"A short life? What do you mean?" Belle asked.
"Why, I'm going to be assassinated, the first hop that you attend at the Naval Academy."
"So I'm a gold brick, am I?" frowned Belle.
"You—a—gold brick?" stammered Dave. "Why, you—oh, go look in the glass!"
"Who will assassinate you?"
"A committee made up from among the fellows whose names I don't write down on your dance card. And there are hundreds of them at Annapolis. You can't dance with them all."
"I don't intend to," replied Belle, with a toss of her head. "I'll accept, as partners, only those who appear to me the handsomest and most distinguished looking of the midshipmen. No one else can write his name on my card."
"Dear girl, I'm afraid you don't understand our way of making up dance cards at Crabtown."
"Where?"
"Crabtown. That's our local name for Annapolis."