Sam examined his jacket critically; then, glancing up, he met the eyes of his companion.
“Red ink,” nodded Sam. “I’ll bet the eagle will scream now.”
“Who could have done it?”
“The question is not who could have done it, but who did do it.”
“We shall be held responsible, in any event. I see ourselves losing our ratings and perhaps missing our detail to a ship. Come, let’s get into some decent clothes before one of the officers gets here.”
They quickly changed their uniforms, laying out the ruined ones, backs upward ready for the inspection that they felt sure would soon follow.
In this surmise they were right. The drill over, the quartermaster, accompanied by the executive officer, Lieutenant Commander Devall, appeared at the boys’ quarters.
Dan and Sam came to attention as the officers entered.
The latter fixed their eyes upon the garments laid out on the floor of the quarters. Lieutenant Commander Devall picked up one of the jackets, examining it closely.
“How did this happen?” he demanded, eyeing Sam sternly.