stir up a hornet's nest for Dave Darrin.

CHAPTER III

MIDSHIPMAN PENNINGTON GOES TOO FAR

At eight o'clock the following morning the various sections were formed
and marched to the deck.

Dave reported:

"All present, sir."

The chief electrician was now summoned, and to him the section was
turned over. This young man, Whittam, by name, was an enlisted man, but
a bright young sample of what the Navy can do for the boy who enlists as
an apprentice.

"You will take your orders from Mr. Whittam as though he were an
officer," directed the officer, his words intended for all members of
the section, though he looked only at Darrin.

Dave saluted, then, as Chief Electrician Whittam turned to lead the way,
Dave called quietly:

"Section, left wheel--march!"

They followed Whittam down into the dynamo room, an interesting spot for
a machinist.

"It's fine," muttered Dan, as he stared about him at the bright metal
work, the switch-board and the revolving machines. "But I'm afraid I
couldn't learn the use and sense of all this in five years."

"Silence in the section," commanded Dave, turning around upon his chum.

Whittam now began a short, preliminary talk upon the subjects in which
the midshipmen would be required to qualify.

"One of the first and most important requests I have to make," said
Whittam presently, "is that none of you touch the switches, except by
direction. None of you can guess the harm that might follow the careless
and ignorant handling of a switch."

"It's pretty cheeky for an enlisted man to talk to midshipmen about
ignorance," whispered Pennington to Farley.

"Oh, I don't know--" Farley started to reply, but Darrin's quiet voice
broke in with authority:

"Cease talking in section."

Farley knew this to be a merited rebuke, and accepted it as such, but
Pennington's face went violently red.

"Confound that grease-spot-chaser," growled Pen. "He'll be bound to take
it out of me as long as the cruise lasts. But I'll get even with him. No
cheap greaser is going to ride over me!"

That morning none of the midshipmen were called upon to handle any of
the fascinating-looking machinery. Nearly the whole of this tour of
practical instruction was taken up by the remarks of the chief
electrician. As he spoke, Whittam moved over to one piece or another of
mechanism and explained its uses. Finally, he began to question the
attentive young men, to see how much of his instruction they ha