prominence on the submarine chaser the night before would scarcely be
taken public notice of by Captain Trevor of the _Kennebunk_ until it was
mentioned in orders from Washington. Ensign MacMasters, however, liked
the boy too well not to take the first opportunity offered him to relate
the happening on the S. P. 888 at officers' mess. After this it of
course quickly reached the captain's ears.

Whistler and Torry immediately put in their claim for gunnery work. They
had studied faithfully and had had considerable training with the
secondary battery of the _Colodia_.

"Of course, these huge guns of the _Kennebunk_ mean something else
again," declared Ikey. "You fellers have been playin' with popguns yet.
If you get in a turret gun crew you've got to show 'em."

"We'll do just that little thing," answered Torry rather boastfully.

There was not likely to be practice with the big guns until the weather
changed. The _Kennebunk_ roared on through the storm for all of that
day; but her hull was so huge that she scarcely rolled while she
remained under steam.

Most target shooting is arranged for ordinarily fair weather. Not often
have battles at sea been fought in a storm. Besides, the _Kennebunk_
must run off the coast, beyond the approved steamship lines, to a point
where she could be joined by a naval vessel dragging the target.

There were lectures on gunnery that day to the gun captains, and the
boys off duty who were interested in the subject might listen to this
instruction. Phil Morgan and Torrance availed themselves of the
privilege.

The two younger chums, Michael Donahue and Ikey Rosenmeyer, were not, it
must be confessed, so well employed. During this first day aboard the
_Kennebunk_ there was bred between these youths a scheme which certainly
would not have met with the approval of the executive officer.

In their quarters aboard the destroyer _Colodia_ they would not have
been able to stow the junk they now secured away from the watchful eyes
of the master-at-arms. In the destroyer their ditty boxes had to hide
any private property the boys wanted to stow away.

But a man could lose himself in the various decks of the
superdreadnaught. Even the officers' quarters were forward with the
crew's, the ship was so huge. There were unused rooms and compartments
for which Ikey and Frenchy did not know the names, or their uses.

In one of these unoccupied compartments the two found a lot of lumber
and rubbish