to the office of the officer in charge.

Taking one of the blanks, and a pen, Dave Darrin filled out the
complaint against himself, and turned it over.

"Dave, you didn't leave your things in any such shape as that?"
burst from Dan as soon as Dave had returned to his room.

"I didn't do it--of course I didn't," came impatiently from Darrin.

"Then who did?"

"Some fellow may have done it for a prank."

Dan shook his head, replying, stubbornly:

"I don't believe that any fellow in the Naval Academy has a sense
of humor that would lead him to do a thing like that, just as
a piece of what he would consider good-natured mischief. Dave,
this sort of report against you on pap means demerits."

"Fortunately," smiled Darrin, "the pap sheet is so clear of my
name that I can stand a few demerits without much inconvenience."

But at breakfast formation, the next morning, Dave's name was
read off with twenty demerits.

"That's a huge shame," blazed forth Dan, as soon as the chums were
back in their room, preparing to march to their first recitation.

"Oh, well, it can't be helped--can it?" grimaced Dave.

Within the next fortnight, however, Darrin's equipment and belongings
were found to be in bad shape no less than five other times.
With a few demerits which he had received in the summer term Dave
now stood up under one hundred and twenty demerits.

"I'm allowed only three hundred demerits for the year, and two
hundred by January will drop me," muttered Dave, now becoming
thoroughly uneasy.

For, by this time, he was certain that some unknown enemy had
it "in for him." Darrin felt almost morally certain that some
one--and it must be a midshipman--was at the bottom these troubles.
Yet, though he and Dan had done all they could think of to catch
the enemy, neither had had the least success in this line.

"Eighty demerits more to go," muttered Dave, "and the superintendent
will recommend to the Secretary of the Navy that I be dropped
for general inaptitude. It seems a bit tough, doesn't it, Danny
boy?"

"It's infamous!" blazed Dalzell. "Oh, if I could only catch the
slick rascal who is at the bottom of all this!"

"But both of us together don't seem to be able to catch him,"
replied Darrin dejectedly. "Oh, well, perhaps there won't be
any more of it. Of course, I am already deprived of all privileges.
But then, I never care to go into Annapolis, and I am never invited
to officers' quarters, anyway, so the