"The grandest Christmas present. I ever had!" muttered Dick,
gazing at the single sheet, the words on which were couched in
stiff official language.
Dave Darrin fumed a good deal, for it was nearly a month later
before he received his notification from the Secretary of the
Navy. It came at last, however, and Darrin knew what postponed
happiness means.
CHAPTER XXII
The Message from the Unknown
With the Christmas holidays Phin Drayne came home, to stay so
far as school was concerned.
After his unhappy experience at the Fordham Military Institute,
Phin had found things almost as unpleasant at Wilburville Academy.
For some reason the boys at Wilburville hadn't taken to him.
Phin had come to the conclusion that he wasn't appreciated anywhere
save at home, so back he came, disgusted with the idea of carrying
his education any further.
As a natural sequence, Drayne took to lounging about the streets.
High School boys and girls no longer paid any heed to him, so
he did not fear slight or insult.
Two nights in every week Dick and Dave went faithfully to the
High School gym. to help Mr. Morton with the new evening classes
in training.
One afternoon Prescott and Darrin encountered good old Dr. Thornton,
the principal, who asked them how they were coming along.
"We're pretty busy," Dick admitted. "Still, it does seem rather
hard to us not to be connected with the High School any more.
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