along inspecting their companies.

As the muster of each company was completed the first petty officer
commanded, "count off!"

"One, two, three, four! One, two, three four!" went the count
along each company line. Then the first petty officer of each
company wheeled about, saluted his company commander, and reported:

"Sir, all present or accounted for!"

Company commanders next corrected the alignment on the right center
company of each line.

Battalion commanders, seeing the divisions of their respective
battalions aligned, faced about, while the battalion adjutants
took post to right and rear. The brigade adjutant then faced
about, saluted the brigade commander, reporting: "Sir, the brigade
is formed."

Receiving the word from his superior, the brigade adjutant next
read the orders, after which he was ordered to take his post.

While this was going on Midshipman Cranthorpe had formed his awkward
squad to the rear, behind the first battalion.

Now orders rang out crisply for battalion commanders to take charge.
Thereupon each battalion commander marched his command in column
of squads into the mess hall; battalion commanders preceding their
battalions, company commanders preceding their companies and the
junior officers of each company following the company. Last of
all came Midshipman Cranthorpe's awkward squad.

And very awkward, indeed, these young men felt. Each had a burning
conviction that he was being watched curiously by hundreds of
pairs of eyes. The new men might as well have saved themselves
their worry. Barely an upper class man in the hall was paying
any heed whatever to these self-conscious plebes.

The meal, a mid-day dinner, was an excellent one. Few of the
new men, however, had any notion of what it consisted.

Mess hall was left with almost the same amount of formality.
In the short recreation period that followed the new men, painfully
conscious that their caps were the only part of the uniform they
wore, were hurried away by Midshipman Cranthorpe.

Now they were quickly assigned to the rooms that they would occupy
during their first year at the Naval Academy.

The midshipmen are not roomed by classes. Instead, each is assigned
to a company, and there are three companies to a division. Each
division occupies a floor in Bancroft Hall. It is not called
a "floor" but a "deck." Dave and Dan were assigned to the armory
wing of the lowest deck, on what was virtually the basem