simply afraid that I'm not made of the stuff to make
a competent Naval officer. My markings are all right, but I know
that I don't know enough to take a sailboat out and bring it back."

"Oh, is that all?" cried Dalzell laughingly. "Then I know just
what you want."

"What?"

"Drop into our room and have a talk with Darry. Dave knows just
how to comfort and cheer a fellow who has that glum bug in his
head of cabbage. Come right along!"

Dan almost forced Farley to the door of the room, opened it and
shoved the modest midshipman inside.

"Darry," Dan called joyously, "here's a case for your best talents.
Farley has a pet bee in his bonnet that he isn't fit to be a
Naval officer. He doesn't know enough. So he's going to resign.
I've told him you'll know just how to handle his case. Go after
him, now!"

Midshipman Dalzell pulled the door shut, chuckling softly to himself,
and marched back to the library. It was just before the call
for supper formation when Dan returned from "boning" in the library.

"Did you brace Farl up, Davy?" demanded Dan.

"You grinning idiot!" laughed Darrin. "What on earth made you bring
him to me?"

"Because I thought you needed each other."

"Well, perhaps we did," laughed Midshipman Darrin. "At any rate
I've been hammering at Farl all the time that he wasn't hammering
at me. I certainly feel better, and I hope that he does."

"You both needed the same thing," declared Dan, grinning even
more broadly as he picked up his hair brushes.

"What did we need?"

"You've both been studying so hard that your brain cells are clogged."

"But what did Farley and I both need?" insisted Midshipman Darrin.

"Mental exercise---brain-sparring," rejoined Dalzell. "You both
needed something that could take you out of the horrible daily
grooves that you've been sailing in lately. You both needed something
to stir you up---and I hope you gave each other all the excitement
you could."

In the way of a stirring-up something was about to happen that
was going to stir up the whole first class---if not the entire
brigade.

Nor was Dave Darrin to escape being one of the central figures
in the excitement.

Here is the way in which the whole big buzzing-match got its start
and went on to a lively finish.

CHAPTER XVII

MR. CLAIRY DEALS IN OUTRAGES

"Mr. Darrin!"

With that hail proceeded sharply from the lips of a first classman,
who on this evening happened to be the mids