his
shoulders. "You'll find it a better rule, however, to stick to one affair
at a time. Darry, are you in shape, now, to attend to this matter from
your point of view?"

"Quite," nodded Dave, who had about succeeded in stanching the flow of
blood from his injured nose. "Does Mr. Jetson desire to take his coat
off or not?"

"Yes!" cried Jetson tempestuously, unbuttoning his own overcoat and
tossing it to the ground. "Now, take yours off, Mr. Darrin!"

"It's off," responded Dave, tossing the garment aside. "Now, look to
yourself, sir!"

The two second classmen closed in furiously. It was give and take, for a
few moments. In the clinches, however, Jetson succeeded in tearing
Darrin's dress coat, and also in starting the blood again so that the
crimson dripped down on Dave's white shirt front.

At the end of a full minute, however, Darrin had sent his enemy to the
ground, stopped in a knock-out. Both of Jetson's eyes were also closed
and badly swollen.

"Joyce," asked Hepson, "will you kindly remain with Jetson and see that
he is assisted to the hospital, if he needs it? It won't do for too
many of us, especially Darry, to be found here by any officer who may
be passing."

"I'll attend to it," nodded Midshipman Joyce, "though I'd rather perform
the service for any other fellow in the brigade."

Now that the affair was over, and Dave, after inspecting the damage to
his dress coat, was pulling on his overcoat, he was suddenly recalled to
other responsibilities.

"Danny boy," he said ruefully, as Hepson walked away with them, "I can't
very well get back to the hop soon--perhaps not at all tonight. I can't
go back in this torn coat, and I may not be able to borrow another that
will fit me well. Will you be good enough to hurry back and explain to
Belle why I am delayed--perhaps prevented from seeing her again tonight?"

"Certainly," nodded Dalzell, turning and hastening back.

"Now, what was it all about, Darry?" asked Hepson, as he walked along
with Dave.

Midshipman Darrin explained the trouble as well as he could.

"So the idiot accused you of keeping him off the football eleven!"
demanded Hepson in astonishment.

"Yes; and I offered to prove, by you, that I had nothing to do with his
exclusion from the team."

"Why the sole and whole reason why Jetson wasn't called to the Navy
team," declared Hepson, "was because he was believed to be too awkward
and too dangerous to other players. Whew, but I'm certai