"You are brazen, sir; you have done a shameful deed, you have disgraced your brother. But I am glad to know that the shame I thought was his belongs to you. I am indeed relieved to know he is guiltless. I pity him for the burden of disgrace in having such a brother." "Pardon me, captain. This is something of an academic question. What may be shameful for John or any other midshipman is not necessarily so to a civilian owing no allegiance to your Naval Academy. I have never lied or cheated, I have never broken a promise--I have never done a dishonorable act. I admit having engaged in some quiet larks at college, and other places--this is one of them, that's all." "You are a burglar; you could be sent to prison." "Oh, I think not, captain; I think you'd have hard work to convince any jury of that." The commandant was furious; Frank Stonewell was cool and entirely self-possessed and not at all intimidated. None of the others present attempted to say a word. Robert Drake listened with absorbing interest. A great load had been lifted from him, and in spite of his own unfortunate position great happiness had suddenly come to him in the knowledge that John Stonewell's character was as clean and true as he had always believed it to be. "If you have cleared your brother, Mr. Frank Stonewell, there is one person you cannot clear, and that is the contemptible midshipman who was with you," vehemently exclaimed the commandant. Frank Stonewell was silent. "Do you deny, sir, that a midshipman accompanied you last night?" "I will answer only such questions as concern myself," replied Frank decidedly. "I know your companion, sir, and I'll show him to you." And turning abruptly toward Harry Blunt he exclaimed, "Come over here, and let Mr. Frank Stonewell look at you." As Frank looked up into Harry Blunt's face, he said coolly enough, "Who are you?" "Who is he?" almost shouted Commander Dalton. "Do you mean to say you don't know who he is?" "I never saw him before in my life. What has he to do with this matter?" "He's Harry, the Harry you spoke to last night." "Harry? Harry who? I never spoke to him in my life." "He's the Harry of the false beard, the Harry who proposed three groans for the superintendent and commandant, the Harry who accompanied you last night, for whom you tried to steal an examination." "Oh, I think not. I don't know who this chap is; he was not with me last night; I never saw him before. Look here, captain, I hope you navigate better than you investigate," rejoined Frank Stonewell, in a disgusted tone; "if you don't I fear you will bump into every rock that is hanging about loose."