Their hands met in hearty clasp.
"I shall have Prescott keep me posted regarding you two young men," went on Dave Darrin. "And, when you two are officers, if you are ever near any craft on which I'm on duty I want you to promise me that you'll come to visit me."
"You know how much delight that would give both Sergeant Terry and myself, sir."
"Attention—to the job!" suddenly muttered Dave Darrin, in a low voice.
Their long tramp had taken them alongside a low ledge.
As Darrin spoke in that low voice he raised his hunting rifle quickly, bringing the butt to his shoulder with a jerk.
He fired—straight at a bear, not more than five feet over their heads and at a total distance of only about ten feet.
But in that same instant the big, brown brute moved, and the bullet intended for his heart merely clipped away a bit of hair at the bottom of the animal's belly.
Bruin's first move had been to get away from danger, but now, at the shot, he became very much angered.
A second, swift leap, and the big animal jumped downward, landing on Midshipman Darrin's chest and bearing him to the earth.