have raised,"
replied the superintendent dryly. "All that concerns me in the matter is
whether you exonerate Mr. Totten, or whether you do not. If you do not,
the midshipman must state his case fully before a court-martial, at which
you will be one of the important witnesses."

"I exonerate Mr. Totten," replied Crane in a very low tone.

"Do you exonerate him completely?" "Ye-es, sir."

"Then Mr. Totten's offense will be reduced to one or two-simple breaches
of discipline," went on the superintendent.

"But see here, sir," interposed one of the other young men, "are your
midshipmen to be allowed to go about pounding whom they like? Are they to
be swashbucklers and bullies?"

"Very decidedly not, sir," replied the superintendent in a voice almost
thunderous. "The midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy must
conduct themselves as gentlemen at all times."

"Did they do that," urged the last speaker, "when they sailed into us as
they did?"

"Why did your friends go to the assistance of Mr. Crane?" asked the
superintendent.

"Be--because," stammered the spokesman, "your midshipman had knocked
Crane down and was misusing him."

"Did you, the friends of Mr. Crane, consider it the act of gentlemen for
several to rush in and attack one man?"

That left the callers rather breathless.

"Now, as to our other three midshipmen," pursued the superintendent, "at
most they only rushed in to see fair play. They did not make a hostile
move until they saw a whole crowd of you attacking one midshipman.
Gentlemen, I am quite ready to leave it to a jury of any intelligent
citizens as to whether the offending midshipmen or yourselves displayed
the more gallantry and honor. For you have all admitted doing something
that is not consistent with the highest standards of a gentleman, while
our accused midshipmen have no such reproach against them."

"Then your midshipmen are to get off, and to be encouraged to repeat such
conduct?" demanded the spokesman of the Crane party.

"No. On the contrary, they will be punished for whatever breaches of
Naval discipline they have committed. Considering what you gentlemen have
admitted, however, I do not believe you would have any standing as
witnesses before a court-martial. I therefore advise you all to drop your
complaint. Yet if you insist on a complaint, then I will see to it that
Midshipman Totten is brought to trial."

Crane and his associates felt, very quickly and keenly, that t