Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-29

cit was one night in 7s, when our class was
plebing it on the top floor of the old barracks
building. All hands had been awakened by a
terrific din and clatter in the corridor. An
earthquake at the very least it seemed. Heads
popped out of doors and yells of protest from
sleepy middies' rent the air. The protests
turned to howls of mirth as the cause was dis
covered. large and much agitated feline was
scurrying hither and yon, trying to run away
with her tail, to which was attached healthy
sized tin can
Naturally, the officer in charge was not long
in arriving on the scene. Nor did he waste any
time in ordering the class downstairs to stand
up according to custom, until some one fessed
UP.
This particular lieutenant had recently
played the part of the marine in 'Pinafore'
given at the academy that year. He wore
habitually, a solemn expression accumulated
now as he looked us over, gazing sternly at each
midshipman to detect the guilty eye. Then he
spoke, and his tone matched that he'd employed
in the play exactly:
"'Of course he Missed, we know it was the
cat; but
"He paused suggestively, without cracking q
smile. No one else dared to. Likewise no one
needed his suggestive pause So he added
dryly Sorry to cause you this slight ncon-
venience, gentlemen, but
Again the suggestive pause.
into hours while we stood and stood and Stood
thinking dark thoughts about the one who
wouldn't speak and end our torture Many a
languishing glance was cast upward where nice
comfy beds were growing cold. All but one!
AS it was discovered later, the culprit didn't
speak because he wasn't there at all. He was
way upstairs, fast asleep in bed. happily OBJ
hvious to the plight of his luckleSs classmates
below
H.
day who could remember that nice comfy night
in bed
There were two occasions recall quite WE'LL"
chuckled the genial member of 80, leaning back
to spin another yarn, when some sadder and
wiser midshpmen found themselves the targets
OF superior officers wit-or wisdom One
comes to mind with painful clarity, for I was
the lad who learned how little really knew
was fairly well up in the class ranks and
pretty cocky, suppose. my expert sea-
manship Anyway the captain of the Dale
thought was-untn he changed nv mind
" Mr. W, take the deck he snapped sud-
denly, one day, glazing at me severely And
tack ship
Il knew the orders all right so snapped into
1t with will. But In my anxiety to show my
efficiency failed to notice that he'd carefully
put the ship running Free instead of close
hauled from which position I should have
Unanswered her before lacking
Naturally, didn't get all the way around
to my secret chagrin. The captain was watch
ing me like hawk all the time. It seemed to
me he positively gloated when he said:
=" Didn't get her around, did YOU eh?'
"'No, sir
well, I'm glad II you had you'd have
thought you knew all about it-and you DON'T
Another time the surgeon at the academy
gave six hapless youngsters a dose of their own
enthusiastically. These bright lights, 1t
seems, had personal business of a pressing ma
ture Cor so they thought) to attend to that
called urgently to their spirits How to dis
pense with the necessity of attending classes
for the nonce, tried their wits until an idea
dawned. They acted upon it without more ado
and when inspection was called six young men
were discovered to be suffering from thickly
coated tongues.
"'Um-m-m, murmured the medical man,
shaking his head over the first case And
'Ah over the second, and oh" over the third