"Run along, like a good little boy, and your curiosity will soon be gratified."
Danny Grin looked as though he expected some joke, but he went none the less.
Dave, first to reach the entrance, stepped through into the open. As he did so he saw at least seventy-five of his recent classmates grouped outside.
The instant they perceived their popular comrade the crowd of graduates bellowed forth:
"N N N N,
A A A A,
V V V V,
Y Y Y Y,
NAVY!
Darrin!
Darrin!
Darrin!"
In another moment Danny Grin showed himself. Back in his face was hurled the volley:
"N N N N,
A A A A,
V V V V,
Y Y Y Y,
NAVY!
Grin!
Grin!
Grin!"
"Eh?" muttered Danny, when the last line reached him. They were unexpected. Then, as be faced the laughing eyes down in the street, Dalzell justified his nickname by one of those broad smiles that had made him famous at the Naval Academy.
Dave Darrin waved his hand in thanks for the "Four-N" yell, the surest sign of popularity, and vanished inside. When he returned to the parlor be found that Farley had conducted his parents and friends to one of the parlor windows, from which, behind drawn blinds, they had watched the scene and heard the uproar without making themselves visible.
At noon the hotel dining room was overrun with midshipmen and their friends, all awaiting the afternoon train.