l me that a rookie generally has his first issue of
uniform in about three days," said Noll. "That won't be so very long to
wait."

"Won't it, though?" almost grumbled Hal. "Any time at all is too long to
wait, when we've been dreaming so long about wearing the uniform."

"Why, we'd be a discredit to the uniform at present," smiled Noll.
"Think how awkward we looked and felt, and were to-day. It seemed as
though it were going to be simply impossible to learn the first steps of
a soldier's business."

"We'll learn faster, now," suggested Hal; "now that Shrimp has gone out
of our lives."

"_Has_ he gone out of our lives, I wonder?" mused Noll.

"Say," hinted Hal, "I'd have given a lot to have seen Tip Branders
drilling under Shrimp."

"I don't suppose we'll be very likely to see Tip again, for some years,"
suggested Noll.

In this he was in error, as will presently appear.

"How's the time running along, I wonder?" was Noll's next thought.

Hal drew his watch from a pocket, laid it on the ground, and struck a
match, screening the blaze with his hands.

"We've nearly an hour yet," Overton answered.

"I don't know but we'd better go back before we have to," ventured Noll.
"Hullo, there's a boat out there, putting in this way."

Though neither of the boys knew it some of the glow of the burning match
had been visible in the darkness out on the water, and this boat was
coming in answer to a fancied signal.

"I'm going to watch that boat a bit," whispered Hal in his chum's ear.

"Why?"

"Well, I don't believe it has any right to land here at night. Any
boatman here on honest business ought to go around to the dock, I
think."

"Pooh!" breathed Noll.

"Don't make any noise, anyway."

It was very dark, but the rookies could see a small rowboat head into
the beach just a little way below them. There was one man in the boat,
and he promptly sounded a low, cautious whistle. It was answered from
behind the young recruits, somewhere. Then the sound of steps.

Some one was approaching, and the boatman, standing up in his craft,
listened, then called in a low voice:

"That you, Sim?"

"Yep."

"Good!" answered the boatman. "I got your word, 'phoned from New York.
I've got cit clothes for you in the boat, also a weight to sink your
uniform with, when you make the change."

Now the newcomer trod down straight past the place of concealment of the
boys. Something in his figure was wholly familiar.

"Why, that