and Laura will come down
and gladden our hearts by letting us drag you, won't you!"

"Drag us?" repeated Belle, much mystified.

"Oh, that's middies' slang for escorting a pretty girl to a midshipman
hop."

"You have a lot of slang, then, I suppose."

"Considerable," admitted Dave readily.

"What, then, is your slang for a pretty girl?"

"Oh, we call her a queen."

"And a girl who is--who isn't--pretty!"

"A gold brick," answered Dave unblushingly.

"A gold brick?" gasped Belle. "Dear me! 'Dragging a gold brick' to a hop
doesn't sound romantic, does it?"

"It isn't," Darrin admitted.

"Yet you have invited me--"

"Our class hasn't started in with its course of social compliments
yet," laughed Dave. "Please go look in the glass. Or, if you won't
believe the glass, then just wait and see how proud Dan and I are if we
can lead you and Laura out on the dancing floor."

"But what horrid slang!" protested Belle. "The idea of calling a homely
girl a gold brick! And I thought you young men received more or less
training in being gracious to the weaker sex."

"We do," Dave answered, "as soon as we can find any use for the
accomplishment. Fourth classmen, you know, are considered too young to
associate with girls. It's only now, when we've made a start in the
third class, that we're to be allowed to attend the hops at all."

"But why must you have to have such horrid names for girls who have not
been greatly favored in the way of looks? It doesn't sound exactly
gallant."

"Oh, well, you know," laughed Dave, "we poor, despised, no-account
middies must have some sort of sincere language to talk after we get our
masks off for the day. I suppose we like the privilege, for a few
minutes in each day, of being fresh, like other young folks."

"What is your name for 'fresh' down at Annapolis!" Belle wanted to know.

"Touge."

"And for being a bit worse than touge?"

"Ratey."

"Which did they call you?" demanded Belle.

Dave started, then sat up straight, staring at Miss Meade.

"I see that your tongue hasn't lost its old incisiveness," he laughed.

"Not among my friends," Belle replied lightly. "But I can't get my mind
off that uniform of yours that you didn't bring home. What would have
happened to you if you had been bold enough to do it?"

"I guess I'd have 'frapped the pap,'" hazarded Dave.

"And what on earth is 'frapping the pap'?" gasped Belle.

"Oh, that's a brief way of telling about it when a