CHAPTER IX.
DAN JUST CAN'T HELP BEING "TOUGE" Fourth Class Man Farley did not put in an appearance at breakfast formation in the morning.
As this was the opening day of the first term of the academic year it was a bad time to be "docked for repairs" at the hospital.
Merely reading over the list of the fourth class studies did not convey to the new men much idea of how hard they were to find their work.
In the department of Marine Engineering and Naval Construction there were lessons in mechanical drawing.
No excuse is made for a midshipman's natural lack of ability in drawing.

He must draw satisfactorily if he is to hope to pass.
In mathematics the new man had to recite in algebra, logarithms and geometry.
In addition to the foregoing, during the first term, the new midshipman had courses in English and in French.
As at West Point, the mathematics is the stumbling block of the new man at Annapolis.
In the first term algebra, logarithms and geometry had to be finished, for in the second term trigonometry was the subject in mathematics.
Shortly before eight in the morning the bugle call sounded for the first period of recitation.
The midshipmen fell in by classes in front of Bancroft Hall.
After muster the classes marched away by sections.
Each section contained an average of ten men, under command of one of their number, who was known as the section leader.
It was the section leader's duty to march his section to the proper recitation room in Academic Hall, to preserve discipline while marching, and to report his section to the instructor.
At the beginning of the academic year the fourth class men were divided into sections in alphabetical order.

Afterwards the sections would be reorganized according to order of merit.
So, at the outset, Darrin and Dalzell were in the same section, and Dave, as it happened, had been appointed section leader.
When the command rang out Dave marched away with his section, feeling somewhat proud that he had attained even to so small a degree of command.
It was an interesting sight to see hundreds of midshipmen, split up into so many sections, marching across the grounds in so many different directions, for not all the sections were headed for Academic Hall.
Dave knew the number of the room to which his section was bound, and knew also the location of the room.
Sections march, in step, at a brisk gait, the clicking of so many heels against the pavements making a rhythmic, inspiring sound.
Some of the midshipmen in Dave's section however, felt low-spirited that morning.

They had been looking through their text-books, and felt a dread that they would not be able to keep up the stiff pace of learning long enough to get past the semi-annual examinations in the coming January.
Dave and Dan, however, both felt in good spirits.

They had looked through the first lessons in algebra, and felt that they would not have much trouble at the outset, anyway.