At that moment the call for midshipmen's dinner formation sounded. Dave and Dan were ready.
Pennington showed up just after the line had started to march into the midshipmen's mess tables.
To the inquiry of the officer in charge, Pen lamely explained that he had bumped his nose into something hard in a poorly lighted passageway.
Though the officer accepted the excuse, he smiled within himself.
"It wasn't iron or steel that bumped that young man's nose," thought the officer.
"Oh, the middies haven't changed a lot since I boned at Annapolis!"
Pennington's nose was no very lovely member of his face at that moment. It had been struck hard, mashed rather flat, and now looked like a red bulb.
"Meet with an accident, Pen?" asked Hallam curiously at table.
"Quit your kidding, please," requested Pennington sulkily.
That directed the curious glances of other middies at Pennington's new bulbous nose.