terwards heard to say that he
had difficulty in not joining in himself. A little later in the day, the
captain himself came on deck. Before going below, he came amidships
where Eric was lying, feeling weak, but thoroughly happy.

"I have the pleasure of informing you, Mr. Swift," he said, formally,
"that I have entered your name in the ship's log for distinguished
services."

This was more than Eric could have hoped for and he saluted gratefully.
The boy realized how much more significant was this actual visit of the
captain than if it had followed the usual custom of a message sent
through the executive officer of the ship, and his pride and delight in
the Coast Guard was multiplied.

Naturally, under the conditions, there was a slight relaxation of
discipline in Eric's case, and more than once the first lieutenant came
and chatted to the lad. Finding out that he was especially interested in
Alaska, the lieutenant talked with him about the work of the Coast Guard
in the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean. The officer was an enthusiast
about the Eskimo, holding them to be a magnificent race, enduring the
rigors of the far north and holding themselves clean from the vices of
civilization. As one of his classmates was taking up Eskimo language,
Eric also took up the study of it, since he had spare time on his hands
while in sick-bay. Meantime, however, he kept up his studies at top
notch.

The value of the Eskimo language to him, however, Eric never realized
until the close of his third year. Though limping a good deal, he had
been able to be up and around for a month before the exams and he had
been slaving like a forty-mule team. Still, work as hard as he could,
the boy was conscious that there were others who could surpass him.
Especially there was one, a fellow called Pym Arbuthnot, who was a hard
competitor.

[Illustration: COAST GUARD CUTTER, _MIAMI_, ON JULY FOURTH.

Vessel on which Eric was lieutenant, dressed for national holiday and
firing a salute.

Courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard.]

They used to say of Pym that he could learn a subject by looking at the
outside of a book, and his memory was as retentive as his acquisition
was quick. He was always first--in everything but mathematics. There
Eric had him. Often he blessed the memory of the old puzzle-maker, as
week by week his success in mathematics kept him right abreast of his
rival. When at last the exams came off and the lists were made known,
Eric