"Not much chance in that for offense, sir," laughed the boyish sergeant.
"But you're of the Army," said Mr. Darrin, "and I don't know whether you believe that a sailor is a judge of a soldier."
"Quite naturally, sir," laughed Hal, "I am wholly willing to believe in the value of your judgment. And I have another reason."
"What is that, Sergeant!"
"Why, sir, you're a very particular friend of Lieutenant Prescott's, and we men of B company are ready to believe in any one whom Lieutenant Prescott likes."
"You have another very fine fellow for an officer in your regiment," Mr. Darrin went on. "And that is Greg Holmes—pardon me, Lieutenant Holmes. He's as fine, in every way, as Mr. Prescott himself."
"Yes, sir. Lieutenant Holmes is as popular with the men as any officer in the regiment can be."
"You see," smiled Mr. Darrin reminiscently, "when Dalzell, Prescott, Holmes and myself were youngsters—or smaller youngsters than we are now—we were all chums together in the same High School."
Then, finding a ready and appreciative listener Midshipman Darrin plunged into the recounting of many of the former adventures of that famous group of schoolboys once known as Dick & Co., whose doings were fully set forth in the "High School Boys' Series."
Sergeant Hal heard, also, of Tom Reade and Harry Hazelton, the two remaining members of Dick & Co., whose adventures, after leaving school, are now being set forth in the "Young Engineers' Series."