e first floor.

"I suppose this hotel is full of young men like ourselves, wondering
what tomorrow will bring them, when they get before the sawbones,"
muttered Dan.

"Candidates, like ourselves, you mean?" suggested Darrin. "We'll
inquire." With that, he approached the clerk and made the inquiry.

"Oh, no," replied the clerk, in answer to Dave's question. "There
are only two other candidates besides yourselves stopping here.
There are a good many young men in town, of course, but most
of them have been here for some weeks, and are in lodging houses.
A good many young men come here, you know, to attend the Naval
preparatory schools before they go up for their examinations."

"We've had our academic examinations, and have passed," announced
Dan.

"What about supper, sir?" asked Dave, who, in his short trip through
the South, had noticed that in this part of the country the "sir"
is generally employed.

"You'll find supper ready, gentlemen," replied the clerk, pointing
the way to the dining room.

So the two young men passed in and enjoyed their first sample of
southern cookery.

At this hour there were only a half dozen other people in the
dining room--none of them interesting, Darrin decided, after
hastily surveying the other diners.

The meal over, the two young candidates sauntered again out into
the hotel office.

"Any midshipmen out around the town, sir?" Darrin asked.

"Hardly, sir," replied the clerk, with a smile. "At this hour
the young gentlemen are in their rooms at Bancroft Hall."

"What does a midshipman look like?" ventured Dalzell.

"Like a human being, of course," Dave laughed.

"You mean the uniform?" inquired the clerk. "A midshipman, sir,
wears a dark blue uniform, like an officer's, and a visored cap,
Naval pattern. He also wears the anchor insignia on each side
of his coat collar."

Dave and Dan soon walked over to the open doorway and stood looking
out upon the street, in which, at this time, few people were passing.
Hearing a step in the office, Dan quickly turned. He saw
a young man coming through the office, holding himself very erect.
This young man was in dark blue uniform, with visored cap, and
on each side of his collar was the anchor insignia. Past the
anchor were two bars, but Dalzell didn't notice that at the moment.

"There's a real midshipman," whispered Dan, plucking at Dave's
sleeve. "I'm going to speak to him."

"Don't you do it," warned Dave, in an und