e Superior closed down for the winter. Although the
work had been hard and, during the last month, quite exhausting, Eric
felt keen regrets in leaving the station and in bidding good-by to Dan.
He had become quite attached to the old puzzle-maker and had grown to
realize how valuable his help had been.

Eric found, moreover, that not only had the hermit mathematician started
him along the right road to algebra, to "trig." and even toward the
geometry which he once hated, but also that his training with the old
puzzle-maker had taught him how to study. He settled down in deadly
earnest in Detroit, keeping up with all his special studies and also
doing a good deal of hard reading with his father's help. The inspector
knew that the entrance examination to the Coast Guard Academy was one of
the stiffest tests in the government service and he willingly gave his
time to help Eric. It was a winter of hard work and, aside from some
skating and ice-hockey, Eric took little time off from his books.

Largely as a result of the puzzle-maker's guidance and by his own
persistent digging, Eric was well prepared for the examinations in June.
He had some difficulty with rules and forms, but the essential
principles of things were fixed solidly in his mind, so that when the
lists were published, Eric found his name third, and second in
Mathematics. His rival was a young fellow, named Homer Tierre, from Webb
Academy, who was entering as a cadet engineer. The two boys struck up a
friendship outside the examination room, and Eric was delighted to find
that his new acquaintance had passed, with him, so high in the list that
the acceptance of both was sure.

Although, at the Academy, Homer and Eric were apart a good deal, the one
being a cadet of engineers and the other a cadet of the line, still they
had many classes together. Eric, accustomed to the life-saving work, was
able to be a good deal of help to his friend and taught him many tricks
of swimming that he had learned from the Eel, two years before.
Moreover, having been used to the strict discipline of the old
lighthouse inspector at home, Eric fell readily into the rigid rules of
the Academy and often was able to save his friend from some pickle for
which the latter was headed. Homer's assistance was equally valuable to
Eric, for the young cadet engineer had been daft about machinery ever
since he was old enough to bang a watch to pieces to find out what made
it go, and he was able