Just before the dinner formation Youngster Trotter encountered
Dave in the corridor.

"Hullo, mister!" was Trotter's greeting, and the youngster actually
held out his hand.

"I hope you had a mighty pleasant leave, sir," replied Dave, returning
the handclasp.

"Passably pleasant, passably, mister," returned Midshipman Trotter.
"But see here, mister, what's this about you and your class that
I've heard?

"Nothing, so far as I know, sir," replied Dave, scanning the youngster's
face closely.

"It must be more than nothing," returned Trotter. "I understand
that more than half of your class are furious with you over something
that happened last night. I've heard you called a sneak, mister,
though I don't believe that for a single minute. But I've heard
mutterings to the effect that your class will send you to coventry
for excessive zeal in greasing, to the detriment of your classmates.
What about it all, mister?"

Dave Darrin gazed at the youngster with eyes full of wonder.

"What about it?" repeated Dave. "That's the very thing I'd like to
know, sir, for this is the very first word I've heard of it."

Nor could Midshipman Trotter doubt that Dave Darrin had answered