"Shall I take him near the gate in a cab, or walk him there?" asked Darrin.
"It will bring about his recovery more completely if he walks."
"Pardon me for a moment, then, and I'll go outside and release the driver."
Then, returning, Darrin added:
"Doctor, if you'll hand me your bill, Mr. Dalzell will see that his father remits to you."
Dr. Stewart nodded, wrote the bill, and passed it over. It was not by any means the first time that the physician had done business on that basis.
"A fairly brisk walk, gentlemen, will be best," said the doctor, at the street door. "Good evening—and good luck."
"Another Naval mystery, I suppose," smiled the physician, as he turned back to his office. "But I shall never hear from it again, except when the remittance arrives from the young man's father."
Arriving at the Maryland Avenue gate of the Academy grounds Dave turned in report for both of them. Then the chums continued across to Bancroft Hall.
Midshipman Brimmer was reported absent, but accounted for, at that supper formation. At that moment Brimmer was undergoing a Naval surgeon's treatment for his eye. Brimmer's brief explanation to the surgeon was that he had run his face against something hard in a dark alleyway while in town. The surgeon noted down the explanation, smiling grimly.