Dan, who lived with his widowed mother, was a clerk in the general store in his home town; while Sam, an orphan, had been serving an apprenticeship in a small machine shop. It had been therefore no small effort for the boys to get together enough money for their expenses to the metropolis; and, as already stated, they were now practically at the end of their resources. But this did not discourage them.
“If we are rejected we shall be able to find something to do in New York that will let us earn enough money to take us back home,” Dan had declared resolutely, his pale face lighting up, his eyes sparkling with purpose and determination.
“Yes; I had just as lief work in New York as in Piedmont,” agreed Sam.
“I hope, Sam, we shall have to do neither.”
The door was thrown open abruptly, and the boys found themselves confronted by a middle-aged man clad in a blue suit. On the right sleeve he wore three bright red chevrons enclosing a white pilot wheel, surmounted by a white eagle, showing that he was a quartermaster in the United States Navy.
“Well, what is it?” he demanded rather brusquely.
“We wish to join the Navy, sir,” answered Dan firmly.
The quartermaster surveyed the lads keenly.
“Come inside,” he said.
The boys entered the waiting room, where they were directed to seat themselves at a table. A printed blank form was placed before each.