzell, clenching his fists,
while tears tried to get into his eyes. "You've got me to blame for this,
Davy! It was all my doing. I insisted on dragging you down to that room,
and now you've got to walk the plank, all because of my foolishness! Oh,
I'm a hoodoo!"
"Stop that, Danny!" warned Dave, resting a hand on his chum's arm. "I
didn't have to go, and you couldn't have made me do it. I wouldn't have
gone if I hadn't wanted to. I'm not going to let even you rest the blame
for my conduct on your shoulders."
Finally the chums went to study table.
"What's the use!" demanded Dan, closing a book after he had opened it.
"We don't need to study. We've got to walk the plank, at any rate, and
all the study we do here for the next day or two is so much time wasted!"
"We may walk the plank," retorted Dave. "In fact, I feel rather certain
that we shall. But it hasn't happened yet Danny boy, open that book
again, and open it at the right page. Study until recall, and work
harder than you ever did before. You know all about that old-time Navy
man who said, 'Don't give up the ship!'"
They studied, or manfully pretended to, until release sounded. How
much they learned from their books that night may have been a
different matter.