There were no windows, no other door save that at which the three middies now stood baffled.
"Another good old yell," proposed Darrin.
It was given with a lusty will, but proved as fruitless as the former one.
"We don't take the last launch back to ship," declared Farley, wild with rage.
"Which means a long string of demerits," said Dan.
"No shore leave to-morrow, either," groaned Darrin.

"Fellows, this mishap will affect our shore leave throughout all the cruise." "We can explain it," suggested Farley with a hopefulness that he did not feel at all.
"Of course we can," jeered Dave Darrin.

"But what officer is fool enough to believe such a cock-and-bull story as this one will seem?
At the very least, the commandant would believe that we had been playing some pretty stiff prank ourselves, in order to get treated in this fashion.

No, no, fellows! We may just as well undeceive ourselves, and prepare to take the full soaking of discipline that we're bound to get.

If we attempted this sort of explanation, we'd be lucky indeed to get through the affair without being tried by general court-martial for lying." "Drake's anchor, indeed!" exclaimed Dan in deep self disgust.
"We ought to have known better," grunted Farley, equally enraged with himself.