"Do you
mean that Miss Preston is going to marry some one else than yourself?"
"Yes."
"Soon?"
"Monday noon."
Dave Darrin whistled.
"So this is the meaning of your desperation? Danny boy, if you're
stung, I'm sincerely sorry for you."
"I don't quite know whether I want any sympathy," Dan replied,
though he spoke rather gloomily. "Perhaps I'm to be congratulated."
He laughed mirthlessly, then continued:
"When a girl will treat a fellow like that, isn't it just as well
to find out her disposition early?"
"Perhaps," nodded Darrin. "But Danny, do you mean to say that
you attempted to pay your call without an appointment?"
"What was the need of an appointment?" demanded Dan. "Miss Preston
invited me to call at any time---just drop in. Now, she must
know that Saturday evening is a midshipman's only chance at this
time of the year."
"Nevertheless, you were wrong at that point, in the game," Dave
went on gravely. "Unless you're on the best of terms with a young
lady, don't attempt to call on her without having learned that
your purpose will be agreeable to her. And so Miss Preston, while
receiving your calls, has been engaged to some one else?"
Dan nodded, adding, "She might have given me some hint, I should
think."
"I don't know about that," Darrin answered thoughtfully. "Another
good view of it would be that a young lady's private affairs are
her own property. Didn't she ever mention the lucky fellow to you?"
"It seems that she did," Dalzell assented.
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