CHAPTER XXX.
NOT ACCEPTED.
Barney Breslin seemed to have turned at bay, for he was no longer the obsequious toady of Scott Clemmons that he had been.
What he had said, the alternative he had offered, seemed to have deeply moved Clemmons, for he now appeared more anxious-faced than did Breslin.
Thrice he essayed to speak, and each time the words failed him.
He at last sat almost helpless before the other, wishing him to break the silence.
Breslin paced up and down the room now with a calmer mien.
The man had suddenly become the master.
What hold he had upon Clemmons he gave no utterance to, but certainly he had a secret power to thus move the other as he did.
“Yes, I shall resign. I shall take my resignation over now to the commandant, for, after all I am tired of study, and I hardly think I am cut out to be a naval officer. The standard of excellence and honor are a trifle too high for me to reach—you see I confess it, Clemmons. So I’ll take a vacation, and as I have only a few dollars, I’ll call on you for a loan, you know. If you have not a large amount about you, give me an order upon your father, for I must have money, Clemmons, yes, I must have money, or——”