It was an excellent talk all the way through. Both boys listened respectfully and appreciatively. It struck them that Lieutenant Shackleton was giving them a large amount of his time. They learned, later, that a competent officer is always willing and anxious to talk with his men upon questions of discipline, duty and efficiency. It is one of the things that the officer is expected and paid to do. By the time they came out Tip was just returning from the surgeon's examination. "You freshies needn't think ye're the only ones that passed," growled Tip in a low voice, as he passed. Neither chum paid any heed to Branders. Somehow, as long as he kept his hands at his sides, Branders didn't seem worth noticing. "Make it?" asked the sergeant at the street door. "Yes; we sign to-morrow, if our references are all right," Hal nodded happily. With a sudden recollection that soldiers must hold themselves erect, Hal and Noll braced their shoulders until they thought they looked and carried themselves very much as the sergeant did. They kept this pose until they had turned the corner into Broadway. "Whoop!" exploded the usually quiet Noll Terry unexpectedly. "What's wrong, old fellow?" asked Hal quickly. "Nothing! Everything's right, and we're soldiers at last!" cried Noll, his eyes shining. "At least, we shall be to-morrow, if all goes well," rejoined Hal. "Oh, nonsense! Everything is going to go right, now. It can't go any other way." As he spoke, Noll turned to cross Broadway at the next corner. Hal made a pounce forward, seizing his comrade by an arm. Then he backed like a flash, dragging Noll back to the sidewalk with him. Even at that a moving automobile brushed Noll's clothes, leaving a layer of dirt on them. "Things will go wrong, if you don't watch where you're going," cried Hal rather excitedly. "Noll, Noll, don't try to walk on clouds, but remember you're on Broadway." "Let's get off of Broadway, then," begged young Terry. "I'm so tickled that I want a chance to enjoy my thoughts." "We'll cross and go down Broadway, then," Hal proposed. "I have the address of a hotel with rates low enough to suit our treasury, and it's some blocks below here." "Say," muttered Noll, "of all the things I ever heard of! Think of Tip Branders wanting to serve the Flag!" The boys talked of this puzzle, mainly, until they reached their street and crossed once more to go to the hotel. They registered, went to their room, and here Noll put in the next twenty minutes in making his clothes look presentable again. "If you've got that done, let's go downstairs," proposed happy Hal. "I'm hungry enough to scare the bill of fare clear off the table." As they descended into the lobby Hal suddenly touched Noll's arm and stood still. "I guess Tip is going to stay right with us," whispered Overton in his chum's ear. "That's Tip's mother over there in the chair. She and her son must be stopping at this hotel."